05-07-2010 JOHNSON COUNTY SUN IS COMMUNITY ASSET It almost seems that in these days of instant national news and analysis, the role of community newspapers takes on a new importance. Much of the content in local papers is often overlooked by major metropolitan papers. Promotions, awards, groundbreakings and local events are virtually ignored by big city papers. A classic example was the recent edition of the Johnson County Sun. The front page of the May 5 issue featured a wonderful story written by staffer Kristin Babcock about an elementary school principal, Alejandaro Schlagel, of Bonjour Elementary in Lenexa. Babcock related that when Schlagel learned that fourth grader Alexis Burkeholder was losing her hair because of treatments for leukemia, he offered to shave his to support her. He did. But Schlagel even took it another step. He said if the school raised $1,000 to help the little girl with medical expenses he would let Burkeholder shave his head in front of the Bonjour students. And he did. It was a great story. In another section, stalwart sports editor Mark Dewar put together an "All-Sun Boys Basketball" team (LINK). Not only does this involve extensive research (and hand-wringing), but for many of the players named this might be the highlight of their careers. It is a memory they will have forever.
Incidentally, Sun Co-publisher Steve Rose (who has written columns for 42 years) was classy enough to admit that a column he had previously written that included a quiz about Tea Party members missed the mark. "In the original test, I realize now I ridiculed many good people, along with the few not-so-good," wrote Rose. "In retrospect, the quiz was not at all fun or funny. It was offensive. For that, I apologize."
ROSE CONDUCT IMPECCABLE "Steve's conduct in addressing the fallout from his column has been impeccable and demonstrates the highest journalistic standards.Others in this area could benefit from his example."
STEVE ROSE... "We at Sun Publications are very flattered and appreciative of the nice piece you did on us. I am personally grateful, as well. I enjoy your site very much and read it often. Keep up the good work." Regards, Steve Rose
05-08-2010 NEW SITE FOR NORTHLAND "I agree that community papers like the JOCO Sun are valuable sources of news and information. Unfortunately, the Northland Sun papers were closed recently, leaving our area with very little local news coverage. "I thought you might be interested in a new website I created to hopefully help fill some of that void: www.gladmo.com. It's a hyper-local news aggregation site that uses RSS feeds from a variety of local news and social media websites to gather information about the Gladstone/Northland area in one place. "It's certainly not as valuable as a dedicated news staff writing unique content, but it's better than nothing. Check it out if you get a chance. I don't have any elaborate plans for the site, nor do I plan to compete with any of the major news outlets in town. It's just something I thought would be useful both for myself and the people in my community." ---Thanks, Ben McClanahan
Copyright 2010 Bottom Line Communications. BLC is a Media News Web site that analyzes media and marketing issues. Please give credit or link to http://www.bottomlinecom.com when using any materials. Click on the FEEDBACK tab to send any media tips/comments/thoughts to us. We honor all off-the-record requests and will correct/clarify any information found not to be 100% accurate.
