Category Archives: media news

media news

Warning labels on social media devices? Sure!

US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy is onto something with his proposal to place labels on social media devices warning parents and their children of the emotional harm that comes to those who use those devices excessively.

The idea, according to Murthy — an internist by training — is to put labels on these devices the same way a previous surgeon general mandated the placing of warning labels on cigarette packs. Those warnings, which began with a sort of milquetoast message about the potential harm that cigarettes bring, have gotten more direct.

It’s not yet clear whether children would heed the warnings on social media devices — smart phones, I-pads and various apps they can download onto their computers.

My own children are now grown men. I do have an 11-year-old granddaughter who is pretty darn social media savvy already. She doesn’t access the sites that can do harm to her and for that I credit her parents for keeping sharp eyes on what she watches and reads.

Dr. Murthy’s message is aimed at the emotional harm that does befall many children in this social media age. They are bullied mercilessly. They are driven to do harm to themselves and to others.

This well could be one of those rare moments when political foes can actually agree that warning labels, if taken seriously, can actually save lives and preserve society’s sanity.

media news

Retirement allows for mind expansion

As I ponder the direction my life is taking since retirement arrived nearly a dozen years ago, I am left to consider one of the benefits of all this free time.

It allows me to expand my mind.

My noggin had been cluttered and filled with daily responsibilities associated with putting out a newspaper every day. I spent nearly 37 years in various capacities as a print journalist. I was on deadline every one of those years. I started out as a sportswriter; I gravitated to a general assignment reporter; then I became an editorial writer; then I became the editor of an editorial page.

I held that last job description for more than 25 years before I was (more or less) shown the door on Aug. 31, 2012. I have enjoyed a grand time ever since. The final years of my journalism career became decidedly less “fun” than they were for the entire time preceding the final laps I took.

That was then. I have been liberated from the daily grind and have walked with my head held high into a new world that allows me to expand my noggin just a bit beyond where I thought it was possible.

Blogging has been a marvelous avocation for me to pursue. I am allowed to speak my mind without “bosses” setting boundaries for me to avoid crossing. I do follow the rules of good taste and I have avoided libeling anyone with my blathering about this and that.

All told, my new career as a blogger has been a mind-expanding experience. How much more expansion is in store for me? Hey, I’ll just presume the sky is the limit.

media news

Trump: recipe for boredom

It is becoming apparent to me that readers of High Plains Blogger are as bored with the 45th POTUS as I am.

I now shall explain myself.

Yes, I am writing about him. However, I hope readers have taken note that I am veering off the political trail and into more, um, human interest matters. Those other issues seem to be garnering more attention among HPB readers than my usual prattle about Donald J. Trump, who I believe is the most dangerous politician of my lifetime.

Also, I want to mention — even though it is obvious — that I have returned to referring to the former POTUS by his name. I am doing so sparingly. Why? Because even the appearance of his name sends me into fits of boredom. That means I’ll offer up the occasional pejorative reference to him.

I long have promoted this blog as specializing on “politics, public policy” and on “slice of life” topics. It’s the latter topic that gives me the most pleasure these days. We all have lives outside of political issues. I am preferring, therefore, to talk about those matters that occupy more of our minds than the ramblings of politicians.

I even consider this blog entry a sort of “slice-of-life” item. I hope you feel the same.

This all leads me to another point I want to make. It is that blogging has flung the door wide open to yours truly. I am not bound to rely only on the stumble-bum rhetoric that flies out of politicians’ pie holes. It’s a big ol’ world out there and I like exploring as much of it as I can. Given that I created this blog more than a dozen years ago, I have delivered myself the perfect venue to do the one thing that seems to come so naturally.

I like to write. I hope to keep you interested.

local news, media news

Mortality presents itself

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You’ve heard it said, I am sure, that “growing old isn’t for the … ”

Wimpy. Weak. Pansies. Faint-hearted. You know more of them. Of that I also am sure. I mention this because of a realization I made the other day while reaching out to a good friend who I’ve known since we were teenagers back in our hometown of Portland, Ore.

I hadn’t heard from this friend in, oh, several months. He normally keeps up with this blog and gets in touch with me via social media on a fairly regular basis.

He went off the proverbial grid. Or so I thought.

I reached out to another friend, a former high school classmate, to ask whether he had heard from our mutual pal. He said he hadn’t heard a word from him … or nothing about him. I told Friend No. 2 I would call the “lost” friend to see how he’s doing.

