Tell the Editor

Presenting unpleasant realities in the news

2011-12-14T13:57:00.002-05:00

Below are a couple of comments we received on Facebook in reaction to the photo, above, of Travis Stidham spotlighted by a police helicopter, holding a gun to his head just before he fatally shot himeself, ending the manhunt that began when he shot and wounded Lorain County Sheriff's Deputy Charles Crausaz on Dec. 12.

Presenting unpelasant realities in the news often draws complaints from some readers. Below the complaints is the response I provided, explaining how we look at the question.

What's your opinion on how unpleasant news should be presented in the newspaper and online, or not presented. Click the red "Comment" link below this post to have your say. -- Tom Skoch, Editor

Ashley Bolf The Morning Journal

I find it very unnessary to have a picture on the front page of Travis with a gun to his head. Don't you think his family and friends are going through enough as it is? Then to look at the paper this morning to see that. Little kids look and read the news papers. How would you feel if your child came to you at a young age and asked what that man in the paper is doing? I knew Travis not very well and I still don't like seeing this when I look at the paper and see that slideshow. Very unnessary!!! Rude thats all it

Melody Fox-Gallam very un caring and should be done differently.

- The Morning Journal
  Our task is to report accurately on life, pleasant and unpleasant, so readers can have a better understanding of the world they live in daily. The photo shows the intensity of the manhunt, it helps to verify the police account of what happened, it shows why so many people in the area of the incident were frightened. It also captures the state Travis Stidham was in at the moment. It simply presents the facts of this incident. People can use this photographic knowledge to assess what happened, and maybe draw lessons from it that are helpful. We would do the community a disservice by hiding unpleasant realities from the public. Presenting facts for the public's benefit is our job. Deciding what children should see or not see is for individual parents to decide.

New ways of telling news stories shine in manhunt drama

2011-12-13T16:32:00.006-05:00

What you just read above is a running account of the shooting of a deputy, the manhunt for the suspect and its aftermath, all pulled together from Twitter with Storify. The tweets were from my own Twitter account and mirrored those we sent on The Morning Journal's Twitter account @MorningJournal. They offer facts and link to more-complete news stories online.
The use of newer tools like Twitter and Storify, Facebook and updates on the web and by text alert are all part of The Morning Journal's digital first method of news coverage.
The shooting of Lorain County Deputy Charles Crausaz on Monday night, followed by an intense manhunt that ended with suspect Travis Stidham killing himself as lawmen closed in was a story that unfolded over about 90 minutes.
When the first call of an officer being shot came across the police scanner, the newsroom quickly shifted gears to focus on the breaking story.
Veteran photographer Jim Bobel headed for the LaGrange Township area where the drama was taking place.
Reporter Rick Payerchin turned from writing about Lorain City Hall to monitoring the police scanner and working the phone to reach out to authorities and people in the area for information.
Reporter Allison Strouse returned from covering an Avon Lake City Council meeting and headed toward LaGrange to gather facts.

Bit by bit as the facts came in, we put out the word on www.MorningJournal.com as well as by SMS text alert, Twitter and Facebook. We reached out to online readers on Facebook for information and they also began reacting to the story as it was taking place.


Jim Bobel's photo shows suspect Travis Stidham, spotlighted by a police helicopter, before shooting himself.

Payerchin got information from the scanner and from frightened residents in the neighborhood where the manhunt took place.
Strouse talked with investigators in LaGrange about the shooting and manhunt and got video of a briefing by the sheriff.
Bobel scored a news coup by being in the right place at the right time. Seeing the police helicopter in the sky, he drove toward it and came upon the suspect running in a field, gun to his head, and spotlighted by the helicopter's search beam.
Bobel got photos of that dramatic image, and seconds later, the suspect shot himself in the head.
Phoning in to tell me what he had seen and photographed, Bobel then had to wait to be interviewed by investigators before he returned to the newsroom and his powerful photos were added to the story online. The photos will appear in print with followup coverage.
The next afternoon Payerchin and photographer Anna Norris teamed up to bring readers live streaming video of the investigators' news conference with the latest on the continuing story, as it was happening.
The human tragedy is as old as humanity.
The basic reporting principles of getting the facts fast and accurately is traditional.
But the new digital tools and techniques available today, enable us to bring readers the story as it develops, and as they react and even help offer what they know.
Digital first journalism is what we live and breathe at www.MorningJournal.com and The Morning Journal, and we invite you to join us in the daily adventure.

Competition brings out the "best" performance

2011-10-24T12:35:00.001-04:00

We announced this 2011 Best Daily Newspaper in Ohio under 100,000 circulation award we won awhile ago, but just picked it up Saturday at the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists awards ceremony at Windows on the River in downtown Cleveland. It's a plate of etched glass.
The Morning Journal also won first place for Best Website for newspapers under 100K circulation and took second place in Page One Design.

That says a lot about the value of competition. This was a statewide contest, and the top two small newspapers in Ohio are both in Lorain County, where the competition is fierce.

The Ohio SPJ contest is a joint project of the SPJ chapters in Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati.

This year's judging was done by journalists in the Chicago, Philadelphia, Florida, and Washington, D.C. areas as well as SPJ Regions that span the middle of the country.

Thanks to our readers who engage, inform and motivate us!

2011-09-16T14:40:00.000-04:00

The Morning Journal won first place as the Best Daily Newspaper in Ohio under 100,000 circulation in the 2011 Ohio SPJ Awards competition. The website, www.MorningJournal.com, also won first place for Best Web Site.
The newspaper also won second-place for Best Page One Design.
The annual statewide journalism competition is sponsored by the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists chapters in Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus.
Winners will receive the awards on Oct. 22 in ceremonies at Windows on the River in downtown Cleveland.
Earlier this year, in The Cleveland Press Club’s Ohio Excellence in Journalism competition, The Morning Journal tied for first place as best daily newspaper in Ohio of 100,000 or less circulation with its sister newspaper, The News-Herald in Lake County, and www.MorningJournal.com won second place for best website.

Being Mom2Amara newest blog in Community Media Lab

2011-06-28T15:07:00.001-04:00


Monina Wagner, Mom2Amara

The lineup of blogs in The Morning Journal's Community Media Lab now features Being Mom2Amara by Monina Wagner of Avon.

What's it all about? Here's how she describes it: "Self proclaimed extraordinary mom. Mediocre homemaker. Wannabe runner. Life long Clevelander. And proud member of the 2011 Walt Disney World Moms Panel."

Mo posts frequently, so be sure to check back an see what's new with Being Mom2Amara.

If you have a blog, or would like to start one and become part of The Community Media Lab, just contact me at tskoch@morningjournal.com. Don't worry if you haven't got a blog started yet. We can help you create it and teach you how to operate it. Blogging is simple and fun.

Blogs can be about all sorts of topics. We're especially looking for bloggers who would like to write about what's going on in their cities, their neighborhoods, or clubs.

Blogs also can be about anything from block watch groups to church groups.

Hobbies also can be a great blog topic of interest to like-minded people.

The field of interests is wide open, and there's plenty of room in The Community Media Lab.

New fashion blog debuts in Community Media Lab

2011-06-26T15:39:00.003-04:00

Patricia Maristch, Fashion Penn Pal

Check out the new Fashion Penn Pal blog in the Community Media Lab. Fashion-obsessed blogger Patricia Maristch calls her blog "the fashionista's 'partner in crime' and a guiding hand to the fashion-challenged." She loves fashion, and she loves shopping, and if that's your passion too, then you have a new Fashion Penn Pal.

