I don’t remember the exact quote, so I will paraphrase.
It was from a book by former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee I read some years ago.
He was discussing how to be more involved in your community.
Essentially, he said, if you want to know what’s going on in your community, go to your city council meeting or go to your school board meeting.
But, he warned, don’t go too often because then you might want to run.
It is a sentiment I’ve seen play out time and time again in my career covering community government.
Lately, it is a sentiment I’ve seen more and more from folks who might previously have been advised not to run for office.
We’ve made no secret of the fact that I am a city councilman in Collinsville.
In a different time, this dual role of newspaper publisher and elected official may be seen as the conflict of interest.
It may still be seen that way.
We have approached this with transparency and have been quite public about our policy for reporting news at Collinsville City Hall.
Essentially, I don’t do it.
I have recused myself from that duty and our editor, Jessica Edwards, has taken that mantle.
She has complete editorial control.
I don’t read the stories before they run.
Our inner office involvement with government politics expanded again this spring when Jessica got herself elected to city council in Whitesboro.
Likewise, we have implemented a policy about covering news there.
She does not do it. Just like I do not write news in Collinsville.
We have employed longtime professional editor Jerrie Whiteley to cover that beat.
And she does so above reproach and reports directly to me.
I tell you all this, just to reiterate our commitment to avoiding conflicts of interest— either real or perceived.
But the longer I do this, the more I question whether news people being in public office is actually a conflict of interest— at least at the local level.
A friend told me a long time ago, “We live in a small town. And in a small town, if everybody only does one thing, nothing would get done. People must multitask.”
I understand his point and agree with it, but I have also come to retort that— if EVERYBODY actually did ONE thing, then we wouldn’t have any problems. Everything would get done.
It seems each town has the same few people doing multiple things in communities to get things done.
But I digress.
Alas, yes, we live in a small town, and people wear multiple hats, and that’s okay.
I travel the state with my day job at the university, and I talk to newspaper folks who are not as blessed as we are here.
Folks elsewhere are dealing with city councils who blatantly want to suppress information and are willing to risk the public’s right to know.
Just last week, a newspaper publisher in Central Texas told me his city council has decided not to send state mandated public notices to him for publication.
They are willing to roll the dice about possible repercussions.
I was also told recently that representatives from the Texas Municipal League are telling City Halls that after this next legislative session, they’ll never have to post another public notice again.
This is disheartening, but it’s nothing new.
Every two years, overzealous lawmakers seek to strip public notices from publication.
It’s an ongoing battle the Texas Press Association fights on a daily basis.
So, all this being said, maybe a community is served well by someone who wears both hats— news person and elected official.
A newspaper person’s first ethical dedication is to the public’s right to know.
This dedication supplants all others.
It is why we do what we do.
If City Halls and the TML want to stifle public information— perhaps you are better served by somebody representing you who doesn’t.
Maybe that editor will be an advocate in their position in elected government.
Maybe they will approach the position for the sake of true, honest transparency.
Big corporate media companies have employee policies requiring one to resign to run for public office.
I’ve worked at places like this.
It’s pretty simple— if you want to run for school board, you can’t work there.
Corporate-owned media companies often do not represent the pulse of the communities they serve. They don’t get it.
The independent, family owned newsrooms are staffed and owned by people who reflect the community because we are members of the community.
We live here. We work here. We pay taxes here.
Our kids play together. We volunteer together.
If that commitment to community involves holding elected office, running a newspaper and raising money for the booster club or PTO— so be it.
Source: Freepik.com