The Dogood Letters

2009-11-27T16:34:00.000-08:00

I started this blog so many months ago just to point out what I thought about the goings on of my city. Until this week, I fumbled along almost completely unnoticed. I appreciated the blogs that brought attention to this humble effort. My eyes lit up when I saw the page views after this website was mentioned on the Arkansas Times blog. In just a few short days, the number has dropped nearly to what it was for most of those months. I have failed to draw an audience with my ramblings, but those readers I have are apparently from one of the newspapers and hurling accusations at old employees, oddly from both papers. Many included details that shouldn't have been told to a complete stranger, so it appears they would prefer to conduct a witch hunt than actual discuss the merits of what I say. As this is simply an anonymous webpage that is so easily overlooked, I would have encouraged them to ignore me rather than try to place blame, even misguidedly so. Whether the newspapers intend to improve, who knows. At this point, I have given up hope, and I will do what is my right to do and cancel my subscription. Maybe I will find new purpose for this place, and maybe not.

Read in order

2009-11-25T17:34:00.000-08:00

As a standalone piece, the story about Tuesday's Committee of 13 meeting highlights the confusion inherent at the county administration, but combined with other recent stories, it paints a drastically different picture.

The story in Wednesday's paper by Tabatha Hunter outlines this particular situation well. Millions of dollars spent on buildings and confusion over the direction the county is taking. The most telling passage is this one:

Many people who attended the meeting in support of the proposal to move the county Health Department into the Center for Nonprofits left the meeting following the committee’s decision to purchase the property on Runway Boulevard, feeling the committee had also decided not to move the Health Department.

The Health Department supporters clearly considered this a one-or-the-other deal, and with good reason. You must only go back as recently as Friday's paper and read this story to see that County Judge Dave Bisbee is already shifting taxes, at the detriment of the cities, to make ends meet. You can read this Tuesday story to see more on the reaction from the mayors. Now you return to the original story to see that the county is "spending nearly all of the money the county is expected to have in reserve during the next three years," and you can't help but wonder what funds the county can shift if the economy doesn't recover or if, as everyone suspects, the county loses a ton of revenue following the release of the 2010 census. It will have to move something around, because the reserves will be empty.

Despite the Justices of the Peace approving the proposals to forward them to committee. Hunter speculates that the building proposals will fail. For the sake of the county, I hope she's right.

News slowing for the week

2009-11-24T14:39:00.000-08:00

Thursday is Thanksgiving, which means the cities, counties and businesses are slowing work on their noteworthy projects. For the most part, they want to hit a milestone when they can keep working at a decent pace instead of stopping for a holiday. It also means the news stories are slowing.
Tuesday's paper did feature a story about the county mayors sounding off against County Judge Dave Bisbee. The story is fine, but it's just more quotes added to the sentiment in the original story. Extended holiday periods, especially Thanksgiving week, Christmas/New Year's week and Easter week, prove difficult to beat reporters, but when reporting is not an option, writing shines. Look for the features this week to allow any writers left to shine.

Wonder why ...

2009-11-24T14:27:00.000-08:00

The online edition of the Rogers Morning News includes 10 pages. The online edition of the Daily Record has 9 pages. The difference is Page 8, missing from the Record. It's the comics, crosswords and Dear Abby. It's just as well the Record does not have it, as the Morning News page does not allow anything to be magnified large enough to be read. I know the subscription price for online is less than for the print product, but I thought that was due to lower material costs, not a reduction in content.

When I'm wrong ...

2009-11-23T13:19:00.000-08:00

I had previously decried the work of CEI on the Lake Atalanta project as self-serving and self-promoting. I actually still believe that. But I would like to change my position on one aspect. In the prior post, I criticized a number of Lake Atalanta proposals, but the one in question here is a waterfall that I described as unnecessary and exorbitant. I said it had no purpose.
I was, however, presented with a possible explanation today. A waterfall would churn the lake, helping keep it cleaner looking and lowering the temperature, which would allow for stocking of fish. I can understand that. Of course, I look forward to seeing this explanation coming from CEI, but I'm taking the waterfall off my list. The paddle boats and splash pad, in case you were wondering, are still making me scratch my head.

What took so long?

2009-11-23T13:11:00.000-08:00

I've never been a fan of commentary on pages reserved for news, but if it's appropriately marked, so be it. But if you're going to do it, at least have some conviction.

Leeanna Walker's page two commentary takes a cheap shot at the City of Rogers because, well, I guess because she keeps hearing construction noises a block from a construction site.

Kerphlump!

The noise was enough to send me into the leave-the-streets-alone category. Almost.

Kerphlump! Kerphlump!

So we've gotten that out of the way. Yes, construction is noisy. And to address the other points in her commentary, yes, downtown Rogers is often ugly, especially its streets. And yes, the construction timing was unfortunate.
But how were any of those facts different before the Kerphlump came to her doorstep? The construction schedule was provided well before the council voted to begin construction. And although the work doesn't appear to be keeping up, there was no question the project as a whole would not be finished before Christmas. Where was the commentary, Leeanna, when the scheduled could have been changed?
As I remember, there were only two residents to ever speak against the project when it was still a proposal. And only Councilman Bob Goodwin suggested an exploration of alternative methods. You see, anyone willing to stand up before a united front and suggest their method may not be the best.
It's one thing to sit back and take pot shots after the fact, but it's tragic to do so when you could have been involved in avoiding the problem from the start.

Quick thoughts

2009-11-22T21:06:00.000-08:00

Somehow Jeff Mores has seemingly increased his production of Crystal Bridges stories since his departure. Those who have paid attention to the paper probably noticed the lack of live coverage from Mores, but that did not stop him from getting in just one more last story about Alice Walton's huge pat on the back. You have to wonder when they'll end.
But while the Daily Record continues destroying its reputation by printing each and every one of these stories on the front page, the Morning News found a proper location for it, page 12. Sadly, even though Mores no longer works for Northwest Arkansas Newspapers, he remains one of its best reporters.
Happy reading.

A little fact checking goes a long way

2009-11-22T21:02:00.000-08:00

On Friday, Arvest Bank became the first bank, according to Lana Flowers of the Morning News, to offer an iPhone application specifically for its own customers. That impressive bit of news comes as a shock to the Bank of America customers who have been using an app specific to their bank for the better part of a year.

To properly break this down, I will include first the entire quoted passage, and then we will break things down individually.

Arvest is the first bank to have its own specific iPhone application, said Jason Kincy, vice president of alternative delivery for Arvest Bank. He does marketing, public relations and web communications for the bank. Arvest has about 14,000 mobile banking customers and about half use iPhones, he said.

There are other mobile banking applications available, but the Arvest application will use the iPhone geographic positioning system. It will determine where a customer is, then pull information about the closest automatic teller machines and branch locations, Kincy said. The Arvest iPhone application also will show branch hours and give driving directions.

So to get right to it, we'll start at the beginning. Is Arvest, as quoted by Flowers, "the first bank to have its own specific iPhone application?"
According to Apples listings on the iPhone App Store, which is readily viewable through iTunes without an account, Bank of America posted Version 2.0 of its app on Jan. 12, 2009.
So Arvest missed one; it happens, right?
Wells Fargo Version 1.1.0 posted Aug. 30, 2009.
PNC Mobile Banking Version 1.4 posted on Nov. 17, 2009.
USAA, a company offering insurance and banking to those in the military, posted Version 2.0.3 of its banking software on Sept. 25, 2009.
Amarillo National Bank posted Version 1.0 on Sept. 1, 2009.
Keep in mind that, with the exceptioin of Amarillo National Bank, all of these applications have been upgraded, improved with newer versions, meaning the actual release date is earlier. Also remember that the dates are maintained by Apple, not the uploading entity.

Second, we can take their second claim, that Arvest's app is the first to "use the iPhone geographic positioning system" to determine the closest branch and ATM. It's a great feature. I've used it. There is no doubt about the convenience, but we have only to look at the 11-month-old Bank of America application to debunk the claim. The claim on the BoA app, which is tested by Apple before becoming available to the public, reads, "Use our ATM and banking center Locator to find the neares location with a simple touch of a button, no address input required." I remind you again that this app version was posted Jan. 12, 2009.

Finally, we'll address the unspoken claim, that this app is a mobile banking app. Nowhere in the story does anyone from Arvest or app designer Rockfish Interactive say mobile banking is available through this application. They also did not, apparently, go out of their way to make sure Ms. Flowers understood what could obviously have caused some confusion. This application does nothing except tell customers where to find a branch or an ATM. Arvest's mobile banking has been and remains available on iPhone through an application called Mobile Banking on AT&T. It is not a bad application, but it could use a few bells and whistles. Mobile alerts for account activity (as opposed to e-mail alerts) would keep it up with its competitors. But it's proved a suitable application for Arvest and the 25 or so other banks offering it to their customers.