The Commuity Media Lab also has a wide array of other blogs to catch your interest. Suzan Smith presents Politics are Personal. Jim Brooks offers personalized punditry that's Outside the Lines. Dan Brady takes a fascinating look back at local history in Brady's Bunch of Lorain County Nostalgia.

There's more too: Inspiration, recipes, humor, Great Lakes living issues and Cleveland Browns talk in the Blawg Pound.

New local bloggers are welcome in the Community Media Lab, as are established bloggers. Just contact Tom Skoch, editor, at tskoch @morningjournal.com. Our staff can help you get a blog set up and running and provide guidance as you grow.

A blog is a great way to connect with the community and let people know all about what's going on in your neighborhood, city, school or church organizations. Blogs can also connect with others who share your hobby interests, for example.

The Morning Journal's Community Media Lab is here to help bring it all together for you.

Morning Journal, sister paper tie for best in Ohio

2011-06-10T23:42:00.004-04:00

Accepting the awards. That's me and Laura Kessel, managing editor of The News-Herald, whom I hired as a Morning Journal copy editor at the start of her journalism career. Then there's Ed Byers, Press Club president, and WKYC-TV news anchor Dick Russ who was the emcee for the awards ceremony. (Photo courtesy of The Press Club of Cleveland)

Lots of hard work by lots of hard-working news folks made possible the following short story written today ... and I just wanted to share the good news here:

CLEVELAND - The Morning Journal tied for first place as best daily newspaper in Ohio of 100,000 or less circulation with its sister newspaper, The News-Herald in Lake County on Friday.

The award came in The Cleveland Press Club Ohio Excellence in Journalism competition. Awards were announced Friday evening in ceremonies at the Marriott Hotel in Downtown Cleveland.

The Morning Journal also won second place for Best Web Site in Ohio as well as taking second place for Best Breaking News-Ongoing Story for "Officer Kerstetter Killed."

Sports Editor Colin Wilson won second place in Sports issue coverage for stories on Elyria Catholic High School's violation of Ohio High School Athletic Association rules.

The Press Club competition drew 800 entries from newspapers, magazines, TV and radio stations statewide.

__________

Now, it's back to work for us ... every day is a fresh start. News to find, pages to fill.

The bridge column returns Monday May 16

2011-05-13T18:25:00.002-04:00

Let me tell you, there are still plenty of people around who play the game of bridge. I've heard from many of them. They were calling to complain after I recently eliminated the daily bridge column.

The bridge column was taken off the comics page as part of a recent redesign of that page. Nothing against bridge, but the column just didn't fit the new page anymore, and nobody had ever called to tell me how much they enjoyed the bridge column. Until I got rid of it.

Well, I have heard you all, and I am heeding your message: The bridge column will be back, starting on Monday. It will be found daily in the Classified ad section. Call it a two-fer. You can read the bridge column and browse the classified ads all in the same place.

Get local breaking news alerts on your phone

2011-04-25T13:46:00.001-04:00

The Morning Journal's digital-first news delivery is expanding. Now you can get our breaking news alerts by text message to your phone, as well as weather forecasts and alerts.

All you need to do is text MJNEWS to 22700, and you'll start receiving news alerts daily. Our service is free. Your phone system's normal message and data rates may apply. For weather forecasts and alerts text MJWEATHER to 22700.

Mobile news and weather alerts mean you're always in the loop, even when you're on the go and away from your computer.

Stay on top of the news latest local news and major breaking national and international headlines. Just text MJNEWS to 22700 and text MJWEATHER to 22700 to get started.

Citizen Journalism goes into action in the Community Media Lab

2011-04-03T08:35:00.003-04:00

Community Media Lab blogger Jim Brooks is showing what citizen journalism is all about in his Outside the Lines blog. Jim spotted a problem in a local park and it raised a question in his mind that ties into another local issue. He's digging for answers and will keep us all informed. To read more about it, click here.

Can you live with this?

2011-03-31T18:32:00.002-04:00

On Friday, we'll have a story about how livable this area is, as ranked in the study that you can click on and read below. Take a look for yourself, then post a comment on the story Friday or on our Facebook page.
You also can Tweet your reaction to #MJliving

OH State Report

We're all in the new world of news together, for the better

2011-03-30T16:16:00.005-04:00

Better than any I've seen before, the video below displays how the relentless power of the tsunami in Japan simply washed away communities. But it also demonstrates the power of the Internet and social media which are sweeping away the old ways of reporting and consuming news. More on that, and what it means in Lorain follow the video ....

The old one-way communication from the "reporter" to the "reader" has been replaced in today's new news ecology by a two-way collaboration. Reader and reporter together enable one another to inform the whole community, and be informed, in better and deeper ways than possible before.

A person atop a building in Japan shot the video above and it went up on YouTube. A friend of mine put a link to it on Facebook where I saw it and reposted it on The Morning Journal's Facebook page and Twitter to share with readers.

So, my friend, a reader of The Morning Journal's coverage, provided information that enabled me to report the video he had found about the tsunami and share it with The Morning Journal's wider audience.

The same kind of reader-reporter engagement and collaboration can produce better local news coverage as well. That's exactly what happened in a big way last July 4 when we published a special Ben Franklin Project edition of The Morning Journal and MorningJournal.com. We used reader-generated story information and publishing tools freely available on the Internet. That project included all 18 daily newspapers in our parent firm, Journal Register Company, where the boss, John Paton, is leading our transformation from newspaper company to a groundbreaking digital-first news and information provider on the web with video, in social media and in print.

The Ben Franklin Project edition was a demonstration project, but we're regularly using the same kinds of crowdsourcing techniques in gathering information, publishing reader-generated photos and video and putting the reader at the center of everything we do.

.Another way we are engaging with the community is by giving voice to local bloggers who report and analyze all kinds of topics in our Community Media Lab. We help them get a blog started if they don't already have one, and we provide training and advice as necessary.

If you have ideas you'd like to share on how we can engage readers and collaborate in new and better ways, contact me at tskoch@morningjournal.com.

Also contact me if you would like to join our growing Community Media Lab.

Or, if you think we're going down the wrong path and have a better way to suggest, please let me know as well by email.

Let's join in transforming The Morning Journal and MorningJournal.com into your top digital-first source of local news and information. With your participation, we can shape a new and successful future for local news.

Good news for our newsroom

2011-02-24T18:27:00.000-05:00

Today we learned The Morning Journal is a finalist in six AP award categories, which is great news for a newsroom. Here's the details ...

COLUMBUS — The Morning Journal is a finalist for six awards in the annual journalism competition sponsored by The Associated Press Society of Ohio in Division III, for newspapers with a circulation between 13,000 and 24,999.
Editorial Page Editor Dan Smith is a finalist for Best Editorial Writer, Photographer Nate Parsons for Best Spot News Photo, reporters Kelly Metz and Megan Rozsa for Best Blog, The Morning Journal for Best Community Service, Copy Editor Celina Hutchens for Best Full Page Layout and The Morning Journal for Best Web Site.
The finalists’ actual order of finish — first, second and third places — will be announced May 15 at the APSO convention in Columbus, along with the General Excellence, First Amendment and Special Recognition award winners. Entries were judged by editors from the Hibbing (Minn.) Daily Tribune and the Jersey City (N.J.) Journal.

CEO of The Morning Journal's parent firm: We will beat AOL's Patch and Huffington Post

2011-02-23T16:53:00.003-05:00

Read the article here.

