Accurate, fair reporting best way to grow trust

March 12, 2023

A Pew Research Center survey released in October indicates that half of the 18- to 29-year-olds in the United States have “some” or even “a lot” of trust in information they get from social media sites. Frightening, I know. But here’s something that’s even more worrisome. That number is just about 6 percent lower than the 56 percent of those surveyed who said they have the same level of trust in information obtained from national news organizations. We’re talking CNN, Wall Street Journal, NBC News reporting here. The only consolation I take from the study is a ...

Drones are latest unregulated policing efforts

March 5, 2023

Not only are some communities OK with doing police work with electronic devices like unmanned cameras and license plate readers, but now some also are answering 9-1-1 calls for help with — wait for it — drones. An informed and attentive reader last week emailed me a Feb. 27 story from the MIT Technology Review about a California town where police drones respond to 911 calls. According to the story, the “true debate on privacy and policies is lagging behind.” Sounds familiar. Last Sunday, this newspaper’s editorial board (of which I am a member) took issue with the fact ...

Improvements coming to Sunday Vindy

February 26, 2023

If you’re looking for this regular column in its usual spot in the A section of next Sunday’s newspaper, you won’t find it. Yes, I’ll still be writing my weekly column; it just won’t be in the A section — nor will be the other Opinion page features. Beginning Sunday, March 5, we are making some minor changes to the Sunday edition in order to expand our coverage in areas that we have found to be popular among readers. In order to ensure we have enough space, we will be relocating some regular features. They still will be here. They just might be in a different place. ...

Residents need answers now, not rhetoric

February 19, 2023

Cargo onboard the derailed Norfolk Southern train in East Palestine wasn’t classified as “hazardous,” but clearly it was. Trains hauling cargo designated as “high hazardous” require notice to Ohio’s office of Homeland Security and Department of Public Safety. So why was this derailed train that ignited rail cars full of toxic carcinogens not classified this way? Dan Tierney, spokesman for Gov. Mike DeWine, last week told me it simply was because not enough cars were hauling hazardous chemicals. The train did not have a high enough percentage of its freight cars ...

Many questions remain in reporter’s arrest

February 12, 2023

My newsroom staff and I spent much of last week working with our sister newspapers in Columbiana County covering the devastating train wreck in East Palestine that threatened people’s homes, health and even their lives. Every day — every hour, really — something new developed in what very likely someday could become the script for a blockbuster movie. We reported rapidly the developments, repeatedly adding new Breaking News posts at www.vindy.com. Like the entire community, we held our collective breath when crews worked to rid the twisted rail cars of deadly chemicals that ...

Use vast sources to stay most informed

February 4, 2023

Debate and discourse, as I’ve frequently noted in this very column, are critical to ensuring we are well educated on decisions involving our present and our future. I personally enjoy reading or hearing well framed arguments from those who feel passionately about their beliefs — but only when those arguments are researched, fact-based and attributed to reputable sources. I’d love to tell you this newspaper is all you need, but that’s simply not true. Rather, to be really educated, you information must come from varied sources. Some might even describe my demand for ...