It would be easy, following this story, to blame Arvest for dishonest self-promotion to a gullible reporter, and I'm going to do just that. Your flagrant disregard for honest communication casts shame onto the Walton name. (What? You didn't know one of Sam's sons started Arvest? Why do you think it's in all the Wal-Marts?) What did you stand to gain from your dishonesty? Arvest is already the biggest banking chain in the area, and Bank of America, the company that beat you to the punch, hasn't posed much of a threat. But we'll see what happens when your competitor calls the Morning News looking for justice.

I am not letting Lana off the hook so easily. Oh, Lana, poor Lana. Being a second-rate reporter at a second-rate newspaper (and only second rate because you can only consider nothing as a good alternative once) is no excuse for not doing basic simple fact checking. Do you know how many people have an iPhone around you? It takes one call to the City of Rogers, where Rufus Ramey is upgrading employees from Blackberrys to iPhones at a serious pace. Anyone who has received one, from the mayor down, could have quickly checked for you, as could many of your coworkers. Which reminds me, of all the editors I've seen sporting an iPhone, which read this story and thought to double check the facts? Shame on you. Shame on you all. Of course, that lack of diligence and disregard of the readers is what anyone reading this has come to expect. Bravo.
And, to the rest of you:
Happy reading.

Quick thoughts

2009-11-21T14:29:00.000-08:00

The Daily Record has 13 pages in its online "replica edition." For those who didn't understand last time, a newspaper cannot have an odd number of pages, as they print on both sides. The Morning News, however, has only 10 pages, but that probably has something to do with it being last Saturday's issue.

Support your local whiz kid

2009-11-21T14:19:00.000-08:00

Scott Bedwell, a senior at Bentonville High School, has created an iPhone application. It's a product most of you probably won't use, as it automatically skips from one song in your iPhone library to the next prematurely. The kids are loving it, but it's not going to be popular with adults, but only because they won't get it.

But does it really matter if you will use it? We try so much to promote the value of Benton County, its educational system, its entrepreneurs. Well, now put your money where your mouth is. Bedwell's app is only 99 cents, the lowest price allowed by Apple other than free. It won't be a big hit on your wallets.
And let me suggest a more radical step: Buy the app even if you don't have an iPhone or iPod. All you need is a computer and iTunes (a free program from Apple) and no one will stop you from buying an application for equipment you don't own.
Why do this? Because it promotes our local talent. Because it shows the world Benton County cares for its own. Because Benton County needs to care for its own.
And Scott, when people do buy your app, take my advise and put it away for college or, if you get a scholarship, as seed money for your startup. We have high hopes for you. Good luck.

One of these things is not like the others

2009-11-21T14:04:00.000-08:00

I can add. You can add. Why can't the newspapers add?

The county's millage snafu has the cities pissed. I get that. But why isn't everyone pissed?
According to the local reporting, Rogers is losing $325,000 from the county shifting its road taxes into its general fund, where it doesn't have to share. Bentonville is losing $250,000. Siloam Springs is losing $50,000. We can add, so we do, and that totals $625,000. That is from losing its portion of the two mills removed from the road fund and put into the county general fund.
If we look at that word, "portion," we realize that means the county received a portion of the road fund anyway. Maybe this is just poor wording from the newspaper, but this is starting to look very bad, because the county is only gaining an additional $325,000 in revenue.
So there's a two mill shift in appropriation, but the taxpayers are paying 0.1 mill less. By these numbers alone, that means the three cities listed are short $625,000, the county is up $325,000, and the taxpayers are raking in nearly half that amount in reduced taxes based on a reduction that is 0.05 percent of the reallocation. But it gets worse. The city's loss does not include those of the small cities, the ones whose plight convinced two Justices of the Peace to vote against the change.
What we come away with here is that the cities lost a lot of money, the taxpayers gained almost nothing (only $1 on a $100,000 home) and the county gained less than half what the cities lost.
I am left with only one question. Where is the money? There are only three possible explanations that I can find:

The newspaper is wrong because reporters never learned math. A highly likely statement, but even someone who can't add better than an elementary schooler should realize the disparity between the numbers.
The county can't add. This would seem less likely, but those who remember the Bella Vista budgeting snafu, in which Comptroller Richard McComas forgot to remove revenue from the newly incorporated Bella Vista from budget projections, may be more likely to accept this answer.
The money is somewhere the county (or those running it) doesn't want you to know about. Maybe it's in a controversial project or maybe it's in someone's pocket. Either way, the last thing they want is for anyone to know about it.

Judge Bisbee, show me the money!

Quick thoughts

2009-11-20T17:11:00.000-08:00

Daisy has been headquartered in Rogers since 1958. There have been 16 annual Daisy International BB Gun Championships. All of them have been in Bowling Green, Ky. It's about time they figured out what it means to give back to the community. You may say, "Welcome to Rogers." I say, "What took you so damn long?"

Taxing less to take more

2009-11-20T17:06:00.000-08:00

County Judge Dave Bisbee is apparently hoping everyone is so happy about their millage decrease that they don't look deeper into the where the money they are still spending will go. But this isn't just an anti-Bisbee story. This is a problem that started well before Judge Black retired.

If we look at the story by Tabatha Hunter, you'll find a few gems that, by themselves, look like nothing.

"Under the new millage rates, the taxes collected for the county general fund will be raised from 4.8 mills to 5.0 mills while the county road fund tax is lowered from 2.2 mills to 1.9 mills."

The county, theoretically, collects less money on property taxes — one-tenth of one percent, the equivalent of $1 (not Hunter's $2) on a $100,000 home. Whether $1 or $2, the decrease doesn't take a lot of value from the county tax rolls. One-tenth of one percent, to be exact.
But there's also the shift in taxes, rom the road fund to the general fund. The reason is that the county doesn't have to share the general fund. Because of the shift, Rogers will lose $325,000 and Bentonville will be short $250,000, according to the Daily Record.
But none of this would be necessary if Benton County had been smarter with its money for the last few years.
Before we go too far, we must point out that Bisbee was set up to lose on this one.
The downfall started in 2008. Unfortunately the details come only from my memory, as the newspaper online archives have been wiped from the Web sites. In 2008, the Daily Record ran a story showing the big oops. Comptroller Richard McComas told the Justices of the Peace that, oops, he and his staff had forgotten to remove Bella Vista revenues from the 2008 budget projections. That meant that the county would not meet the projections for the year. So they did what any intelligent government would do when facing a certain recession and a budget shortfall. They raised their projected revenue growth.
On paper, it worked. For the rest of 2008, the county received remarkably high revenues, allowing them to meet their expenditures without cutting spending. Then the recession hits, and the county starts panicking.
For a comparison, you have to look to Rogers and Bentonville. Times have been tough, and both cities have been trying to squeeze everything they can out of the leanest budgets. But they also have a contingency plan. Back in 2008, when money was flowing, they added to their reserve funds, increasing that "rainy day" fund in case the local economy gets even worse, which it technically has now that the county is taking money out of their pockets.

Quick thoughts

2009-11-19T15:01:00.000-08:00

The online "replica edition" of Thursday's Rogers Morning News contained nine pages. Just think about that for a little bit.

A familiar song

2009-11-19T14:54:00.000-08:00

There was a familiar tune playing across the front page of the Morning News Thursday.

MAJORITY IS DONE: Work Nearing Completion

Then, in the subhead: "Veterans Park Improvements Almost a Year Behind Schedule."

Somehow, I feel like someone is playing a joke on us all.

This ongoing drama has been a nightmare for the city, and the community has now adopted a believe-it-when-I-see-it approach to the park. It's had almost as many expected completion dates as it has subcontractors. Both numbers are way too high.

In fairness, there wasn't a whole lot the city could have done differently. They chose the low bidder, as required by state law, because Bossler hadn't yet shown itself to be incompetent. But now, the revised completion date is a recurring item on the Parks and Recreation Commission agenda. John Mack said he'll make sure the project is finished by Dec. 31, but with his track record with Veterans Park alone, his reputation is now soiled. Some inside City Hall have said no one involved with Veterans Park will ever work with the city again, although for some of them, that promise must wait until existing contracts are completed. But that doesn't change the fact that, for the second straight year, Rick Stocker is trying to figure out if those fields will be finished before baseball and softball season. At least the fields are game-ready, even if they did have to be jimmy-rigged to pull that off.