Journal Register Company is making good waves in the news world, and The Morning Journal is part of that crew. You, the reader, have a big role in shaping the daily news report in this new world of news. Let's talk about it! Just click on the "comments" link below to get started. -- Tom Skoch, Editor, The Morning Journal

Two new features for you

2010-12-21T12:23:00.002-05:00

MorningJournal.com has two new features I'd like to point out to you:

Today, we started a new feature called "Editor's Pick" on the front of MorningJournal.com. It highlights one story, from among many, that we think you'll find most interesting, informative and useful to read.
The first story tells how Ohio learned today that it will lose two seats in Congress because of population changes, and Lorain's Rep. Betty Sutton is mentioned as one who could lose her seat after new districts are drawn.

Second, our Community Media Lab is growing, and the newest blog to join the lineup is The Keeper of My Heart, described as "One woman's personal reflections, inspirationally motivated, thoughtful and encouraging." Click here to check it out.

Email me, Tom Skoch, if you would like to set up a blog about doings in your community, your neighborhood group, school, church or social organization, or some other subject. The Morning Journal provides all the help needed to make it easy to get started. Hope to hear from you soon.

What's new in the Community Media Lab

2010-12-13T15:24:00.000-05:00

Some interesting new blogs have recently joined our Community Media Lab, with more in the works.

Just today, The Chronicles of Sam made its debut. It tells the stories of "Sam" and other youngsters in the 5th grade classroom of Michelle Mason Cagle. The author is a 1985 Lorain High School grad who now lives and teaches in Oklahoma and still has lots of Lorain ties. The stories in her blog are heartfelt, and you just have to read for yourself to see what I mean.

Another recent blog is Brady's Bunch of Lorain County Nostalgia by Dan Brady of Sheffield Lake. It's a warm look back in local history as told in old ads, postcards, photos, places and other reminiscences. It's fun, informative, instructive and entertaining.

Politics Are Personal, by Suzan Smith brings the impact of political doings at all levels right down to the ground where we live and work each day.

The Community Media Lab offers lots more, take a look.

And if you would like to become a blogger in the Community Media Lab, we can get you all set up and started. Just contact me at tskoch@morningjournal.com about your blog idea.

Established bloggers are welcome to join too and have their local blogs showcased on the Community Media Lab page at www.MorningJournal.com.

The community's newsroom

2010-12-05T19:48:00.002-05:00

http://www.morningjournal.com/articles/2010/12/05/opinion/mj3788296.txt

Follow the link above to read my Editor's Column on the community newsroom concept at The Morning Journal and other newsrooms in Journal Register Company.

Stop in and we can talk about the Community Media Lab and how you can take a role in helping us bring you the news you want, when and how you prefer to read the news.

You can reach me at tskoch@morningjournal.com, or by calling 440-204-6930.

What we're trying to do, and hope you'll join us, already is big news in the news world.

If you prefer, you can leave a comment by clicking on the red word "comment" below.

Hope to see you soon!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

2010-11-24T19:27:00.005-05:00

Tom Skoch

Just want to say Happy Thanksgiving to all our readers, advertisers and staff!

This Thanksgiving we at The Morning Journal have a huge reason for giving "thanks." That's because this year we got a welcome chance to "re-energize" and catapult to the leading edge of the newspaper industry, along with our parent firm Journal Register Company.
The spark was the arrival of John Paton as the new CEO of Journal Register Company. Paton brought the "digital first" style of giving our readers the news as it is happening, digital first, online and via social media, and then delivering the most complete, authoritative report available in print.
Digital first and all that goes with it, is the best thing I've seen to give the newspaper business a new lease on the future.
For someone like me who has spent four decades in love with an increasingly ailing newspaper business, it is a complete thrill to be part of this healthy new digital first initiative.
Being able to share in this future-making among a talented, energetic and fired-up newsroom staff that I admire greatly is something to celebrate on Thanksgiving.
Best wishes to all!
And what about you? What are you giving thanks for this Thanksgiving? Share your thoughts with me and the community. Just click on the "comments" link below.

Get started with a local blog

2010-10-28T14:45:00.000-04:00

This week, we just welcomed a new local blog on politics -- "Politics Are Personal" -- to the Community Media Lab at The Morning Journal, and we're looking to help even more people get started blogging.

Blogs are easy to set up and we'll help you get started. All you need to bring along is your imagination, talent and a willingness to write frequent short blog posts on your topic of choice.

What are blogs about? Most anything. But most importantly, they should focus on the local scene.

That means writing about doings in your city or village council, or your township. It also could mean writing about what's happening in your school or school district. And, blogs can be about what's going on in your neighborhood, your church, social organization or club. Blogs can even be about topics such as hobbies and share information with like-minded local hobbyists.

If you want to try blogging, we'll give you the help you need for a quick start, plus ongoing advice or help anytime you need it.

To get started, just email me -- Tom Skoch -- at tskoch@morningjournal.com.

Join the Community Media Lab as a local 'news' blogger

2010-10-15T18:34:00.002-04:00

The Community Media Lab at The Morning Journal is a place in our newsroom, and an online space where we help local individuals to become community bloggers presenting news and views from their own perspective.

I'd like to see many more local bloggers in addition to those who presently are in the Community Media Lab. There's no end of news space on the Internet.

To that end, The Editor's Column which I write weekly will next be about the media lab and how readers can become writers and tell the news close to them through blogs we can help them to create. That column is coming on Sunday, Oct. 16, so please be sure to check it out in print or at www.MorningJournal.com/opinion

Meanwhile, here's a video hint.

Try some pumpkin soup, and try your hand at community blogging, too

2010-10-11T18:28:00.001-04:00

The frost isn't on the pumpkin quite yet, but the recipe for Simple Pumpkin Soup is ready for you to sample in Deb Brady's Cooking Easy With Deb blog in the Community Media Lab on MorningJournal.com.

Cooking Easy With Deb is only one of several local blogs by regular people just like you in our Community Media Lab.

If you have a blog, or would like to start one, and be part of the Community Media Lab, send me an email at tskoch@morningjournal.com and share your idea. We'll give your blog a home with a built-in audience.

In the Community Media Lab we'll help you set it up a blog, show you how to update it and provide some basic guidance for your role as a community journalist.

Blogs can focus on most any topic from local politics, news in your neighborhood, doings at your church or social organization, recipes, hobbies, you name it.

Check out the Community Media Lab. We've got lots of room for more blogs, just contact me at tskoch@morningjournal.com.

Any local Steinbrenner memories you'd like to share, please comment below

2010-07-13T12:07:00.004-04:00

With the death today of George Steinbrenner, we're putting together local coverage of his Lorain area years and local ties. Please share your personal memories if you wish by commenting below.

To see the July 4 Ben Franklin Project version ...

2010-07-04T18:23:00.002-04:00

Click here to see the July 4 Ben Franklin Project version of The Morning Journal's regular website. This Journal Register Company initiative to produce a newspaper and website with reader collaboration, using only freely available tools on the Internet is making a big splash in the struggling world of newspaper journalism because it points a new way to a thriving future. We had fun producing it, and we think you'll enjoy reading it, in print and online. Thanks to everyone who helped in its creation, and stay tuned, we're just getting started.

Watch for our July 4th Ben Franklin Project newspaper and website

2010-07-02T17:08:00.002-04:00

This Sunday, July 4, is a national holiday celebrating our nation's independence. But it's also The Morning Journal's day of "independence" from the old-style ways of reporting and making newspapers. It's our Ben Franklin Project edition, and we think you'll like what you see.

As I've mentioned earlier, this project involving all Journal Register Company newspapers under the guidance of CEO John Paton is in the spirit of Ben Franklin, founding father, printer, experimenter and revolutionary.

