Editor’s note: I was a presenter at a Thursday, January 22, 2015, panel discussion hosted by The Whiteside Forum, “Mass Media in Modern Society: Local News and Issues.” I began a feature article about it the next morning and paused to review emails. There was a complete review of the event, written by Jacklyn Hanson, Inter Lineas Photography, of Morrison, IL.
She stated, “Last night I was present at The Whiteside Forum discussion about Mass Media, at the Odell [Public] Library[, 307 S. Madison Street, Morrison]. A comment was made [by Rosemary Coplan] at the very end of the meeting, that there was no journalist there to publish an article about the local media. I hope you can use [my article] for thecity1.com.”
Indeed, Jacklyn, and with pleasure. Below is her piece.
Consuming news is a part of people’s daily lives, either through a Facebook time line, a Twitter feed, or all the way to the “old-fashioned” print newspaper that lands on driveways and doorsteps around Whiteside County.
The Whiteside Forum held a presentation last night at the Odell Public Library at 6:30 p.m. called “Mass Media in Modern Society: Local News and Issues.” This was the first of three different presentations which hope to help inform the public about the role that media play in the lives of the public here in Whiteside County. Four members at the head of the local media came to talk with members of the public about the role of local newspapers and media within their lives.
The presenters were Tom Shaw-the CEO of Shaw Media; Stephanie Vavra-Owner and Publisher of thecity1.com; Sam Fisher-Publisher at Sauk Valley Media and President of the Illinois Press Association; Alan Sivell-former WQAD-TV reporter and Professor of Communications at St. Ambrose University[, Davenport, IA]. A discussion was held for almost two hours between the presenters and the members of the public.
After each presenter finished their introductions, the members of the public were encouraged to ask questions about topics that held interest for them about local media and newspapers. Topics of “soft news” versus “hard news,” how…reporters get stories from the public, and how technology is forcing newspapers to change their reporting methods were discussed.
Other topics and questions asked ranged from…the money-making model for local print newspapers, to how journalists were viewed by the public they serve. There was even discussion of how local news from Whiteside County differs from media outside the United States.
Members of the public, through these questions, learn more about the how the news in the local newspapers is collected, reported, edited, and sent out into the world. Tom Shaw, owner of Shaw Media, talked about following consumers, as more people are changing their habits of viewing the news.
An example of this is the rising amount of traffic directed at the saukvalley.com website through mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.
The local newspapers want to cover the issues that have the most impact on the community around them.
…Examples of the works produced by Shaw Media were available for the people who attended to look over and study.
Discussions were raised about how journalists have to form connections with the community, the different laws involved with journalism, and how the ages of journalists are getting younger….
Two more presentations of this nature will be held…[by] The Whiteside Forum. These gatherings will…address mass media from different angles.
- “Mass Media in Modern Society: Culture, Bias, and Censorship” will be held on Thursday, February 26, at Odell [Public] Library at 6:30 p.m.
- A third presentation, “Mass Media in Modern Society: National and International News and Issues,” will be held on Friday, April 24, at 7:00 p.m.
All of these events are free and open to the public.