Play ball.

What to make of Colton's

2009-11-18T19:43:00.000-08:00

The headline said it all. Colton's Doing Its Part For Sharing And Caring. That's it. Not going above and beyond, not doing the extraordinary, just doing its part.

There will be no congratulations offered to Colton's on these pages. Doing its part means doing what it was supposed to be doing anyway. To paraphrase Chris Rock (and in a far less humorous way) you do not congratulate anyone for making sure their kids are fed. It's what you're supposed to do.
But this raises questions about the submissions of Tabatha Hunter. This is the reporter who, for months, broke story after story about County Judge Dave Bisbee, highlighting incompetence, outlining mismanagement, hinting at corruption. Now she's working, effectively, for the Morning News, and those stories are no more prevalent now than they were pre-merger under editor Rusty Turner.
Then again, Hunter is responsible for such classics as "Whatever happened to the cassette tape?" So this could all just be part of her tradition of writing stories that are of absolutely no benefit for her readers. Only time will tell which is the case.

Before I close, I want to leave no question that I support the work of Sharing and Caring, which pairs needy children with willing Santa Clauses in the community. It's a shame that this sort of thing happens only once a year, as a few Christmas presents do not remove children from poverty. So my recommendation is twofold. Support Sharing and Caring now, starting with a phone call to 657-6884; support another charitable organization all year long.

School haze

2009-11-18T19:31:00.000-08:00

Rogers Public Schools is changing its curriculum. Yup, that's it. That's about all we know about this subject. Let's hope they do a better job teaching their students than informing the public.

For the sake of disclosure, we are not sure whether to blame the school district or reporter Caleb Fort. In the district's defense, all we have is what Fort told us in his story. The district is removing three courses, and Fort lists three. The district is changing 29 courses, and Fort lists two. The district is adding seven courses, and Fort lists one. And the reasons behind the changes are vague and uninformative.
But in Fort's defense, the district hasn't gone out of its way, at all, to tell people about these changes. The school board approved the measure Tuesday, but the public was hardly prepared to discuss proposed changes intelligently. If it wanted to let people know what was going on, wouldn't the best place be on the district's Web site? But there isn't even a meeting agenda available online.
In education terms, the district taught us addition today when the calculus test was yesterday.
Happy learning.

More than a balanced budget?

2009-11-18T19:18:00.000-08:00

Why is the Daily Record wasting front page s pace on the Bella Vista Property Owners Association, an organization that made itself nearly irrelevant in its own boundaries, let alone in Benton County, but still has not comes to terms with it. And for what? Well, it's the ultra-exciting demand by its members that the budget "break even."

You might wonder, isn't it important for the POA budget to break even? Maybe, but not like you might think. On a national scale, when such a phenomenon is called a balanced budget, making the expenses match revenue can be the difference between a golden age and years of escalating debt passed on for at least three generations. State law, however, dictates that counties and municipalities operate under a balanced budget. There is an allowance for bonds, but those are different than loans in that the process is more akin to buying and selling stocks than taking out a loan, although it does result in the city receiving a lump sum up front and repaying it with interest.
But effectively, every budget is balanced if no money is borrowed. If the POA wants a balanced budget, it just must not borrow money. When the cash runs out, you stop spending. That's what most of us do in our own homes.
But that still brings us back to the initial question. Why is the POA relevant to Benton County, and why is it relevant to the Daily Record? I understand that those who are members of the POA would want this information, but ever since the city incorporated, the POA has been unable to give up its superiority complex, and those at the newspaper have gone along with it. News about the POA routinely rates the front page, but issues in Bella Vista government get buried inside. But, then again, this is the same newspaper that merged four independent publications into one cookie-cutter paper, told readers through four identical editorials that each paper would maintain an independent voice and then criticized bloggers with an opposing viewpoint of encouraging groupthink. This is certainly an organization with a solid sense of perspective.
Happy reading.

Quick thoughts

2009-11-17T14:54:00.000-08:00

Maybe this means nothing, but for the first time I've noticed, the Daily Record's sports section has been relegated to the final two pages of the newspaper, the pages previously reserved for comics (I still gag over that) and weather. I don't know that this means anything, but I thought it worth noting in case I eventually determine some relevance. Anyone with any insight is welcomed to comment.
Happy reading.

Signs, signs, everywhere there's signs

2009-11-17T14:50:00.000-08:00

As predicted, the downtown intersection replacements have been a bit of a nightmare for many of the local merchants. The detour signs, supposedly, are deterring would-be customers. Well, the city hopes to change the merchants' fortunes by changing the signs.

The timing may not have been ideal. Sure we're heading into the holiday season, but any time is going to create problems, and most would have eventually run into the holidays anyway.
New signs will say welcome, say excuse our mess, say please don't turn around. But despite it all, the fact that the signs are there at all will still say detour, construction causing problems.
At this point, however, there is little the city can do, since it is still unconstitutional to require everyone in the city spend money in downtown Rogers.
I will go on record as saying the city is no longer the cause of ills in downtown Rogers. When there are no improvements in the historic district, the people complain. When the improvements begin, the people complain. If the downtown was doing well, the city would not have considered such a grand scheme as brick harvesting. That customers are still not coming in should be no surprise.
Maybe this is the time to revisit the last year, in which a lot of progress was made since — I'll say it — Marge Wolf left Main Street Rogers and Kerry Jensen took over. The merchants have been more willing to work together and with Main Street, but the downtown is still just hosting events, not drawing people in. With all this cooperation, maybe it is time to encourage a few more people downtown with some actual, shopping-related events. I know it's hokey, but perhaps it's time for a district-wide sale. A blowout holiday event to rival anything going on at the Promenade. Just, for the love of god, don't try to compete directly with the Promenade.
Happy shopping.

The definition of downtown

2009-11-16T13:01:00.000-08:00

The front page of the Morning News declared a victory in a part of Rogers that has needed some good news: Downtown Adds New Businesses.
I was excited, ecstatic even, in reading that they include a shoe store, an upscale men's clothier, and a book store. The details, however, left me wanting something more, like perspective.
So in lieu of any perspective from the Morning News, I'll offer my own, one by one.

The shoe store in question is New Balance, right there in the heart of downtown Rogers near the corner of Dixieland and Walnut. Yes, merely 23 stones throws, give or take from those historic brick streets. And New Balance opened in September. Hasn't anyone thought this newsworthy until now. It's a little late to be celebrating its opening, so maybe a different angle would have been more appropriate. And no, I don't think including the reported price of renovation counts.
Bauman's Fine Clothiers may be an upscale mens clothing store, but it is located in The Shoppes at Pinnacle Hills. I don't think I need to say anything more.
Of the three Trolley Line Bookshop is the only business in downtown Rogers, and could be a nice addition to the merchant base. I have yet to venture into it, but I have added it to my list. My only concern, and it is a relatively small one, is that Trolley Line will cut into the business of the nearby Friendly Bookstore, owned and operated by the Friends of Rogers Public Library with the express purpose of supporting the library. The non-profit shop is one every Rogers resident should patronize. I am hoping, meanwhile, that Trolley Line fills a different niche in the market and the two can coexist peacefully.

To be fair to Lana Flowers' article, while the pointlessness of the story was accurately reflected, the poor choice of headline appears to be another's fault. The online story is printed under a different headline: New Balance Open, Bookstore Coming To Downtown Rogers. It's a mouthful and inspires no one to read the story, but at least it's accurate. So to the copy editors and page designers: Read the story before you change the headline. Please.
Happy reading.

A map and a compass

2009-11-15T19:44:00.000-08:00

Only two stories made it on the front page of Benton County's newspaper(s) today. There was, of course, the obligatory military story mandated by Warren Stephens himself. Today was Day 8. Are they making this a month-long series that has yet to have covered anything local?
The other depended on which edition of the paper you received. In the Daily Record, it was a story about school bus safety. But that apparently wasn't important enough for the Morning News, which went with a hunting story.
So why was there only room for two stories? Because someone high up thinks you're not smart enough to find your way through the paper.