Sunday's paper and website are being reported in collaboration with readers from start to finish and produced using software tools that are freely available to anyone on the Internet. The goal is to demonstrate that quality newspaper journalism that can be produced in communities more economically, more effectively and more in touch with the readers in print and online.

Using our printed pages, our website www.MorningJournal.com plus social media tools Facebook and Twitter we solicited story ideas from readers, then collaborated with them in gathering facts and quotes, pictures and videos to tell the stories that you will see on Sunday, in the newspaper and online.

Those major non-breaking news stories are finished and have been edited. They are now being fashioned together with photos to create pages that will go to press Saturday night, including late-breaking news.

And on Sunday morning, July 4, 2010, you'll be able to go on our special website or pick up the paper and read what is really a revolutionary newspaper on holiday that celebrates the revolutionary creation of the United States of America on July 4, 1776.

Jump into the Journal Jog to have fun & help local kids

2010-07-02T16:49:00.001-04:00

Here's a message for you from Jennifer Bracken, our online manager, about a way to have fun, get exercise and help two worthy causes that benefit local children:
-- Tom Skoch

The Morning Journal in conjunction with sponsors Lorain National Bank and Community Health Partners is excited to announce the inaugural Journal Jog 5K run, 3K walk Sunday, August 8! The event starts at 9 a.m. at the beautiful Black River Landing in Lorain. The Journal Jog course tours Lorain’s downtown businesses and continues to State Route 6 along pristine Lake Erie. The flat, fast course turns through scenic Lakeview Park and finishes at Black River Landing.

All the proceeds of the Journal Jog benefit The Morning Journal’s Newspapers in Education and Mary Lee Tucker Clothe-A-Child programs.

Participants who register by July 30 can enter the run for $15 and $10 for the walk. Race day registration is $20 for runners and $15 for walkers. Cash prizes will be awarded to the overall first, second and third place runners. Plaques will be given to the top three finishers, male and female, in each age bracket.

To register fill out the attached form and return it to The Morning Journal or register online at www.MorningJournal.com/journaljog.

Please join us Sunday, August 8 and be a part of an event that showcases some of Lorain’s beautiful landmarks! Your support of this event and these worthy charities is appreciated!

Entry form below can be printed out and mailed.

MJ Jog Entry Form

Talking about Lorain's new news future on WCPN 90.3 FM

2010-06-25T13:24:00.004-04:00

Listen in as WCPN Sound of Ideas host Dan Moulthrop interviews me about The Morning Journal's Ben Franklin Project here: http://tinyurl.com/2blvson
The six and a half minute interview starts at the 34:44 minute mark.
Or, click the download button and get the podcast on your computer.
Clicking the video button will play the show on video.

We've got a whole new world of news for you

2010-06-22T17:20:00.002-04:00

When you hear "TV," you think video, and when you hear "newspaper" you might think print, but think again.
This week, the local TV news was getting its video from this newspaper.
That's because The Morning Journal now delivers the news "digital first." We report breaking news to you right now, online, with photos and video, at www.MorningJournal.com and via Twitter and Facebook.
Our court reporter, Kelly Metz, was in the courtroom Monday with her Flip video camera running when convicted killer Neil Simpson approached the jury in the sentencing phase of his trial to make a statement, but spit at them instead. Deputies immediately grabbed him and hustled him out of the courtroom.
Kelly rushed back to the newsroom and we posted her video and story of the incident on our website. No other news organization had captured the scene that Kelly had. Some hours later, a local TV station asked for permission to use Kelly's video, giving The Morning Journal credit, and we agreed.
The "digital first" initiative is something we are doing along with all our sister papers in Journal Register Company under the direction of CEO John Paton who is literally re-inventing the newspaper business for the 21st century.
That kind of change can be hard to grasp if I'm just talking to you about it. But when you see a TV station running a video that has The Morning Journal's name on it, that video is worth a thousand words of explanation.
Every one of our reporters carries a video camera at all times, and we bring you the news right now, digital first, and fast, online and then later, slower, in print with the context and analysis that print provides best.
Involving our readers in coming up with story ideas, facts, photos and video, especially for our July 4 edition, is another huge facet of what we're doing. Check it out, and jump in to the new world of news The Morning Journal is bringing to you.

Can't help but brag a little tonight ....

2010-06-18T22:46:00.001-04:00

The Morning Journal was named the best newspaper in Ohio on Friday in the Ohio Excellence in Journalism competition sponsored by the Cleveland Press Club. The award came in the category for newspapers of 100,000 or less circulation.
The judges commented, "The Journal wears proudly its commitment to news of local government and crime, with flashes of enterprise. The work of busy reporters competes for space on active section fronts, putting the local news front and center. Sports sections are ample and bright. Big, multi-layer headlines and good photo display are inviting."
The Morning Journal's sports staff won second place in the best section competition. The judges noted, "From high school to the pros, an excellent effort that has everything a local sports fan could want."
The awards were presented in a ceremony held in downtown Cleveland.
The Morning Journal's sister paper in Lake County, The News-Herald, won first and second place for online features in the new media competition, as well as taking second-place awards in the daily newspaper photography competition for spot news and general news photos. Both newspapers are published by Journal Register Company.

Sample the new "Cooking Easy" blog

2010-06-05T12:11:00.002-04:00

Cooking Easy debuts in the Community Media Lab with recipes for Hawaiian Hamburgers and Easy Fruit Dip. Check back often for more delicious and easy-to-make recipes featured by food blogger Deb Brady of Elyria.

If you have a hobby, interest, group or town you'd like to blog about, The Morning Journal's Community Media Lab can help you get started and provide an easy to find "home" at www.MorningJournal.com/medialab. To become part of our citizen journalism initiative, send me an e-mail at tskoch@morningjournal.com

Help us make a newspaper - and make history - in the Ben Franklin Project

2010-06-03T17:36:00.003-04:00

Today, we're turning to readers for help in collaborating to create a history-making July 4 edition of The Morning Journal through our Ben Franklin Project. Below this introduction, you'll find a first draft of our plan for July 4, and how readers can help us create it.
I've explained the Ben Franklin Project in detail on this blog, but to sum it up:
The Ben Franklin Project reinvents how newspapers are put together and how they relate to their readers. Instead of just receiving a printed paper, readers now are being invited to join us from the start in generating story ideas, gathering information and shaping the edition in print and online to create the most accurate, complete news report placing events in full context. All the traditional standards of journalism are upheld, including accuracy, fairness and objectivity. Also the paper and website will be created using only free tools commonly available on the Internet, rather than the expensive proprietary software that newspapers typically use.
On July 4, The Morning Journal, with the help of readers will declare independence from the fading old ways of newspaper journalism and enter a modern and more informative realm.

Now, here's our plan, created with help from readers who responded to my previous call for story ideas. The July 4 paper will contain more than just these stories, but these are our starting point:

The Morning Journal, Lorain, OH

Franklin Day July 4 story budget, first draft

PAGE ONE

1. Here comes Wal-Mart, now what? – In a low-key way, Wal-Mart is about to open its first store in Lorain, a town where voters went to the polls to deny the store entry on its first attempt several years ago. But will job-starved Lorain finally welcome Wal-Mart, or will this strong union town refuse to shop there? What do local merchants see as the fallout for themselves.

Reporter: Rick Payerchin.

Crowdsourcing opportunities: shoppers, union members, local merchants, the unemployed who might apply for a Wal-Mart job. Send information to journalrick@gmail.com

2. Interview the mayors of Lorain & Elyria. You are the city hall reporter of the day, what are the top three questions you have for the mayor? Lorain Mayor Tony Krasienko and Elyria Mayor Bill Grace will answer your questions about their cities.

