Who failed?

We were pleased to see the Rapid City Journal, which still seems to be struggling to find its niche in the expanding media marketplace, opine strongly against a closed meeting conducted by a “Finance Review Committee” of the Rapid City School District.

With all the changes at the Journal over the past 36 months, it’s good to see them sticking to their editorial guns when it comes to open meetings.

And then there’s the school district.

According to the Journal, a group of local leaders was selected by the school district to review district financial affairs and make recommendations to the board. That’s a smart proactive thing to be doing in these tough economic times. Dave Janak, budget manager for the district, is reportedly consulting with the committee and is quoted as saying that the committee is “an arm of our office.” Our hats off to these business folks taking time to help the school district.

We’ve often noted that it’s a whole heck of a lot easier to do business outside the view of the media and the public. But it’s dangerous for the institutions to work with that mindset – and even more dangerous for the public. That’s why we have open meetings laws. There are ample provisions for conducting closed meetings -- personnel, legal, and other sensitive topics – but invoking them should be rare.

Most troubling are the remarks by Superintendent Peter Wharton, indirectly quoted in the Rapid City Journal, that he has no say in whether the public is allowed into the meetings. It sounds to me like he may have shortchanged the committee on guidance regarding their work and how to accomplish it legally.

And committee chairman Dennis Popp says the group isn’t elected and doesn’t represent anybody. Usually, school superintendents and chiefs of police aren’t elected either, but they’re required to do the public’s business….in public!

A retired school superintendent friend of mine said it best when I asked him how many folks would likely attend a public meeting of a financial review committee: “Nobody.”

By closing the meetings, the district and the committee have caused us to wonder why.

The Journal quotes Popp as saying “we don’t feel it would be fair to give the recommendations to the media before the board.”

Mr. Popp should understand that the “media” are something of a surrogate for the public, and this is not an issue of fairness to the board. It’s about the law and conducting business within the healthy view of the citizens served by the school district.

Advertising declines...

“Mounting debt and a sharp drop in advertising” sounds like descriptors for the ailing newspaper industry. With major dailies cutting staff and slimming the size of their papers, smaller companies serving local communities – like some Lee Enterprises Rapid City Journal regional papers (Lawrence County Journal) – have turned to publishing just weekly.

But in this instance, “mounting debt and a sharp drop in advertising” characterizes another struggling media enterprise: commercial radio. Unlike the declining circulation of newspapers, however, radio listening -- according to a recent New York Times article -- is actually increasing. Nonetheless, the radio business seems to be struggling big time.

One of the giants of the industry, Citadel Broadcasting, reportedly has laid off 340 people this year, while CBS Radio has chopped 480 staffers. Another radio conglomerate, Emmis Communications, has reduced its staff by 480.

Of course, most of the impact has been in large metropolitan areas, but heartland radio operations are not impervious to these tough economic times. Competition from other technologies – iPods to satellite radio – is taking its toll.

Readers of this site know of our affection for local broadcast services, and we've often waxed nasty about margers and consolidations. We get little solace from the likelihood that media consolidation costs likely caused some of the radio giants to go deeper into debt as they tried to gorge themselves with even more radio stations.

Again, locally-owned and operated stations are certainly not immune to marketplace vagaries, but good local management can help stave off some of the traps that the big guys have fallen into.

A looming challenge for all the radio industry: what to do about digital radio? That’ll have to be the subject of another session

Shame on GOP leadership

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AN OPEN LETTER TO SOUTH DAKOTA GOP LEADERS

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It’s an unfortunate truth that when we human beings get together in groups, we do silly things that we would not do individually.

Take, for example, some of the honest and well-meaning politicians who serve as leaders of the Republican party in South Dakota. Individually, they may exhibit the thoughtfulness and common sense that we South Dakotans prize in government leaders, whatever their stripe.

But in the fever pitch of campaigning, politicians sometimes go a little nuts. In the 2008 South Dakota State Senate District 31 campaign, state Republican leaders went a lot nuts.

When businesswoman Nyla Griffith of Deadwood, a Democrat, decided to run for the Senate seat being vacated by Republican Jerry Apa, she launched a straightforward campaign in support of education and open government. She beat a path to thousands of doorsteps in Lawrence County, listening to voter concerns and seeking their support. She got lots of it – much more than likely anticipated by opposition GOP candidate Tom Nelson and local/state Republican leaders.

The fear of losing a seat in the Legislature so frightened these folks that they did collectively what a single one of them would probably be averse to doing. They used an 11th hour “Voter Alert” postcard to attack Griffith with information that they knew was not true, and they timed their mailing so she’d have no opportunity to respond before voters went to the polls. They accused her of supporting gun control and the legalization of marijuana – extracting bits and pieces of information that was posted on the non-partisan website Project Vote Smart. Then they cobbled together their venomous and untrue accusations and deposited them in voters mailboxes hours before the election.