The section is called "Getting Started," because, presumably, the readers need help ... getting started. I don't know if that's true, but it sounds like something the people who run these papers would themselves find useful. What the section does is give you a snippet of a story that appears elsewhere in the paper, because, I guess, we're too impatient or too stupid to turn the pages and realize there is more news (and I use that term loosely) inside.
When we look at the business plan, logic comes up lacking. There used to be two or three stories (printed elsewhere in the Record or the Democrat Gazette) highlighted across the top of the Daily Record. Today's Morning News highlights one, while the Daily Record highlights zero. The purpose of the highlights, of course, is to advertise the product to those passing by, those who may be looking at it in a newspaper rack or inside a gas station, in the hopes that one of the stories will entice a sale.
So the new format — can I call them anything but lowlights? — appear below the fold, at the bottom of page one. We have now eliminated any marketing benefit. Once someone is in the position to see the bottom of page one, they also now own the paper. "Getting Started" probably won't make anyone decide to buy another paper.
The only benefit I can think of is that "Getting Started" could help readers identify the interests, politics or biases of the respective newspapers, as each paper can apparently choose its own stories. The Morning News, today, lowlighted a sports story, which makes sense only if Record metro editor Mike Jones moved to the Rogers office or the two papers are becoming the inevitable regurgitation of each other. The Daily Record's lowlight is about Washington County finances, which makes sense only if your paper is in Washington County.
Happy reading.

Sign of the times?

2009-11-14T10:08:00.000-08:00

More good news for downtown Rogers, although it comes in an unlikely form. The heralded intersections are apparently causing some grief for a few of the downtown merchants, which was generally expected. But the downtown and Mayor Steve Womack are becoming even greater allies in the fight to attract more customers to the historic district.

New, positively-worded signs will now inform motorists that there may be construction downtown, but the shops are open. Personally, I have found it entertaining to simply visit the downtown, leaning against a planter or wall, an watching the crews tear open the road. So far, there have been a number of discoveries, particularly that of electrical cables powering those once prominent, ground level streetlights.
But the project is far from finished, and unless the businesses can find a way to attract more customers (as some are reporting traffic has been cut in half), there could very well be fewer businesses when the intersections all reopen.
A note to prospective downtown patrons: Only two intersections will ever be closed at one time, the plan being to maintain plenty of space for parking and u-turns, while traffic will not be diverted more than a block in any direction. I encourage everyone, even with the construction, to patronize the downtown merchants. Any purchases would benefit the local community and the people who live here, not go to some unknown headquarters for a retail business and line the pockets of anonymous board members (unless it's Wal-Mart, in which case they're not anonymous but have enough money already).

Justifications

2009-11-14T10:07:00.000-08:00

Northwest Arkansas Newspapers feels that it must justify Judge Jay Finch's decision to continue driving rather than pulling over for an ununiformed constable. Judge Finch did fine for himself. What this shows, however, is an inability for the paper to change directions once it sets its tone of coverage.

When Finch "ran from the law," as last Saturday's front page story would have you believe, he pointed out one fact that is all but being skimmed over. It is illegal for constables to effect a traffic stop when not wearing a uniform. The official position of the Arkansas Constable Association admits it is against the law, but says it's also not that important. Those who enforce the laws, however, must be servants of that law, following it to the letter. The problem with constables, however, is that they are elected, not hired and not trained. Effectively, the constables are barely better than volunteer cops (who receive a small salary) in that there is no requirement to undergo six months of extensive training as full-time police officers must. Many sheriffs throughout Arkansas have complained, at least off the record, that constables often interfere with official law enforcement actions. It is time for them to go away, having outlived their usefulness. Unfortunately, the only way to accomplish that would be through new state legislation, if not an amendment to the state constitution.
Maybe NWA Newspapers can re-examine its position on constables breaking the law, but I doubt we will see that. Anyone with the power to question the status quo has been long eliminated, pushed out, laid off or otherwise chased away. This is not the newspaper Benton County deserves and does not have to be the one with which it's stuck. Do something before you're cheerleaded into a community you no longer recognize.

Flake Atalanta

2009-11-13T20:30:00.000-08:00

There is a breath of in the city's possible Lake Atalanta plans, mostly in that there is not a two-mile water feature running from downtown Rogers to the lake. CEI Engineering, for as long as it's been involved in the Lake Atalanta "restoration" has been stricken with sky's-the-limit disease, proposing a project that would cost more than the entire parks portion of the 2011 bond issue, let alone the portion the mayor is allocating to this specific park.
But that does not mean all the superfluous expenditures are gone.
Morning News reporter John Gore barely contains his snicker by going to Mayor Steve Womack early in the story for a quote about how the Lake Atalanta plan is low on his list of priorities.

"“We have been very transparent about our plans. Clearly our No. 1 goal, which has been no secret, is the building of a nice outdoor aquatic center,” Womack said.

But if a manmade stream running from the somewhere around the Frisco Stage to Lake Atalanta seems ludicrous, you'll love what CEI has included in this latest draft.

A splash pad: More realistically, this is a wading pool, but it would be filled with actual, honest-to-god Lake Atalanta water. And who wouldn't want that. Oh, yeah, all the people who would rather use the soon-to-be-demolished pool than swim in the filthy lake water.
Paddle boats: And who's going to man the paddle boats rental booth? Must be a city employee, because Lake Atalanta has been a death trap to the few businesses brave or stupid enough to locate there. So the 2011 bond issue, if it includes this plan, would increase the city payroll. And then there's the issue of protecting the paddle boats, which means either more police officers or the current number of cops stretched even thinner throughout the city.
A waterfall: And that's there because? No, I can't think of a good reason either. From the Wouldn't-It-Be-Cool department, CEI throws in a new waterfall, that would either require pumping water to the top or from the bottom of the waterfall. But, of course, we're only trying to preserve the beauty of Lake Atalanta.

Much of this plan is still contingent on a partnership with Arkansas Game & Fish, but And such an arrangement could be mutually beneficial. Some supporters, particularly the kind the post YouTube videos, would encourage you to call Game & Fish in support of a joint Lake Atalanta project. I might call myself. But while you're doing that, call your local elected official — you councilman or the — and insist that your bond money isn't spent simply to inflate CEI's ego and resume. It's clear this is still not the mayor's plan. Make sure he knows it's not your plan either.

Maybe the pages should be bigger

2009-11-13T20:01:00.000-08:00

On Friday's front page of the Daily Record, the newspaper staff was clearly forced to continue running the Stephens Media-approved salute to some other town's troops. I don't agree with the principle, but there was nothing the local folks could do. Then there was a story about a $4.9 million appropriation for the ever-controversial Benton County Juvenile Detention Center (but why didn't they include that in the headline?). Finally, the Record puts a story where it belongs.
Of course, that trend could never continue, as the third page shows us.

On page three, the Daily Record includes something that couldn't possibly be an interesting or meaningful story, in which a man in Siloam Springs is arrested for killing his wife. No, there's nothing front-page-worthy there. What did make the front page? A story about high school football.
Now before you all villainize me, I appreciate high school sports and what they mean to the local community, but can you honestly tell me there was only room for three stories on the front page, instead of the regular four? And if it was Bentonville or even Rogers football, I'd understand a little more, as those are the primary cities in the Benton County coverage areas, but this was a story about Gravette football bumping a murder story to page three. Maybe it's the byline — for a man who no longer works there, Jeff Mores has been more productive than the late Tupac Shakur. Congratulations, Daily Record, on showing, through continued overglorification of sports in your newspaper, that the merger hasn't changed your news priorities. I propose a new slogan.
The Daily Record: More local news than anyone else, as long as there is a ball involved.

More conflict

2009-11-12T22:42:00.000-08:00

I can't say that the Rogers Public Library's desire for a new heating and air-conditioning unit is important. I want people to be as comfortable as possible as they can be while paging through centuries of the written word. What I can't understand is why it's received so much coverage. From the first story on the issue — I think John Gore has written three of four, but the Morning News Web site disappeared, along with its archives — there has never been any opposition to the purchase and installation of the new unit. I wonder if editor Rusty Turner is on the Rogers Public Library Foundation Board. No, wait, no one's on that board now, but metro editor Leeanna Walker is not far removed from her term among its members. Ok, I'm not confused anymore.

Can we get one thing straight.

2009-11-12T22:25:00.000-08:00

Northwest Arkansas Community College knew it was about to mangle the English language when it chose the abbreviation NWACC. Someone had to know, and still must, because the college is officially named (including approved capitalization) NorthWest Arkansas Community College.
Well, the Daily Record never fell for it. English is not subjective for each user. So it was surprising to see that, post-merger, the Daily Record has caved and English has lost. I'm still not sure what the official nomenclature is, though, since the educational institution was referred to as "North-West Arkansas Community College," but the hyphen, based on the placement on the page, was likely inserted to break up the word for spacing concerns. Then again, who knows.
On an unrelated note, the story in question was written by Tabatha Hunter, who has gain notoriety for her reporting on Benton County Government, reporting that was conspicuously absent from the Morning News. With Hunter gardening stories at the college, who's watching Bisbee?