Coordinators: Debbie Clow & Joanne Allen

Crowdsourcing opportunities: Soliciting questions from readers online and via Facebook & Twitter, then have each mayor respond in writing. Send suggested questions for the mayors to editorofthemj@gmail.com

3. Mr. & Ms. Most Interesting. Tell us about the most interesting local man or woman you know and what makes them special.

Reporter: Kelly Metz

Crowdsourcing opportunities: Asking readers to name the most interesting people they know, and to provide specifics and pictures or videos to illustrate. Send your fascinating people facts and pictures to kellyametz@gmail.com.

LOCAL BUSINESS

1. Role models of success in local business: Find people who are succeeding and prospering in local business, against the overall tide of a bad economy.

Reporter: Scot Allyn

Crowdsourcing opportunities: Ask readers for examples of such people, then ask those people what advice they have for overcoming the odds. Send your suggestions and information to scotmorningjournal@gmail.com.

SPORTS

1. Generations of Lorain Youth Baseball: Create a multi-generation portrait of Lorain Youth Baseball competition and fun by tracing vignettes about grandfathers, fathers and sons who have played and been involved across the generations as coaches and league officials.

Cordinator: Colin Wilson

Crowdsourcing: Solicit names and interviews with fathers & sons who can tell of the family tradition of involvement with Lorain Youth Baseball, as well as provide current and past photos, video and other memorabilia. Send names, information, pictures and suggestions to mjsportseditor@gmail.com.

OPINION

1. Editorial about the Ben Franklin Project edition and how readers can continue to share in the creation of this community newspaper.

2. Letters to the editor solicited from readers on the theme of “independence” – In what ways should Lorain County, Ohio or the United States strive to become ”independent” of ways of life, of doing business or practicing politics that currently get in the way of progress, prosperity and peace? Send your letters, including name, home address and phone number to editorialwritermj@gmail.com.

FRIENDS & NEIGHBORS

Historic high school memory book: Lorain’s two high schools, Admiral King and Southview, are closed and passing into history. Next year, students from both will become the new student body of the city’s lone high school, which has been named Lorain High School. This story would ask graduates of King and Southview from years past to share their favorite vignettes of special times, best friends or inspiring teachers during the nearly half-century that the two schools dominated the local scene.

Reporter: Megan Rozsa

Crowdsourcing: Asking grads of all ages to share their stories and high school memories across the decades at Admiral King and at Southview, share photos of friends and special teachers and other memorable school events. Submit your information and pictures to rozsa.megan@gmail.com

LIFE & STYLE

The faces of summer fun: Reader-submitted photos, videos and vignettes sharing their special summer fun events, trips, picnics and special moments to create a community snapshot of summer fun for 2010 in the Lorain area. Submit your information and pictures to editorofthemj@gmail.com

Tom Skoch

Editor

The Morning Journal

1657 Broadway, Lorain OH 44052

440-245-6901, ext. 536

tskoch@morningjournal.com

www.MorningJournal.com

www.Twitter.com/MorningJournal

www.Twitter.com/Newspaperguy

www.Facebook.com/MorningJournal

Check out the new, improved video page

2010-06-03T12:30:00.001-04:00

The video page at MorningJournal.com has a new look and improved features to make it easier for readers to find what they want.

The page features more videos, an improved search function and easy to navigate sections for news, feature and sports videos. There's also an election video section featuring interviews with candidates.

To check out the new video page, click here.

The Fact Check Box -- a new accuracy feature at MorningJournal.com

2010-05-27T17:04:00.001-04:00

Take a look at the new Fact Check Box on our website, MorningJournal.com. It says "See wrong or incorrect information in a story? Tell us here." That message is followed by a box to type in and a button to send our editors your information.

This is another step in collaborating and crowdsourcing with our readers to improve The Morning Journal's news coverage.

Why restrict efforts to "get it right" to only the newsroom staffers when each day a thousand times more people in all walks of life buy The Morning Journal and then even more people read it? We are news professionals who take great pains to provide readers the best possible coverage. Still, that does not mean we think we know everything, or know anything better than anyone else.

Reporters gather facts and write stories which are then carefully edited. But it's all a human process. Maybe a source got the facts wrong, or misspoke, or a reporter misunderstood, or an editing mistake introduced an error. Mistakes happen, but they are not OK. We want to avoid them, or fix them ASAP.

If you see something in a news story that you think is wrong, or the facts are misinterpreted, or out of context, or incomplete, you can use the Fact Check Box to notify our editors. Please specify what you believe to be the correct information. We will check into it and, if necessary, correct the story online and run a print correction. (Of course, you can also call us at 440-245-6901, as always.)

The Fact Check Box idea was born this week at our sister paper, The Register Citizen, in Torrington, Conn., and CEO John Paton encouraged all the other Journal Register Company papers to adopt it. It fits right in with our new model of open source newsgathering in JRC's Ben Franklin Project. We're tapping into the knowledge and expertise of our readers to provide the most accurate and complete news reports possible.

Readers invited to become part of creating The Morning Journal

2010-05-24T19:02:00.004-04:00

For a few hundred years now, American newspaper editors have been deciding what the news is and presenting it to readers in print, and more recently also online.

That's a one-way process, with the editor making the decisions and the readers catching whatever the editor throws their way. Aside from writing letters to the editor, readers are passive consumers, rather than active participants in deciding what the news is, what stories they will see and what questions will be asked to create those stories.

Not anymore. That whole model is changing at The Morning Journal and our parent firm, Journal Register Company and its 17 other daily newspapers and many weekly papers.

Now, we want you to tell us what stories you would like to see covered that are not already being covered. What questions do you want the answers to? What problems need uncovering? What solutions to community problems are being overlooked?

On July 4, 2010 -- the 234th anniversary of American independence -- The Morning Journal and other JRC daily newspapers will declare their independence from the traditional newspaper business. We will publish in print and online, providing news stories that have been suggested and developed with the involvement of readers. These papers and websites will be made using only free tools available on the Internet rather than the proprietary software and systems typically used in this industry to make a newspaper and its website.

It's all part of the second wave of the Ben Franklin Project initiated by John Paton, the new CEO of JRC, who is transforming the traditional newspaper company into a media company that uses the web and digital technology to bring readers from the outside to the inside of the news gathering process. The first JRC Ben Franklin papers were successfully published last week in Lake County, Ohio, and Perkasie, Pa.

By expanding the Ben Franklin Project, readers' needs and wants will be better-served. The newspapers themselves will show how to become independent of older technologies whose expense and limitations can be barriers. JRC newspapers will become more involved in their communities by making readers a part of the process of creating the paper and website.

It all comes down to this: I want to know what stories you would like to see covered that we are not already writing, or not writing fully. Who should we be talking to, and what should we be asking to get the whole story? Under the traditional system, we've written stories and then days later heard from readers who have provided new tips, facts or insights that, when we followed up, made the story more complete, and put it more clearly in context.

So, now, instead of waiting to hear from readers after the fact, we're asking them to become part of the process from the beginning by suggesting story ideas, questions to ask and sources of information to make the story complete.

I'll have more to share as our Ben Franklin publication deadline nears. Please join us in this historic effort. We are literally reinventing the newspaper business to best serve 21st century readers, and we need your help to get the job done.

Share your ideas and suggestions by clicking on the comment link below. Or, send me an e-mail at editorofthemj@gmail.com .

