Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Conversation with a senator

State Sen. Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook, chairman of the Minnesota Senate Taxes Committee had an interesting take on where the Legislature and the governor will go on taxes and budget in this year's session when I spoke to him by phone Monday, April. 27.
The most interesting fact: both DFL-controlled houses are proposing to cut more than the Republican governor. Gov. proposed $1.5 billion in spending cuts, DFL House is at $1.6 billion and Senate is at $2.2 billion. Bakk notes that Senate will "backfill" some of those cuts with federal stimulus money, as I'm guessing will the House and govenor, but the fact that Democrats were cutting more than Republicans kind of surprised me.
The biggest question: How will DFL proposing tax increases compromise with the governor proposing no new taxes. Bakk says the governor's plan to borrow $1 billion to balance the budget is more or less a tax...It's a tax with interest. We have to pay it back.
How might it play out? Bakk says first of all the DFL Senate planned income tax increases will "blink off" when the state budget gets back into balance. That sunset is written into the bill. But he also notes that DFL may consider "cutting some taxes" in two years after the current biennium, thereby giving governor some political cover to say over FOUR years, he did not raise taxes.
Gov. Pawlenty, speaking to The Free Press editorial board earlier this year said borrowing the $1 billion to cover in times of trouble is not unlike what a business might do when it sees a downturn in its revenue. It's one-time money, he argues, to get us through a one-time period of economic difficulty.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Stay tuned.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Swine flu. Is it overblown?

The media have a great propensity to jump on a story that it knows - by readership or viewership research - will cause a lot of people to pay attention. That's our job, afterall.
Swine flu is the latest subject of our drive to give people information about their safety, and lots of it. Does the quantity of stories out there suggest a bigger danger than a normal kind of flu? Some would conclude the volume of stories is proportional to its importance. Not really. The volume of stories may be more proportional to our knowledge that people will read it. Is the threat to safety "blown" out of proportion in the swine flu case?
Maybe. Would we print fewer stories to make sure we don't "overblow" it? Not really. At some point, you have to give people information and not try to predict what they will do with it or how they will react to it.
The rule I like to think about: Let's not yell "fire" in a crowded theater if there is no fire. People could get hurt protecting themselves from a threat that isn't there. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't yell fire in the theater if we see a smoldering cigarette ready to ignite a curtain.
Don't panic, but be prepared. That's a better guideline. That seems to be the approach of most of the government agencies monitoring the swine flu case.
Of course, we have access to every AP wire for every state. So, at some point, there will likely be at least 50 swine flu stories. In fact, as of 3:40 p.m. there are approximately 1,200 Associated Press stories that have the phrase "swine flu" in them, just in the last 24 hours. That may make the event seem more ominous than it is.
That's why perspective stories and "What to be aware of stories" are worthwhile, and any media doing its job will have a mix. The theater's not on fire, but there is a risk that someone will discard a lit cigarette. We just have to be prepared.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Chasing the swine flu bug

The reporter assigned to get the local angle on the flu swine story went home sick. Obviously, we hope he doesn't have it.
The nature of the nationwide health alert stories can be slippery. How dangerous is it? How likely is a pandemic in Mankato, Minnesota? Journalists are always trying to strike the right balance between providing solid information and creating panic. We've been posting stories originating from our worldwide wire services onto our web site today to give people as much information as possible.
You might remember the old "Extra" editions. We'll we've sort of adopted that premise to our Web site, setting off a section called "Blanket Coverage" and trying to provide the most information possible for people to get informed.
These outbreaks tend to be a bit scary for all involved, but so far, there doesn't appear to be a huge threat in the U.S.
The World Health Organization was meeting today to discuss raising its level of alert. In the U.S. we called a "health emergency" on Sunday. Unfortunately, Obama and the Homeland Security secretary had to basically say "emergency" doesn't really mean emergency. Figure that out.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

First live online interview

I conducted The Free Press first live online interview today with Rep. Terry Morrow of St. Peter. Our hockey writer Shane Frederick has used the "Cover it Live" software for hockey games, but he has used it more of a game report with viewers chiming in.
We plan to use Cover it Live more and invite readers and Web viewers to participate in interviews with public officials. It allows for questions from anyone watching the interview.
It's another way we're using our experience and connections to leverage important, credible and reliable information for our readers. The "unedited" interview can be viewed online by going to http://is.gd/uw2D
We'll announce future interviews and really get this online town hall going.

Friday, April 24, 2009

Anonymity and anger

Seems like more anonymous letters snailed to me these past few months. Angry people, mostly about politics. I suspect the pressures of the economy are manifesting themselves in various ways. I often don't wonder about one's need to vent, but do wonder about the need to vent anonymously. How have we in American and the media encouraged this?
If you're a regular Free Press reader or Web site "visitor" you know we dispensed with our "anonymous forum" that became a hate-filled, anger-induced baroom brawl. We ended it in part because we did not feel it was consistent with our "brand" as they say. We did not want to be seen as the sponsor of such hate, racism, sexism and gender bashing. Not only were we sponsoring it, we, in my opinion, were sort of enabling the perpetrators.
We then revamped the forum. You must use your real name, and you must agree to be civil. There is still some name-calling and uncivil discourse, but it's a level we can be more comfortable with. We can also monitor and control the conversation, issue warnings to violators and give them "demerits" electronically so everyone can see their "civility score."
We have generated a good amount of traffic to the site and have several regular contributors, and we thank them for their contributions.
It's an activity we can feel good about sponsoring and enabling.

Superintendent decision not surprising

I was not surprised the Mankato school board picked Sheri Allen as the person to offer the superintendent job to. She was a very strong candidate, as were the two others. Allen's Rochester and Big Nine ties working in Austin and Owatonna were pluses. Rochester's district is much larger than Mankato and while she was not the super there, she supervised 54 administrators as assistant super.
I attended the public meetings for all candidates and was impressed with the crowds. All candidates were very impressed with Mankato region and schools, and you could tell they weren't just saying that.
At 6:05 p.m. last night I told our newsroom the school board would pick her and they would pick her that night. Now, one wonders if I should be going to the casino!

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Welcome

Welcome to the blog of Mankato Free Press Editor Joe Spear. Expect everything and anything a daily newspaper editor in a Midwest city of 50,000 might come across all in a day's work. Wacky phone calls, public campaigns for good and against evil, images, thoughts, good fishing spots, and fun places to eat and drink and visit.
I encourage feedback but can't stand flamers, so be polite, nice. You can disagree, just don't destroy the value of our greatest gift in America: civil discourse.