Quick thoughts

2009-11-12T22:13:00.001-08:00

On his way out, Jeff Mores apparently felt the need to give us just one more Crystal Bridges story. I guess in case we missed him. Seriously, though, good luck Jeff and congratulations on getting out.

Election dilema

2009-11-11T23:04:00.000-08:00

Sheriff Keith Ferguson is looking for at least one more go of it in 2010, running for re-election to the position he's held since 2002. Any concerns anyone may have on that news are their own, as my issue has nothing to do with Ferguson or his performance as sheriff.
The announcement, however, creates questions for the newspaper about campaign coverage. On the surface, there is the logistical decision over which newspaper should spearhead the countywide election. Since the Morning News was entrusted (and I use that word with dripping irony) with editorial coverage and has kept the larger newsroom, it stands to reason the primary reporter would come from the Rogers newsroom.
And that brings us to our second issue. There were some questions about whether Rogers police officer and sheriff candidate Kelley Cradduck received a fair shake from the Morning News in 2008. Editorial decisions about story placement, coverage style and even story content was examined and debated by those on both sides of the newsroom walls. The biggest issue, however, is that Morning News metro editor Leeanna Walker was sitting awfully close to Ferguson at his last victory dinner, much closer than an impartial observer should have been.
So where are the battle lines in this year's coverage? Does Leeanna still hold the editorial sway she once did, or does Editor Rusty Turner, now that he has to answer to someone a little closer to home, have to maintain at least some pretense of objectivity. I'll have the play-by-play, because we all win or lose based on the outcome.

Quick thoughts

2009-11-11T22:52:00.000-08:00

I wouldn't be harping on the nwanews.com Web site so much if they hadn't started charging for it. By making readers pay for site access, you would expect them to offer a product every bit as polished as the print version. Hmm, I may have to rethink that.
On Wednesday, the top story listed under "news" on the Daily Record and Morning News pages was the hard-hitting "Obituaries for Benton County." Not to be outdone, their counterparts to the south led with "Obituaries for Washington County." That's good stuff, that is. For the record (because they may actually be incompetent enough to do this), none of the papers led with obits on the front page.

Exodus, part II

2009-11-10T17:58:00.000-08:00

Less than two weeks after the northwest Arkansas newspapers merged into the Northwest Arkansas Newspapers, the ranks are still thinning. This time, however, it's from voluntary departures.
The Daily Record's Jeff Mores and the Morning News' Anna Fry are splitsville, both reportedly for new (read that "better") jobs.

If the sheer relief of still having a job, now that the dust has settled, is still not enough to keep these reporters in their preferred career field, then what has soured. Our sources say Mores quit and is headed to Fayetteville, which means he certainly can't still be in the newspaper business, and Fry, still working through her two-week notice, is on her way to public relations. All Crystal Bridges jokes aside, we wish them well and congratulate them on their escape from newspaper purgatory.
Word from the land of ink and paper says the newspaper company will turn first to those it laid off, who must certainly be more than ready to trust those who already booted them to the curb. It would, however, be a forced return, as refusal to rejoin the staff would result in loss of severance and unemployment.
Just my take: look for the "new" hires to come from the Morning News side, meaning the Daily Record is down to two news reporters, one sports writer, one photographer and one editor.

Merging newspapers fight against groupthink

2009-11-09T22:53:00.000-08:00

So far, I've pointed out several ways in which the consolidation of editorial influences has seemed to impede the spread of quality information to the readers. I could be wrong. As always, I am only trying to encourage the discussion, but that doesn't mean the my words actually achieve that result.
Apparently, Doug Thompson, the sole editorial page editor left standing, apparently doesn't agree with me, as he rails against "citizen journalists" in Sunday's column. My favorite passage is the one that follows.

Groupthink is what you find on most blogs. The big bulk of Web journalism so far caters to those who agree with each site’s clear point of view.

Maybe it's my own bias, but it actually sounds like he said each site has it's own clear point of view, which, to me, would be a resounding rebuttal to what he was actually trying to say.

To open my readers to another opinion, I'll go to Roger, who has been keeping his eye on downtown Rogers for some time now. He's already gone to great lengths to discuss this phenomenon of groupthink.

I'll add only one thing. Those who read Orwell's 1984 know that groupthink was encouraged by information printed in the newspapers that could be changed at will by Big Brother and the Ministry of Truth. To me, it seems the bloggers, while possibly flawed, have a legitimate roll to play in ensuring an era of groupthink and doublespeak doesn't overtake our nation.

Quick thoughts

2009-11-09T17:28:00.000-08:00

For the second straight week, there is no "Whatever happened to ..." story in the Daily Record. The standard Monday feature has run since the beginning of 2008, replacing the "Day in the Life" stories. The Monday issues are notoriously difficult to fill, as so little happens on Sundays in the Bible Belt. So far, the Monday pages have been filled from Little Rock, first with the inaugural merger issue and today with another story in Warren Stephens' veterans series. We must assume that there will eventually be something local to fill that space, but how will it ever compete with locally produced stories like "Whatever happened to cassette tapes?," "Whatever happened to the afro?," and "Whatever happened to Big Foot?"

Declaration of independence

2009-11-08T12:42:00.000-08:00

The Daily Record took great strides Sunday to prove its independence from the Morning News.
To provide the context, we provide a snippet from a Nov. 1 editorial running in all four editions:

Sometimes the members of this choir will each sing his own tune. That will make things interesting. The differences among us are as much a part of this region’s strength as the cooperation. When everybody thinks the same way, nobody’s thinking, the wise heads say. Well, that has never been a problem around here.

With that being said, we pick up Sunday's paper. Page one features a story Capt. John Vanlandingham winning the Silver Star. I'm sure he deserved it, and it's a fantastic story, written by Little Rock-based Lewis Delavan, but his only connection to northwest Arkansas is that he lives close to Russellville, where Rogers Mayor Steve Womack grew up. There are those who may think it's an important enough accomplishment that it should be told everywhere in the state, but I thought that was the reason your Morning News and Daily Record and Northwest Arkansas Times are wrapped around the Democrat Gazette. On the front page of the local dailies, it's a waste of space and of the reporters on staff.
But what I found most telling and most disturbing about the post-merger newspapers is the front-page commentary below the fold by none other than Warren Stephens, who shares a name with Stephens Media by no coincidence.
Stephens' commentary was largely harmless, except for the implied implications on local news. He begins his message to readers with this:

To our readers:

The idea for this series originated one afternoon when talking to one of my associates.

This one sentence, as simple as it is, shows that the largest influence upon editorial comment does not come from within the coverage area, leaving those no closer than Little Rock dictating what content is best for Benton and Washington counties.
But enjoy your increased local coverage, folks.

On a side note, the Morning News certainly hasn't learned the lesson that came so painful to the Daily Record. It's pointless to post a link (if it exists, you'll be forced to pay extra for the archived story), but two veterans have become must less visible when it turned out their extensive military honors were, at best, fiction and, at worst, stolen from those who earned them. I won't name their names in the hopes that they've learned their lesson, but the orders in the Daily Record newsroom were to write stories about veterans only after receiving a copy of their official military records.

Is this center stage?

2009-11-07T19:54:00.000-08:00

If you didn't know already — and who couldn't know after Oct. 27 — Slaughter Pen was "going center stage" Friday. For those who don't know, Slaughter Pen is a Bentonville bike park, so clearly it won't be on a stage. But the Daily Record felt the need to "hammer home" (to use an overused cliche of my own) the metaphor on Saturday's front page. This time, however, it was the Bike Jam, not Slaughter Pen itself, that the paper said "Takes Center Stage." (Note: The change in punctuation is due to changes in style imposed after the merger.) So if Slaughter Pen and its Bike Jam have captured the center of the stage, one has to wonder if there are indeed enough supports to keep the stage from collapsing.

Gone too far?

2009-11-07T19:33:00.000-08:00

The front page story of Saturday's Daily Record and Morning News was about Circuit Judge Jay Finch's run from law enforcement when he failed to stop for a pickup truck with a blue light and a driver not wearing a uniform. Briefly noted in the article, but not expounded upon in any way, was the small matter that the law requires constables to be in uniform to effect a traffic stop. Tracy Neal does include this gem in his story that is far too much about Finch and not nearly enough about Constable Craig Milligan. Excerpts are from the Daily Record.

Finch didn't stop and instead drove to his home. Milligan wasn't wearing a uniform as required by state law in order for constable to make traffic stops.

So we've established that state law requires a uniform, which means, by process of elimination, if Milligan wasn't within the constructs of the law, then he was breaking the law. Driving without valid vehicle registration should not be overlooked, but it pales compared to a constable illegally stopping motorists.