Standing by Chief Rivera and Lorain's police

2010-05-20T19:07:00.002-04:00

Attached to an earlier posting at http://tinyurl.com/28r9vz9 today I found a couple of comments pertaining to how well, or not, Lorain Police Chief Cel Rivera is doing in his job. The poster made a comment critical of the chief and then took about two minutes to decide wrongly how the first post would be treated here. Below are the two posts from earlier today, followed by my answer:

Anonymous said...

: I feel bad for the police officers in Lorain. Cel Rivera is so busy straightening deck chairs that he doesn't see the sinking ship. And why is it that everytime Lorain gets into a financial mess (which is often) the first things that they want to cut are police and fire services? Maybe Rivera could use only one secretary instead of 3three, not to mention the Lieutanant he took off the street to be one of his personal assistants.; May 20, 2010 12:24 PM
Anonymous said...: I see the notice "Your comment will be visible after approval." Well, I guess that my comment won't be posted. This whole town knows what good friends the Chief and the Editor are. Heaven forbid the Morning Journal print anything real about Cel Rivera.; May 20, 2010 12:26 PM

For the record, I think Rivera is a good chief running a good department under extremely difficult circumstances. Nobody is perfect all the time, but given the financial pinch, manpower shortage, civil service system and union issues all severely complicating how a chief can handle his department, I think Rivera is doing a good job overall. A number of bad apples finally have been rooted out of the department in the past couple of years. Not all officers are right in all situations, either, but overall the majority do a good, conscientious job.

The poster made a timely comment because this is the day that the chief and others were meeting with officials from the Department of Justice which is looking at the police operation following complaints from some members of City Council and the public. It will be interesting to see what the DOJ eventually concludes following its exhaustive look at Rivera and his department.

My bet is, they'll have some helpful suggestions for tightening up training and procedures, but no knockout blows against Rivera or his officers, despite the chronic claims from detractors.

What do you think?

Citizen journalism goes live in Lorain

2010-05-14T18:36:00.000-04:00

The Morning Journal's new Community Media Lab is up and running as of today, and you can see the results online at http://www.morningjournal.com/medialab/

More local bloggers will soon be joining Community Media Lab pioneers Chad Earl, Kevin Salisbury and Jim Brooks, so be sure to watch for them.

If you would like to participate in the Community Media Lab and become a local blogger, contact me at tskoch@morningjournal.com, and we can get you started. Reporters and editors at The Morning Journal will provide orientation and advice, outline the journalistic standards expected, and help set up your blog online.

You just need to bring your willingness to write at least a few times a week about your chosen topic. Writing short and writing often is the rule of thumb for blogging.

Blogs can be about most anything -- local government, events in your neighborhood, doings in your club or organization or school or church, even information about hobbies and recreation. Whatever interests you, and whatever you think will interest and inform other readers is potential blog material.

By working in collaboration with citizen journalists in the Community Media Lab, The Morning Journal is acting on its plans to "bring the outside in" in local news reporting. We want to work in conjunction with readers to write about the topics readers want to see, and to provide the most complete and comprehensive look at each subject by tapping into the community's knowledge.

I hope you enjoy the writers in our Community Media Lab, and consider joining them in blogging with The Morning Journal.

-- Tom Skoch

Community Media Lab gearing up fast

2010-05-11T17:14:00.001-04:00

Meet the first bloggers in The Morning Journal’s Community Media Lab. They’re already posting to their blogs and the special Media Lab page will soon be up on this website where you can find them, and more citizen journalists as we move forward.

Right now, you can check out the three Lorain bloggers, starting from this page.

Chad Earl, a community organizer, calls his blog WOW: Words of Wisdom.

http://chadwordsofwisdom.blogspot.com/

Downtown businessman Kevin Salisbury writes the Broadway Connection blog.

http://broadwayconnection.blogspot.com/

And Jim Brooks, who works in nursing, talks about the world in his Outside the Lines blog.

http://jimbrookslines.blogspot.com/

Check them out, and if you are interested in doing a blog, e-mail me at tskoch@MorningJournal.com.

Tell me what topic you would like to blog about, and provide the name and short description for your blog. And if you’re really ambitious, submit a sample blog post.

The Morning Journal’s Community Media Lab will help you set up your blog, give you guidance on writing and reporting and provide a spot on our website where your blog can be found easily. The rest is up to you; it’s your blog.

Take a sneak peek

2010-05-04T15:04:00.000-04:00

Take a sneak peek at the first two local citizen journalist bloggers to go online via The Morning Journal's Community Media Lab project. There's Chad Earl's WOW: Words of Wisdom blog and Kevin Salisbury's Broadway Connection blog.

In a few days, you'll see links to their blogs anchored in a special new section on www.MorningJournal.com, and they soon will be followed by more Community Media Lab local bloggers.

If you are interested in becoming a community blogger, send me an e-mail at tskoch@morningjournal.com.

A peek into the new news ecology

2010-05-01T22:45:00.000-04:00

Check out Morning Journal & citizen journalism on human trafficking here http://tinyurl.com/2g566r2 & here http://tinyurl.com/29ne6td #JRC

More of this kind of collaborative newsgathering to come in the days and months ahead.

View webcast of town hall meeting on Ben Franklin Project news initiative

2010-04-27T17:57:00.003-04:00

Click here to see a video of the live webcast of a town hall meeting on April 27 about the Ben Franklin Project initiated by Journal Register Company at two of its 18 daily newspapers. This meeting was in Sellersville, Pa., and was held by the Perkasie News-Herald staff. The other Ben Franklin Project newspaper is in Ohio, the News-Herald in Lake County.

You tell me, what's up?

2010-04-23T14:54:00.000-04:00

Click the comment link and start a community conversation.

The End of the World As We Know It! (Thank Goodness) The Birth of the New World of News

2010-04-21T18:23:00.000-04:00

The Morning Journal's parent firm, Journal Register Company, has just launched a revolutionary experiment in newspaper-making for the new digital age, and it begins not far from here. Just click and get the scoop.

SeeClickFix local problems around Lorain County

2010-04-20T11:48:00.001-04:00

Today, The Morning Journal formally launches a new feature that lets readers highlight civic problems from potholes to graffiti and blighted buildings. It's called SeeClickFix and you can find it on the front page at www.MorningJournal.com. Just click the "Report a problem" link to add an item.
SeeClickFix allows you to flag non-emergency trouble spots on an area map, provide details and track what is happening. It's a great way for people in the community to voice concerns and to take action toward a solution.
SeeClickFix is a new citizen journalism initiative by The Morning Journal and its parent firm, Journal Register Company, in conjunction with the SeeClickFix company.
By enabling citizens to report trouble spots that need fixing, SeeClickFix helps communities to help themselves.
Overall, SeeClickFix to date has provided help on 30,000 problems from potholes and speeding school buses to bad drinking water and blighted buildings in a number of states. More than 40 percent of those problems have been reported as fixed. Give it a try. Just SeeClickFix.

What's on your mind? Build a community conversation

2010-04-17T11:49:00.004-04:00

What's on your mind? Specifically, what's on your mind about issues and events in the Lorain County area?
Tell the Editor and build a community conversation. Just click the "comments" link below and type your thoughts.

Here's where things stand with reinventing our newspaper world

2010-04-03T16:55:00.000-04:00

This is a link to "What's in a name?" which is the latest entry in the blog written by John Paton, the CEO of Journal Register Company. JRC is the parent company of The Morning Journal. Paton gives a company-wide status update and overview of the transformation we're going through. This will give you some insight on what we're doing locally at The Morning Journal. It's an amazing time to be in business of bringing you the local news. And I encourage you to join us in the process. -- Tom Skoch

Area too dangerous for school campus

2010-04-03T16:14:00.001-04:00

The following comment arrived as a letter to the editor, but I'd like to post it here first because Denise, who cares about the well-being of Lorain, raises an important safety issue for people to talk about.

