Most people can tell it is election season by the sudden uptick in campaign advertising and, of course, all the candidate signs popping up in yards and intersections. I, however, have a different signal. Each spring and fall, our downtown Warren office becomes home to a parade of political ...

In two weeks, we will hit the six-month anniversary of taking over publication of The Vindicator — and what a wonderful, yet crazy, six months it has been! Earlier this month I had the opportunity to be part of a panel discussion at the Ohio News Media Association’s annual conference in ...

Lively public debate and dialogue about community issues are a big part of our democratic process. Residents must be able to discuss issues, and journalists must be able to report on them — each without fear of landing in court facing accusations of libel or defamation. Yet, sadly, there ...

I had the pleasure last week of participating in our first two of several upcoming “Meet The Vindicator” events, where many of us who bring you your daily newspaper headed out into the community to meet with our new readers in Mahoning County. The meetings were informative, not only for ...

Frequently I have used this space to protest what I perceive as a growing divide and increasing lack of balance in news reporting by the national media today. Sadly, consumers of news lost one of the great ones in journalism last week — one who always could be counted on to report with ...

It was one month ago today that I sat on the exam table in my family physician’s office for my annual checkup. Clacking away on the computer keyboard, the doc entered her notes, then paused and glanced up at me. “Do you want a flu shot, today?” she asked. :No,” I responded. “I ...

“Context is key.” I’ve shared those words with young college journalism students when I taught basic reporting classes several years ago. I also shared those words in a column almost exactly one year ago when I wrote about the viral video of young Covington, Ky., high school student ...

An upstate New York school district now is using new technology to keep students safe from intruders. On the surface, it sounds good, but the idea has triggered much outrage and controversy from parents and civil rights advocates who fear it will compromise student privacy. That’s ...

As I wrap up the final week of 2019, like most folks, I’m reflecting on the ups and downs of the past year here and looking forward to what 2020 will bring in the world of news. In keeping with tradition, our newsroom this year has picked what we view as the biggest local news stories of ...

I meet weekly with Rick Muccio, the freelance artist who creates local editorial page cartoons for this newspaper. He drops by about once a week to pitch cartoon ideas he has for possible use on these pages. While we don’t always agree on political topics of the day, I enjoy chatting with ...