Milligan claims Finch told him he wasn't going to stop for someone driving a pickup and not in uniform, according to Milligan's interview with Stone.

This is slightly different than the way Finch put it when speaking with Prosecuting Attorney Van Stone, but if I was Finch, this is how I'd wish I said it. What is the problem in saying I'm not going to accept the authority of someone who is violating the law?
There is one more little gem that appeared only in the Daily Record, apparently hitting the newsroom floor after editing.

A.L. Hollingsworth, president of the Arkansas Constable Association, said he hadn't talked with Milligan about the incident.

"I don't know his side, and until I do I don't want to make a comment about it," Hollingsworth said.

Hollingsworth said constables are required to wear uniforms, but there may be emergency situations when a constable doesn't have his uniform.

"It's all a judgment call as far as I'm concerned," Hollingsworth said. "I really want to talk to (Milligan)."

Apparently this is not an isolated incident if the president of the Arkansas Constable Association thinks it is acceptable for law enforcement to violate state law. I officially call on Van Stone to set the record straight by filing charges against Milligan for attempting an illegal traffic stop.

Sarcastic finish: Although I did criticize Tracy Neal for sticking it to Judge Finch and all but absolving Milligan, I would be remiss without noting that the high profile mistakes continue. Please understand there is no reason to point this out except that it occurs in the first sentence of the story, the ever-important lead paragraph, and is incorrect in both papers. I'd love to see anyone try to "make a traffic."

BENTONVILLE — A local circuit judge didn't pull his vehicle over recently after a plain-clothes constable attempted to make a traffic.

Greatest hits

2009-11-07T01:17:00.000-08:00

I was up late Thursday night wondering when we'd see our first post-merger Crystal Bridges story in the Daily Record. They were so prevalent beforehand, and it would be a shame if the people of Benton County didn't know ever detail about each brick and each stone, without a full feature on the nails that will be used to hold the paintings and a profile of the janitor who will be keeping the museum sparkling. Well there it was this morning, in the only place a Crystal Bridges story ever appears, on the top of page one with a headline (Art Outside the Binding of Books) almost as big as the story. My favorite part is how Crystal Bridges is no longer included in the headline. It has a place of honor above the headline, announcing that you are about to read (or avoid) yet another story about this overrated museum.
The Morning News, meanwhile, also ran the story, using the Daily Record's subhead as its headline (Exhibit Features Stars of Children's Illustrations) and put it on the more appropriate page seven.
I would post a link to the story, but the Northwest Arkansas Newspaper Web site is apparently also tired of so many Crystal Bridges stories and refused to show it.

What won't get said

2009-11-05T21:37:00.000-08:00

Once again, we have an expansion of programs at the Rogers Little Theater. It's funded by Cox and Wal-Mart. That could never be a bad thing, right? This is my favorite part: "Theater officials wanted to expand children’s theater o(ff)erings to include afternoon classes, musical theater classes for teens and to create new performance opportunities for the students."
So what is my problem with this? I'll tell you that if you can tell me where in that sentence it says the theater will be open more nights. Let's face it, this second-rate theater draws a third-rate crowd.

Ooh, but it's great for the arts. Well, yes, like Lincoln Logs are great for improving architecture and Easy-Bake Ovens are great for improving the culinary world. Go downtown any day of the week, especially weekends. What you'll find is a dead building that only succeeds in taking up space.
Over the past year, the downtown merchants have banded together like never before, approaching problems with the what's-good-for-the-whole philosophy. Noticeably absent from the discussions have been any proposals that would help turn the Victory Theater, a city-owned building, could play a part in drawing more traffic to the downtown.
On nights that the theater is open, there is a line out the door sometimes reaching the Daisy Museum. You can imagine what it looks like when it's not open.
But there is a reason this angle will never be discussed in the Morning News. Editor Rusty Turner is also on the Rogers Little Theater board of directors. Is it any question the board members aren't listed anywhere the public can easily find them?
But there's hope, because the Daily Record staff, being independent from the Morning News, at least according to Sunday's editorial. Too bad Rusty's also running the Daily Record newsroom. And the Springdale Morning News and the Northwest Arkansas Times. I wish I could put a clever spin on this, but this situation still has me stunned and without a snappy retort with which to close.

O • the deep end

2009-11-05T21:06:00.000-08:00

I've long wondered just why the Democrat Gazette was putting in so much work on the nwanews.com site. They went to a paid site, and there were problems. There were updates and more problems. Now the merger. Did you accept anything less?
Here is an actual copy-and-paste passage from the Web site. It doesn't matter how the writing is or what the story is about. Just look at the formatting and try to figure out what words you're not allowed to use if you want your story to look right on the page.

However, the 2D barcode technology has not taken o

• as quickly in the United States, even among large retailers.

That was the message from Tevian Rose, national account strategist with InnoMark Communications, and Stephen Shannon, InnoMark chief marketing o

• cer and president of enterprise operations. They spoke to about 20Wal-Mart suppliers and others in a lunch seminar Wednesday at the DoubleTree in Bentonville.

Quick thoughts

2009-11-04T17:15:00.000-08:00

The increased amount of ad space must be due to both papers trying to accommodate each other's advertisers. People who paid for two ads should get two ads, right? So now, since there's only one paper, the ads get bigger or run twice or something. If they're not, I'd love to know.
But I wonder, once the advertising levels settle down, what they're going to do to fill the empty space. I guess you can never have enough Crystal Bridges stories.

An apology

2009-11-04T17:12:00.000-08:00

I must, sadly, admit that I was wrong about the newspaper merger. I doubted the reduction in staff and consolidation of media agencies would lead to increased local coverage. Clearly, my prediction was off the mark. Anyone who saw the local story on peanut butter cookies must certainly feel more connected to the community. I mean, nothing says home like cookies, right?
And how can anyone decry the local comics. You didn't find them? No, not on the opinion page; there's nothing local there. It's near the back page.
Again, I did not realize there would be so many more local stories, and I apologize for besmirching the papers' good names. Or is that the paper's good names. Or good name. I still get confused over that.

Quick thoughts

2009-11-03T11:07:00.001-08:00

Is it just me, or does the Daily Record's layout suddenly remind me of the Morning News? I didn't realize fonts were included in the merger agreement.

Twice the news for your money

2009-11-03T10:57:00.000-08:00

The newspaper merger was supposed to be good for the community. By eliminating competition between reporters, it was supposed to bring more stories specialized for the reader.

So here's what more news means. Forget that the Daily Record sports page was headlined by University of Arkansas stories from the Democrat Gazette, while a Rogers story and a snoozer about a Siloam Springs junior dying were at the bottom (This proves how much news is in the paper, because normally the death of any somewhat-prominent high school junior would rate the front page and more than four paragraphs). What proves there is more news is this story about a Florida wide receiver committing to play for the Razorbacks. It was so important, it was printed, in its entirety, on pages 9 and 11. Thank you, Daily Record, for reminding us what our priorities should be.

Less than the sum of their parts

2009-11-01T13:08:00.000-08:00

So now you know. We all know. The northwest Arkansas newspapers are all under the same "umbrella," which sounds for an inappropriate euphemism, since it is the rest of us who need shelter from the storm.

So on the front page of Monday's Morning News, you have stories by MN staffers. On the front page of the Daily Record, you have two stories by DR staff (amazingly neither was about Chrystal Bridges) and one by an MNer.

I found this curious bit of philosophy in Sunday's editorial pages of the Daily Record and Morning News:

Sometimes the members of this choir will each sing his own tune. That will make things interesting. The differences among us are as much a part of this region’s strength as the cooperation. When everybody thinks the same way, nobody’s thinking, the wise heads say. Well, that has never been a problem around here.

(for those of you bothering to subscribe: http://bcdr.nwanews.com/news/2009/nov/01/our-view-new-era-begins-readers-20091101/)

Funny to think how there will be harmony or, more importantly, disharmony among the four "newspapers" when there is only one editorial page editor and one editor overall. Those of you who enjoyed only the Morning News, congratulations. You got it. For anyone who liked both or only the Daily Record, who knows. Maybe someone will rise from the ashes to provide another voice for Benton County. Maybe not. I guess it depends if anyone cares enough to support the dissident.

So who are the survivors in this merger? By my count, only six people from the Daily Record were kept. Mike Jones is still city editor for the Daily Record, and he keeps Jeff Mores, Tracy Neal and Tabatha Hunter, who you might know if you've ever spotted Jones at lunch, as they're always with him. David Dempsy was also rehired, as was one of the sports writers. Meanwhile, I know of only two layoffs from the Morning News, so clearly the Morning News stocked the pond.

