Sometimes I speak to groups and regale them with the dumb stuff we do here at the Express-News which is primarily what I hear about from readers in my capacity as public editor.
I include myself in those disclosures. As a former New York Times cohort said, most of the people who represent readers at newspapers have been around long enough to make every mistake in the book and, it is hoped, learn from them.
Recently, I spoke to the Bexar County League of Women Voters and word filtered back to a colleague here, Metro columnist Carlos Guerra, that I’d been pretty hard on the newspaper.
So this is an attempt to publicly acknowledge some of the good stuff the Express-News does for South Texas readers every day.
My timing is good because Express-News journalists have done a good job lately on a couple of key local stories.
One is the ongoing Battle of Camp Bullis between developers on the one side and a coalition on the other side comprised of the U.S. Army, environmentalists, no-growth and slow-growth area residents, liberals, conservatives and just about everyone else.
God bless Carlos Guerra, is one of the more effusive responses I’ve heard from readers regarding the columnist who has kept this story alive. But others here also are keeping this developing story on Page 1 just about every day.
The Camp Bullis story isn’t over, but the stakes are high. It’s the latest tiff in an ongoing local fight between developers and locals who worry about the potential that development will ruin the area’s water supply. In the case of Bullis, the outcome could affect not only the Edwards Aquifer but also the Army’s presence in San Antonio.
The other story that drew praise from readers was reporter Todd Bensman’s city playground article that broke on Page 1 on June 8.
His investigation found the city park’s director (Malcolm Matthews) lied about regularly inspecting playgrounds and dragged his feet repairing playground equipment.
The mayor and city manager didn’t like the story, and tried to rebut it, but Bensman’s work forced the city to rev up playground equipment repairs immediately and led to Matthews’ resignation under fire.
The above are small local stories, but they’re in the best tradition of American journalism: the Fourth Estate the nominal fourth branch of government exerting checks and balances on the other three.
I realized several years ago, after taking an ill-planned sojourn into politics, that the best way to keep dishonest politicians and government officials honest is for journalists to have a presence in their midst.
Thank God for the First Amendment. Journalism doesn’t always force people to do what they’re supposed to do, but it helps. Were it not for a free and curious press, Richard Nixon might have served out a second term and Bill Clinton would have enjoyed his.
Finally, in 1776, Thomas Paine’s pamphlet, Common Sense, laid out all the reasons why the 13 Colonies should declare their independence from England. We celebrate his wisdom this week.
It all seems quite simple and tidy now, with the 20-20 hindsight of written history behind it, but in 1776, not everyone in America thought it wise to break from Mother England. Paine’s work was a landmark piece of journalism. It requires courage to be a journalist, whether you’re Guerra, Bensman or Thomas Paine.
Two hundred and thirty-two years after Common Sense, what we have, even with all its flaws and foibles, is better than any alternative. And just think, a well-written piece of journalism had a lot to do with it.