-- Tom Skoch

Letter to the editor:

Listening to the police scanner tonight, it is amazing with all the calls. Fights,and more fights, 13th Long, 14th Long, 17th Long, 18th Washington...etc...code 1, code 2.

This my friends is "Central Lorain"...and "ward 2". This my friend is where they want to build a learning campus? Site 3. Are they out of your cotton picken minds?

Wake up folks, if you live outside of this ward, you better start making your voices heard, because it is going to be your kids coming into this ward to go to school if they have their way. It is going to be your kids in the midst of drug dealers and gun toters. If you question the validity my statements, get yourself a scanner and listen for yourselves.

It was even said last year by an officer heard over the scanner "it was like the wild wild west".

This ward has been neglected and heads turned the other way for years, but now someone benefits with a campus, and the rose colored glasses come on.

NOT FROM WHERE WE STAND!!!!!

denise caruloff

Lorain, Ohio

Community journalism improves breaking news coverage of local police chase, shooting

2010-04-01T21:01:00.002-04:00

Great example Thursday online of how we can work collaboratively with the public on getting the best breaking news coverage. It happened with the police shooting/car chase that started in North Ridgeville and ended in Lorain. Aside from the efforts in the newsroom and out in the field by Megan Rozsa, Kelly Metz, Joanne Allen and Debbie Clow, we got big help from a citizen with a camera.

Jeffrey Mrosko Jr. e-mailed me two great photos he took. He happened to be on the spot, while our staff reporter had to get there. His photos are shown here. In one we see the suspect being taken away for medical treatment. The other showed the chase car with an apparent bullet hole in the window.

As the facts emerged, we updated our story several times adding detail, photos and revisions, and also told online readers to see full coverage in Friday's print edition.

We want to work with community members who have news tips or spot news photos like those shown here.

We also want to help area residents find their journalistic "voice" through our Community Media Lab. We'll help get you started in the world of blogging. It will be your blog. We'll just provide a home for it on our Web site, www.MorningJournal.com.

In the Media Lab we'll tutor you on the basics needed to start. Then, you do the rest, sharing your news or opinions, working from home. Topics are wide open: neighborhood news, school news, church news, clubs, hobbies, sports. Your imagination is your guide.

As I've said before, the walls are dissolving between the newsroom and our living rooms. Easily learned technology now lets readers also be writers and photographers and shoot video. We're not afraid that some of you might even be able to do it better than we can. What's important is that together, our contributions will all add up to better serve the community's need for news and information delivered in the ways that serve each of us best.

If you would like us help you become a community blogger, let me know. Just send me an e-mail at tskoch@morningjournal.com. And if you've got a hot news tip, or a news photo to share, you can e-mail me with that too.

Lorain reporters blog on reporting in the digital world

2010-03-31T16:36:00.003-04:00

Kelly Metz and Megan Rozsa are a couple of talented young reporters on my staff who have started their own blog called "News: From the Field" talking all about their experiences and advice for reporters in the new digital world of journalism. They can be read here in the Blogs section at www.MorningJournal.com. Megan and Kelly also are on Twitter. Learn what it's like to be a reporter in the new news ecology blending the best of digital and print.
Local readers who would like to take up our offer, in my previous post, to become community bloggers, can learn from Kelly and Megan in our Community Media Lab.

We'll help you become a community blogger

2010-03-29T20:47:00.000-04:00

The Internet is rapidly dissolving the walls between newsrooms and our living rooms.

At The Morning Journal, we want to improve upon our traditional print and online news coverage by helping community members to become community journalists, that is, bloggers.

We will help these individuals to create their own blogs on subjects they care about deeply and can write about regularly. By doing so, we can widen the world of information for everyone here far beyond what fits on a printed page; far beyond what any traditional newspaper staff could manage to cover.

Community blogs could be about all kinds of things: Neighborhood news from South Lorain or South Amherst, for example. Or sandlot baseball, or quality of life issues in any community. Perhaps Elyria politics is your passion. Or you are bursting with ideas to give Lorain an extreme makeover. Clubs, organizations, churches, schools, hobbies ... the field is wide open.

The community blog you write would be based online at www.MorningJournal.com. It would be your blog, not The Morning Journal's. We just provide a platform for your words and set some standards.

This is community news, not commercials, so no promoting one's business, please. Blogs that espouse the bogger's opinions will be labeled as opinion, in contrast to blogs that report news about a town, group or school.

You'll need your own computer, and you will blog from home; but for starters we'll teach you the fundamentals of reporting right here in our newsroom's Community Media Lab.

You will talk with, learn from, and no doubt teach a thing or two, to the reporters and editors you will meet on our staff.

Together, we'll shape the future of local news.

Want to give it a try? Send me an e-mail at tskoch@morningjournal.com telling me a little about yourself, the topic of your blog and maybe providing a little sample.

Or, if you just have a comment on all of this, click on the "comment" link below and Tell the Editor.

Scenic river proposal has an ugly side

2010-03-27T21:36:00.001-04:00

Barbara Ramirez said ....

I just read the article about the Vermilion River becoming a scenic reserve.The article says that many support this idea.Well,I say to them that the government has ABSOLUTELY NO RIGHT WHATSOEVER to take those people's property!!This is downright OBSCENE, and anyone in favor of this, had better step back and think about just what in the world they are trying to DO!! The majority of that property is PRIVATELY OWNED AND IT SHOULD STAY THAT WAY!!This IS still America, IS IT NOT?!? We have the RIGHT to own property, AND KEEP IT!!
I suggest you go to the website called Freedom Advocates.org, and order the booklet called "Understanding Sustainable Development-Agenda 21," and READ IT. The government is trying to take away private property rights, and kick people off of their land, in a scheme to CONTROL US.It has nothing to DO with conservation.They will TELL you it is for conservation purposes, but the bottom line is CONTROL PURPOSES.Get the booklet.Fight this, or none of us will have any rights left!!

To offer your own opinion, click on the red "comment" link below.

How about Longfellow Park site for Lorain's new high school?

2010-03-27T18:46:00.000-04:00

Anonymous said...

New topic: Why has there been no discussion to build the new school and rec. facility at Longfellow Park? It could be an easy swap of land with the city; schools get Longfellow and the city gets the Admiral King property. The Admiral King property could then be turned into Ernest J. King Park where they can put in the youth soccer fields for Lorain Youth Soccer along with other amenities. Finacially, this makes sense.

Reactions, anyone? ... Click the red 'comments" link below to have your say.

Can "Voluntary Tax Diversion" really work to help local governments?

2010-03-25T18:15:00.000-04:00

Reader Dennis T thinks he's got a better idea for helping to fund local governments, and he'd like someone with financial credentials to say whether it has a chance of working, if it were to be adopted.

Dennis T wrote:

I would like to ask for comments and suggestions concerning the idea that I wrote about in a Morning Journal letter to the editor on March 12. I called it "Voluntary Tax Diversion" (Click here to read the letter.) I think it has a lot of potential for increasing revenue for our local governments and public schools. It does require legislation to be passed at the federal government level. I will attempt to answer any questions that you might have over the next couple of days. Thanks.

To offer comments, click on the red "comments" link below.

Who put them in charge?