Unfortunately, the Morning News has long relied on Associated Press content, leaving its staff free to take their time in writing stories and falling fall short of churning out content. But the Democrat Gazette would never pay for the same stories twice, so the Morning News is on its own. And all the people used to fast turnover of content are now trying to find someone else who might appreciate those skills.

At this point, I can only add to the drum beats, to the war cries screaming about their lost voice. The time for action has ended. A rebirth of quality journalism may still, and it is sorely needed, but it will take men and women of means entrusting their wealth to men and women of the pen. Until such people come forward, I wish us all good luck.

Quick thoughts

2009-10-31T20:52:00.001-07:00

The newspaper merger is clearly bad. How bad? We'll discuss that Monday.

The deciding factor

2009-10-31T20:38:00.000-07:00

The rallying cry among merchants is that downtown Rogers will be saved by service. If that is true, salvation is on its way.

Take the latest example. We'll compare Friday's Goblin Parade in downtown Rogers with Saturday's trick-or-treating at the Promenade.

The Goblin Parade was a triumph of cooperation and enthusiasm. The merchants were in prime form with candy bowls at just about every door, and those from outside the downtown filled in the gaps between shops. My daughter walked away with a tremendous amount of candy, including some of the "good stuff" like miniature candy bars that cost a lot for independent businessmen and women whose customer traffic hasn't been exactly steady.

At the Promenade, granted, we arrived about an hour into the event (which was scheduled to last four) and found businesses already out of candy. Others weren't participating. But the real kicker was what we found in my daughter's bag. One shop (no names to protect the clearly guilty) dropped in a coupon. Another put in perfume samples. You did just read that, and it wasn't a typo. This was, for the Promenade shops with their nameless owners, a marketing opportunity.

To the extent I am able, I will shop in downtown Rogers, where I know the shopkeepers are focused on community, not money.

Starting the Refugee Watch

2009-09-11T22:17:00.001-07:00

Since news of the merger came out, reporters (at least the ones calm enough to broach the subject) are starting to talk about their futures with their respective publications and industry at large. Some are expecting to leave, but some are planning to leave. It seems the corporate bigwigs have pushed too hard and will lose some of their top talent. These are times of trial and tribulation for the local press. Please support them, because they believed they were supporting you.

So much for competition

2009-09-05T11:32:00.000-07:00

Four newspapers are going to turn into four newspapers. Why is that bad? Because they'll all be part of one company. The Arkansas Democrat Gazette and Stephens Media's northwest Arkansas newspapers are merging. That means the Daily Record, the Northwest Arkansas Times and both editions of the Morning News will be part of one big happy family. Here's what you can expect:

1) The first thing that will happen is layoffs. I know it doesn't seem like it, because there will still be the same number of newspapers. But the Daily Record and Morning News both have a reporter at Rogers meetings, Bentonville meetings, Benton County meetings. They both have a school reporter and a government reporter. They won't need two of everything anymore.

Because all the newspapers are at bare bones minimums, we're not looking at 50% layoffs. Some unfilled positions will be filled again, but there could be 30%, 35% or even 40% layoffs. Not good for an economy on the rebound.

2) There will only be one news story for each event. That means only one voice. Often, the Morning News will print one side of an issue, while the Daily Record prints another, giving readers of both papers a more complete picture. Say goodbye to that.

3) People in suits will put more money in their pockets. Talking to people at the papers' staff meetings revealed one thing — the merger was presented as a victory. That might be true ... at least to the 60% who keep their jobs. Those who are "lucky" enough to stick around may finally start getting the raises they've been promised.

Business owners in northwest Arkansas: Open your hearts, not just your wallets, and take in those public servants who poured their souls into a dying institution in the hopes of creating a better community by informing the public. To be unceremoniously dumped by their newspapers and the communities to which they dedicated themselves would be to call their work irrelevant.

Quick thoughts

2009-08-30T20:52:00.000-07:00

Shortly after the Daily Record started charging for its Web site, there was an option at the bottom of stories to leave feedback, similar to the Morning News' site. Thing is, I never actually saw comments left by the readers.

Well, now that option is gone, unheralded and unused. There was no reason given for its disappearance, but, then again, there was no announcement that it was there in the first place.

But still, there is no word the Morning News is changing its policy yet. There is also no indication how it would impact both newspapers if both sites don't end up charging.

A Question of Giving

2009-08-30T20:42:00.000-07:00

There is more than meets the eye going on at the Rogers Public Library Foundation, or at least a lot of details to discuss by the looks of these two articles from the Morning News and the Daily Record (if you have a subscription). Maybe it's too early to say who's right and who's wrong. Certainly the mayor is not immune to rash judgments, but that does not make his every judgment without merit.

I offer this solution for the time being, at least until these issues are resolved. Those wishing to donate can give to the ever-popular Friends of the Library, which pays rent for its bookstore but has employed not one solitary employee.

There is also another, seemingly obvious alternative. The Rogers Public Library will take donations directly, which bypasses any organizations trying to inflate its donation proportions by dipping needlessly into its endowment.

Quick thoughts

2009-08-25T18:30:00.000-07:00

Rogers is losing an asset in Morning News reporter John Henley. The ace reporter is leaving the publication to pursue a masters degree, which is an admirable goal, but certainly leaves the paper on less steady footing, as he was clearly the Morning News' greatest talent. Hopefully his replacement can fill the void.

Double billing

2009-08-09T21:31:00.000-07:00

Go ahead and try to search for a past article from the Daily Record. Go on. I'll wait.

What follows is more of the haphazard self-destruction following the newspaper's quest for revenue from its online content. What follows, however, indicates the intention to charge subscribers twice for past articles (once for the monthly fee and once for the archived story). My anger subsides into sympathy for these people who show through their actions why newspapers have declined. I withdraw here and leave you with only this quotation from a random page announcing a story is now gone indefinitely.

This story is only available from the Benton County Daily Recordarchives. Articles will be available to purchase from the archives in the near future. Click the link below to search for this story in the archives. If the search doesn't yield any results, enter part of the headline and publicaton date in the search form or contact the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette library in Little Rock at (501) 378-3851 with the section, date and page information below.»Click here to search the Archives.

Quick thoughts

2009-08-03T20:21:00.001-07:00

You'll just have to trust me on this one, because I'm sure the details will change. In browsing nwanews.com today — actually, while looking for the option to search back stories — I came across the following in the subscription form:

Please click here to subscribe to Arkansas Online without a print subscription.
Please click here to subscribe to NWAnews.com without a print subscription.

Please take notice that the two links go to the same form on two different web addresses, and all online subscriptions give you access to both the sites. For as much warning as the Democrat-Gazette gave its readers of the online subscriptions, you would have thought they would have figured out how to set up the forms. And if the web site confuses readers this much, how are people supposed to trust the content?

All in the details

2009-08-03T20:12:00.000-07:00

What happens when a newspaper gets beat on a juicy story? Sloppy, catch-up journalism.

I originally thought this story was only a web update. Surely that must be the reason for the lack of details and, more importantly, sources. But even web updates must be sourced. Surely it wouldn't have been too hard to match the "according to a jail booking report" that appears in the Morning News story. But the Daily Record story was in today's paper, one day after the Morning News account. This now appears every bit as bad as the television news stories blatantly ripped off from the morning print editions.

While the newspaper industry is in the midst of a revolution, it is not the time for journalists or editors (as the case may be) to abandon the standards of responsible journalism in order to give unsourced information more quickly.

Connecting the Dots

2009-07-26T15:15:00.000-07:00

Politics is not the study of governments but of progressions, the sequence of choices that lead from one paradigm to another. It is an ever-changing environment that can be as confusing for those involved as for those watching from the outside. That is how stories get changed and excuses are interpreted as lies.

Sometimes, the only way to read between the lines is to put the lines as closely as possible.

This is what happened to the county's Reverse 911 plan.

http://www.nwanews.com/bcdr/News/74858

http://www.nwanews.com/bcdr/News/75325

http://www.nwanews.com/bcdr/News/75349

http://www.nwanews.com/bcdr/News/75562

http://www.nwanews.com/bcdr/News/75595

http://www.nwanews.com/bcdr/News/75619

http://www.nwanews.com/bcdr/Area/75668

But somehow I find this trend more troubling.

http://www.nwanews.com/bcdr/News/75108

http://www.nwanews.com/bcdr/News/75151

http://www.nwanews.com/bcdr/News/75648

Of course, there is no reason that those who have questions about this can't go to the Quorum Court meetings and ask the good judge. That is why the public forum, mandated by the state's "sunshine laws," was created.