Project Vote Smart wasn’t too happy with South Dakota Republican Party over this incident. In a public statement, they rebuked GOP leaders for attacking Nyla Griffith with “information they know to be false.” Read the entire Project Vote Smart Public Statement.

To my knowledge, there’s been no apology for this dastardly deed, and I won’t hold my breath waiting to see one. Hopefully, the few Republican leaders who may have had a hand in this sorry episode will step forward with a bit of contrition and pledge to clean up their act.

This was an unseemly way to try to win votes. Both Republicans and Democrats are not happy over this incident – and persons with an ounce of ethics and common sense understand why. Spearfish writer Lorraine Collins, a Republican, is among the displeased. She shared her thoughts in a Black Hills Pioneer opinion piece this week (11/12/08).

And you can add this Independent blogger to the list of the disenchanted.

The public wins with C-SPAN

I have been a fan of C-SPAN for many years, and I’ve always appreciated their even-handedness in programming. For nearly 30 years, their coverage of Congress and other entities has been superb, offering the American public an opportunity to observe government in action, without editing or commentary. It’s a function that I long felt public broadcasting could and should have served – an unfettered purveyor of high quality public affairs programming focusing on government.

Perhaps such a role for public broadcasting was a bit optimistic, recognizing that a substantial amount of its funding comes from federal and state governments, allowing it to be a whipping boy when things go awry “at the Capitol.” Nonetheless, I wish I had pushed even harder for such a role for public broadcasting during my earlier years in public broadcasting. I proposed such a service several times to the Mississippi legislature -- probably not the ideal venue for such a state service.

C-SPAN was created in 1979 by the U.S. cable television industry and was, I believe, largely the brain-child of Brian Lamb. It was a stroke of genius at just the right time. In these days of heightened media bias – and it does exist – it’s refreshing to find a broadcast service that strives for objectivity and fairness. And their nearly 300 employees usually get it right. According to their website, about 30 million viewers tune in to C-SPAN every week.

When Karen and I retired and took to the road a few years ago, the availability of C-SPAN Radio was a key factor in our subscribing to XM satellite radio, and it was a good investment.

C-SPAN isn’t for everyone, but I find myself mesmerized by the gavel-to-gavel coverage of much floor and committee action in both the U.S. House of Representative and the U.S. Senate. It’s a wonderful insight into the public machinations of our government, albeit sometimes a bit unnerving.

Will Rogers would likely say it’s a pretty good way to keep an eye on the hired help.

Think globally -- act locally!

The United States is in the middle of an eroding economy – a financial crisis the likes of which we’ve not seen in three-quarters of a century. There’s been something of a national debate about a $700 billion federal bailout to save the economy (really to save the big banks and financial institutions – with only “trickle down” benefits to taxpayers, who will foot the bill). Actually, there’s been no real debate about this at all. Not even the presidential candidates have dared candor, assuming they have original thoughts on how to help resolve the crisis. There’s been no public hearing. Nothing. Nada. We’re expected to “trust” the guys who got us in to this mess to get us out.

Indifference, ignorance, and – make no mistake about it – backroom deals with little or no public scrutiny – have led us to this dire point.

As we wring our hands and worry about what will happen next, it’s time to clean house and start rebuilding confidence in government, and we should start locally. We’re within weeks of casting ballots for people and issues that will directly impact our daily lives.

That’s why I’m supporting Nyla Griffith of Deadwood to represent District 31 in the South Dakota State Senate. Her record as a small business owner, service on the Deadwood City Commission, and her many contributions to civic activities have convinced me that she is a smart choice to succeed Jerry Apa in the Senate. Nyla has declared an unswerving commitment to open government. For me, that’s a clincher.

Unless and until we have truly open government, we’re likely to condemn ourselves to the arrogance that many elected officials fall victim to after gaining office. Accountability is the key, and it comes only to the extent that we insist on knowing what our government is up to and what it's doing.

That’s as true in Deadwood and Spearfish as it is in Pierre and Washington, D.C.

A life-long South Dakotan, Nyla Griffith has taken to the streets, going door-to-door in the district, in an effort to garner support for her candidacy. Last I heard, she’d passed the 3,000 mark and is still meeting with would-be constituents at their front doors. That kind of populist campaigning is hard work, but it reflects a real commitment that I believe will serve this area well in the state legislature.

And her commitment to open government is like a breath of fresh air. I’m proud to give my support to Nyla, and I hope others will take a look at her background – and her priorities – and vote for Nyla Griffith on November 4th.