By Seth Boyes,
Seth Boyes, News Editor
There are times when I long for the olden days of newspaperism (no, not a real word, but perhaps it should be). Admittedly, were that the case, I’d have to layout pages by hand with literal typesets, hire some young person to sit beneath the press while melting lead over an open flame and probably hang out at the railway station to get all the good news tips, but the leeway publications of that era were afforded sometimes is quite appealing.
I only say this because I had a bit of a conundrum the other day when someone asked about a press release that was sent to us during this year’s county fair — and the fair seems a lot longer ago while sitting at a news desk, let me tell you. More or less, the announcement that David Sacquitne also received the Winneshiek County Fair’s Lifetime Distinguished Service Award didn’t make it to print — the fact that the award was given to Gary Sacquitne made it on the page nice and timely-like.
Sorry, Dave.
I’ve concluded the fault must lie with me. I likely overlooked the second piece of community news thinking I had already seen it — you know, same award, same surname.
Obviously, I can’t ply the pages of this opinion page each week to shine the proverbial spotlight on every tidbit that doesn’t quite make it to print, but this week I thought mentioning my own oversight might serve as a way to illuminate the mentality that goes into producing a local newspaper 52 weeks a year.
Now, if this were the old days, it would’ve been well within the bounds of convention to simply print a self-deprecating article on the front page, explaining how (and feel free to read this part in an old-timey announcer voice) we’re all so busy here that the sweat of our brows, coupled with the heat of the roaring press room must have cast us into a dizzy spell for a time, as we overlooked a prominent piece of news from the community. Our alternate theory is the pamphlet informing us of the award could have easily been blown by the heavy breeze emanating from the whirling arms of our press crew as they strove to meet deadline, or it may have simply fallen behind a writing desk or other such sundry silent as a cat’s footfall. The staff promises to be more careful in the future and be a little less zealous in their tireless pursuit of printing the written word so as to keep any stray tailwind away from items which require the editor’s full attention (end old-timey announcer voice).
Such a thing wouldn’t quite fly today. Things need to be more formal when it comes to newspapering in the information age — that’s why my best solution for recognizing Mr. Sacquitne’s award so late in the game was to mention it here on the opinion page as part of a broader point.
But at the end of the day, I have to admit I hate making such simple mistakes, despite the fact that I know they’re bound to happen and have been bound to happen since well before newspapers were printed with steam power. So in some ways it’s fitting that I often look back to some poignant words once published by Abraham Benjamin Funk — an Iowa newspaper editor who was pulling pages himself before William McKinley was elected president.
Forgive me, but it’s a long quote.
“No journal, local or other is anywhere near the limits of perfection,” Funk’s paper said in November of 1897. “Even the best editors are made of just common clay and are prone to error. They are criticized as no other men, and good people are frequently unjust in their comments upon their work because they are not in a position to take in the situation as it appears from an editorial standpoint. A newspaper should be judged by its general character – by its manifest purposes and its sum total of accomplishment – and not by any single expression or position. It is so difficult for a newspaper to be always right that its own editor, if he fully realizes the responsibility of his position, is frequently dissatisfied with the work of his own heart and brain. He must feel his way along, with high purpose and unyielding endeavor, determined to make as few mistakes as possible, and make the same mistake no more than once. His readers ought to take him as he means, and his meaning may be comparatively plain after he has served a little while. Remember that he has to keep talking, and commit his talk to the unalterable print. To keep still upon a subject of public importance is cowardice; to talk is to run the gauntlet of public opinion.”
I say this not to imply that the readers of Decorah have been unduly critical of this paper — they haven’t. I say this to confess that I too am made of but common clay and prone to error from time to time — even those so small as overlooking a fair-time press release. And I think admitting one’s mistakes in such a way helps demonstrate that the common threads on which past editors of Iowa’s legacy newspapers hung their heartstrings are still as strong as ever here in this community.
Agree with Seth? Think he’s got it completely backwards or he’s missed the point entirely? Let your voice be heard. Letters to the editor may be emailed to editor@decorahleader.com or dropped off at 110 Washington St. Suite 4 in Decorah.
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