Edit: Unfortunately at the time of this post, I did not foresee the stories to which I linked disappearing. Also unfortunately, I do not remember what information these stories contained. When newspapers fail to archive properly, history can be lost.

Quick thoughts

2009-07-14T09:19:00.000-07:00

What's going on at the Daily Record? Is this more evidence of the decline of newspapers? Admittedly, the newspapers were crazy to give away their work just because it was online, but is this the right move or the right move 10 years ago when the Internet was on the rise?

I hope to continue posting links to the Daily Record site, but anyone who wants to read it will apparently have to pay.

And don't expect to keep getting the Morning News for free much longer. They were behind the Daily Record in cutting staff too, but both papers ended up taking the same road.

Blue or Green?

2009-07-14T09:17:00.000-07:00

Someone needs to remind the Rogers Civil Service Commission what the definition of oversight is. And please do it a little more forcefully than the local papers did.

Oversight in this case is akin to the Court of Appeals. The commission is supposed to decide, after the fact, if the decisions made by the police and fire administration were fair and just. It is similar to the checks and balances that formed the basis of the federal government. And the check never comes before the action that prompts it.

It was a bit surprising when the Morning News printed this story telling how the commission wanted to give up some of its power, specifically the power to hear appeals. An officer must be suspended for three days before the commission is willing to hear the grievance.

Forgive my ignorance, but I thought suspensions could be based on and justified by numerous smaller disciplinary actions, such as letters of reprimand, that can no longer be appealed.

A day later, this story in the Daily Record detailed the commission's attempt to rob the police chief of his authority in hiring and promoting his officers. Then again, maybe a board comprised of people with undisclosed jobs (or, most likely, former jobs) has a better idea what makes a good cop or firefighter than the men hired to lead those departments.

That sounds more likely, so shame on Mayor Steve Womack for going out of his way to find the best qualified people to oversee the city's two largest departments when he would have been better served by choosing now-retired busybodies with an over-inflated sense of importance.

There may be some jealousy directing these actions. The "commission," which is listed on the city's web site as a "board," is one of the few attached to the city that does not regularly vote on issues coming before the city. The Parks Commission meets monthly, and its votes impact policy. The Planning Commission meets twice monthly, and its votes shape development within the city. The Civil Service Board meets as-needed, and that apparently isn't enough for commissioners worried about becoming irrelevant, even though they fill the same role they always have, at least until the new provisions are approved.

In Walmart We Trust

2009-07-14T09:15:00.000-07:00

To all those seeking the latest scandalous rhetoric about Sam Walton's Frankenstein monster, I regret that I must disappoint. In Benton County, Arkansas, it is not possible to have a one-sided view of Walmart, calling the World's Largest Retailer evil for its low wages, its policies against unions, and its devastating effect on smaller competitors (which is everyone) without acknowledging, even if it is with a sense of guilt, the remarkably positive impact the company's charitable giving has had within our own communities. This is neither a retelling of Walmart's good deeds, but to tell this story, we must first tip our hat to the much (self) heralded Walmart Foundation.

At its heart, this tale is about Habitat for Humanity, the Bible-based house builders who have put roofs over many heads except, at least in Benton County, for its own.

The basics can be dispensed with quickly, as the details are in this account. The local Habitat chapter spotted a nice piece of land in Rogers that it couldn't afford, so it sold its home in Bentonville to raise the money, but it only had land in Rogers and no building, so it rented its old building from its new owner for an obscenely bad rate leaving it trying to raise more money to keep the place it had and even more money to build the place it needed, all the while professing faith that God would bring them through.

God, at least in this case, is the Walmart Foundation.

This is the most common prayer in Benton County, where non-profits are always seeking grants from "large investors." For all practical purposes, there are only two organizations that qualify — the Walmart Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation.

The prayer goes something like this:

"Dear Walmart, we come to you in our hour of need, asking that you once again bless us with your generosity. We know we are but ants in your radiant glory, but we beseech you to grant our humble request. All the good we plan, we will do while carrying your banner that yours will be the honor.

"And overlook our faults, though they be many, as we have not the resources for flawless planning that you possess. Our ideas, our proposals, our ponderings all must pale in comparison to the magnificent endeavors you have successfully undertaken. In our imperfection, we fall well short of the example you have set.

"Your name shall be always on our lips and always on our press releases.

"In Sam's name we pray.

"Amen."

The exaggeration is only slight. This community has elevated Walmart and the founding family to the role of savior. And it is true that many organization is still intact thanks to a generous check from Walmart or a Walton. But maybe there are too many of them.

For many non-profits, living in Walmart's shadow means putting once hand out to shake and the other out to take the money. There is an expectation that Walmart is obligated to support such groups because of its wealth, but that only masks the shortcomings of those seeking a handout. Walmart's money has more than compensated for many a sloppy organization, just like it will probably do with Habitat.

Walmart may be an enabler, but it is time for all these vagabond groups reaching toward the Home Office with their tin cups to put away their cardboard signs and start working to make their own money. Otherwise, Rogers may want to start enforcing its panhandling ban.

Streamlined?

2009-06-24T20:06:00.000-07:00

In the latest version of the same old story — this one or, to a lesser extent, this one — sales taxes are down all over, and I'll include Rogers. A small increase is a loss compared to the big jumps it was getting.

Can we finally call the streamlined sales tax a failed experiment? Sure, most of these cities that are facing wild inconsistencies in sales tax revenue could benefit from simply removing the tax cap for businesses. (You see, individuals must pay tax on our full purchase, no matter how high, but businesses can stop paying taxes once their purchase hits $2,500. It's five paragraphs into this story, proving it was no surprise.) But that does not explain Springdale. It's easy to laugh at the city that caused its own downfall by chasing Sam's Club out of town, but that doesn't explain the near constant drop in sales tax revenue.

Here's the real problem. In hopes of encouraging a national mandate for Internet sales tax, Arkansas joined a growing, but misguided, group of states who have instituted the streamlined sales tax. This contingent charges taxes based on where a sale ends, not where it begins. To make it simple, if someone in Little Rock buys a product from Springdale and has it shipped to Little Rock, the Little Rock taxes apply and Little Rock gets the money. The buyer is taxed based on where he or she is, not where the item begins.

That means anything shipped out of state is not taxed.

Imagine if this was reversed. A purchase that originates in Little Rock with a company in Springdale is hit with Springdale taxes and Springdale gets the money. Replace Little Rock with Dallas. And now with Ontario. And with London. At that point it doesn't matter where the buyer is, because the purchase takes place where the business is. (In the aftershocks of this realization, state legislators would barely notice that merchants would then only have to follow one tax rate instead of all of them.)

Businessmen and women around Arkansas will slowly realize this and begin a financial revolution within this state. Of course, this could all be ended simply by common sense action at the General Assembly ... or a miracle, whichever is more likely.

Quick thoughts

2009-06-24T07:31:00.001-07:00

Why have there been so many stories in The Morning News about Rogers Little Theater lately? Is it because editor Rusty Turner is also on the theater's board? There's almost as many of those stories as there are front-page stories about Crystal Bridges in the Benton County Daily Record. Well, not quite that many. We can't think of any logical reason that may-never-come museum is always at the top of A-1.

Priorities

2009-06-24T07:27:00.000-07:00

It is the duty of the City Council to protect the interests of the city, but too often, special interest groups interfere. It seems that fate has befallen Rogers.

Councilman Bob Goodwin (or, in the original Morning News account, Rob Goodman) has broken ranks with his fellow elected officials, a sign of outside influence interfering with his judgment.

The group that has apparently purchased Goodwin's vote is the Rogers taxpayer. There is no other way to explain his concern, expressed during the city's June 9 council meeting, for finding less expensive alternative to maintain and improve the intersections and roadways of downtown Rogers.

The seven other council members understand the value of unity, as a whole in favor of continuing the project. The validity of the project is not in question, rather the speed at which the city's leaders latch on to the first proposal that comes their way. Any delay could cost the downtown business owners days or even weeks of delay as other ideas are considered.

The downtown business owners are also right to back this proposal unquestioningly, as the absence of any meaningful customer traffic is certainly the fault of those historic brick intersections.

Even if drawn out discussion would have resulted in the same conclusion, the undermining of resident confidence by working to ensure their interests are protected would only jeopardize the residents' interests.

But it seems Goodwin is finally coming around. After listening to the merchant's support of the intersection proposal, Goodwin refused to comment to the daily record, which can only mean he is succumbing to the group thinking. It will be a proud day in Rogers when projects like this can be approved and completed without any delay for discussion, no matter how good other ideas may be.