2010-03-24T12:45:00.000-04:00

Below is a question from the parent of a school child. The parent is frustrated after dealing with school officials. Anyone have an answer? -- Tom Skoch

I always thought Education was the 2nd important thing in life? Your children are your first. I realize in life that without an Education, you will not be successful, I keep instilling that into my children, without an Education you will not have a real good paying job, therefor most of us who applied for a job that requires a strong Education background get that job because we met the qualifications, not because we knew someone in the system, but because we fit the profile requirements for that position, that is what the situation is most of the time, but what about the ones who are in charge of supervising the schools while our children are earning an education. What really qualifies a person to make sure our children are being taught, what qualifies them to make sure they are meeting the expectations of an education? What requirements do they have to meet in order to be in charge? I would think that because Education is very important that the qualified person meets the Degree requirements in order to supervise the education of our children, or have we come down to just put that person in the position because they are willing to do it, or the person supervising the school is a friend of a friend who is a friend. Times have changed, Teachers are under more pressure then ever, and the students are more out of control then ever before, the question is; Do we have the right people, the qualified people to control our environment? I am just a concerned parent.

What's on your mind? Tell the Editor and start a discussion

2010-03-24T11:39:00.002-04:00

Do you have an idea, question or comment on something that can help to improve our communities or this news organization? Click on "comments" below to share your views. Tell the Editor and start a discussion.

Tell the Editor isn't about the editor, it's about the readers' comments

2010-03-23T20:01:00.000-04:00

Recently, The Morning Journal's parent firm, Journal Register Company, created an advisory board of big league media thinkers.
These board members are helping us newspaper types to avoid extinction in the long run. That means helping us to evolve in the new digital world so we can keep up with our readers' needs for information.
Jeff Jarvis is one of our gurus on the board. In his blog, Buzz Machine, Jarvis talked about dealing with reader comments online. Reader comments are the lifeblood of this new blog of mine, Tell the Editor. My hope is to spark conversation that will produce solutions to improve the community and this news organization.
To that end, here is a link to the Jarvis piece on reader comments. I'm offering it to help give you a better idea of where we are going. And if Jarvis sparks your interest, here's a link to video of the talk he had with all of us Journal Register newspaper editors last week in Philadelphia, after an introduction by the new CEO of Journal Register Company, John Paton.

Readers are at the center of our local news evolution

2010-03-21T02:50:00.001-04:00

Take a look at my Sunday column (click here) in today's Opinion section to learn more about the evolutionary changes under way at The Morning Journal and how they put our readers at the center of everything we will be doing as this year unfolds. Then click on the comment link below here at Tell the Editor and let me know what you think about these developments. Or just let me know anything else that you think can help to improve our communities or this news operation. I welcome the conversation.

Stay tuned

2010-03-17T15:39:00.000-04:00

I'm sitting at an editors'meeting right now, hearing some unique ideas that will make a big improvement in your local news. More later...

What's your "fact-checking" policy on letters to the editor?

2010-03-13T15:58:00.001-05:00

That was the basic question posed by a reader who then went on to take me to task for printing "falsehood laden letters all the time." That, he said, was an insult to readers' intelligence and to my obligations as a journalist. What set him off was a three-paragraph letter objecting to the health reform proposal under debate in Congress.

Letters of this type are "political speech" and the statements made in them are given wide latitude. In politics, one mans "truth" is another man's "lie." Think of that classic optical illusion where an image looks like a white vase against a dark background -- but it also looks like two dark faces staring at one another across a white void. It's one image (fact) but it has two entirely different interpretations depending on how you look at it. The "truth" and the "lies" in the health care letter and the reader's objection to it are like that.

Our Opinion Page has the duty to give voice to people's varied views on important issues. That's why we print letters on both sides of any given argument. We don't censor a letter-writer's opinion or interpretation of a political "fact." We give readers credit for having the intelligence to sort out the many differing opinions and interpretations and to make up their own minds.

Fact-checking is reserved mainly for challenging the absurd, such as if a letter stated that Lorain was the capital of the United States, or if someone wrote in thanking the pope for visiting Amherst.

The big problem I had with the little letter that started this discussion is that somehow, a typo snuck into the first paragraph, "Get" came out "et" -- now, that's a journalistic sin. Mea culpa.

So far, so good

2010-03-10T19:50:00.001-05:00

It's the third day for this Tell the Editor blog, and I've been happy with the reception it has gotten so far. I'm hoping it can really grow as a productive and informative conversation on both sides of the computer screen. My thanks to everyone who has sent in a post. The exchange of ideas and information has been enjoyable.

On a related note, The Morning Journal's evolution into a media company that swiftly brings you the news you want, the way you want it, continues as well.

As mentioned previously, we now break news on our Web site, www.MorningJournal.com as it happens, and we update it throughout the day. Reporters are capturing more local news on their Flip video cameras, as well as scribbling facts in their notebooks.

And for the growing number of people who connect with friends and the world through social media such as Facebook and Twitter, The Morning Journal now gives you breaking news Tweets and Facebook posts that link back to the developing stories on our Web site. Reporters Kelly Metz and Megan Rozsa have been especially good at this. Stories, and more, on our Web site also are available by RSS feed.

As day moves into evening and night, the growing body of news information coalesces into the most clear, complete and authoritative accounts available of the day's news. That comprehensive look at local events becomes the contents of The Morning Journal that is delivered in print on paper to your home or office. That newspaper you can consume and digest slowly, at your leisure. Many print stories also tell you how to find extra detail, such as more photos, a video or pertinent documents on our Web site to enhance the story.

Lots more good stuff on the way to tell you about. Stay tuned.

The scoop on the "editorial staff"

2010-03-09T13:51:00.002-05:00

A reader of my March 7 Sunday column, The Editor's Column, posted a comment there suggesting that the "editorial staff" reply to readers' comments on our Editorial Page editorials using their "real names."

This would be my reply: All of the daily Our View editorials are written by Editorial Page Editor Dan Smith and me together. I am the sole writer of The Editor's Column on Sundays and the Tell the Editor blog.

That's all there is, two people. Our names are in the masthead above each day's editorial in print. On the Web site, www.MorningJournal.com, we are listed in the Contact Us section, and my name and photo are on my column and blog.

We write 365 Our View editorials each year. I write The Editor's Column weekly. Responding to dozens of reader comments made over time on all of them isn't practical. We just say everything we have to say in each editorial or column, then stand aside and let readers have their say. We don't make or reply to comments on them.

However, my Tell the Editor blog is now the one easily accessible open door for readers to engage me in conversation about our news and opinion pages, and anything else. I welcome you to use it. There's no way I can miss seeing a comment sent to Tell the Editor.

What's this all about?

2010-03-08T17:12:00.006-05:00

Today brings this first entry in The Morning Journal's new Tell the Editor blog.
What's this all about, you ask? This is my effort, as Editor of The Morning Journal, to engage readers in a continuing discussion. The talk will focus on the local news and opinion delivered daily in print and online at www.MorningJournal.com. I hope the discussion will lead to improvements in our neighborhoods and in this newspaper and its Web site.

That's about it. Whatever is on your mind, please tell me, the editor.

I'll do my best to listen and respond. I've always been happy to do just that, but until now those conversations have been in person, by phone or e-mail. Views also have been expressed through your letters to the editor, and through the newspaper's daily "Our View" editorials and "The Editor's Column" which appears in the Opinion section on Sundays.

Now, this public blog lets others in on the questions and answers that, in the past, might only have been delivered one-on-one. Opening up the conversation will, I hope, help me and my staff to get a better grasp of what's on our readers' minds and help us all make this a better newspaper and a better community.

Let's talk.