I did. He answered his phone. “Hey, man,” I said. “I have been thinking about you and wondered how you’re doing. I hadn’t heard from you in some time, so I am just checking in with you.”

We chatted some more. His voice sounded strong. He told me he had some surgery on his neck to take care of a “lymph node problem.” I then told him of my concern. “Hey, we’re all of a certain age that when I don’t hear from one of my peers, I start thinking the worst,” I said. My pal laughed out loud. He knew precisely what I meant.

How old are we? We’re in our mid-70s. We graduated from high school in the Summer of Love, 1967. Many of us went to war right after high school. Many of my friends have flourished, raised fine families and, of course, endured our share of tragedy and heartbreak.

I suppose this is my recognition that since time is no one’s friend that a sense of mortality has this way of creeping up on all of us.

Live life to the fullest, y’all. Because you never know …

 

media news

Media are supposed to be at odds with government

As followers of this blog know, I enjoyed a modestly successful career as a print journalist, which I pursued with great joy and dedication.

Never once during my nearly 37 years on the job did I ever consider myself anyone’s “enemy.” Certainly not the readers I served while working for newspapers in Oregon and Texas.

The climate today is vastly different than the one I entered in the 1970s. I came out of college intent on changing the world, a la journalists who had done their parts toward that end. I didn’t want to change it to fit my own description of what the world should resemble.

My intent was to report on issues I saw developing and seek remedies to bring changes to flaws I recognized and identified. I don’t believe that’s a nefarious motive.

I just watched a 90-minute documentary on Dan Rather, the former TV news anchor who, in his words, always sought the truth and tried to tell it the best he could. One of the principals quoted in the Netflix piece alluded to the natural tension between government and those who report on it via the media.

The tension was natural, and it was precisely as the nation’s founders intended. Media representatives are assigned the task of rooting out wrongdoing, of reporting on what government is doing well, of telling the human stories that affect every community … and of offering commentary that provides leadership and guidance to a community that seeks it.

I want to take a moment to express my pride in the craft I still pursue and of those who are pursuing full time to this very day. They are facing some ferocious headwinds from those who seek to run our government and therefore set policy on our behalf.

Those of us who know about those forces resisting our best efforts understand fully the need for journalists to keep moving forward. Are we perfect? Do we get it right every single time?

Hell no! We are human beings! We do, though, answer to what I believe is a high calling.

local news, media news

So many acquaintances

Blogging is my newest form of self-expression, although it certainly isn’t all that new, as I have been at it full time since 2012.

That makes a dozen years since I commenced this latest endeavor to put my thoughts on some form of cyber “paper” and distribute it throughout our known world.

Where am I going with this? I want to explain one of the phenomena associated with blogging that doesn’t seem to get as much attention as I believe it should. This form of commentary has introduced me to many acquaintances with whom I have no other personal connection.

They read these musings and are moved, either out of total agreement or the exact opposite, to be notified every time I post something that flies into cyberspace.

Am I moved at times to get to know these individuals? It depends on whether we agree politically. Occasionally, I hear from one of them whenever I write something positive about President Joe Biden. He will respond usually with a snarky comment aimed at his dislike of Biden’s policies.

The other stuff that flies into space from my laptop? All I get are the proverbial crickets.

Hey, no worries. I always await his reaction when I bellow something good about Biden or something negative about the moron who wants to run against him this fall.

He is far from alone among those lying in wait. The good news is that many critics of High Plains Blogger express themselves with a form of gentleness. I am casually acquainted with some of them. They might know members of my family. I might have actually met them. Then again, maybe not. I will engage them in some repartee, but only if I’m in the mood.

I tend to let my views stand as my final word on a subject once they are posted and sent rocketing into space. I am advised to engage more frequently than not, though. Debating readers who respond is supposed to “connect” me with the audience. Well, maybe so. Then again, it might widen the divide.

I continue to enjoy this avocation. It doesn’t pay me much money, but I ain’t in it for the cash. I do this because I just like writing and I like putting my stamp on this ever-changing world of ours.

Plus, it builds my sphere of acquaintances.

local news, media news

It’s like riding a bike

One of the things I discovered immediately upon taking up this gig as a freelance reporter is that I retained my ability to craft a human-interest feature story.

I spent the bulk of my nearly 37-year career in print journalism as an opinion writer and editor. Before that, though, I broke in the way most reporters do, writing general-assignment news stories and features about interesting individuals.

My full-time print journalism career ended in August 2012 and I was, to borrow a phrase, sent out to pasture. Then my wife and I moved to North Texas and I started working on a freelance basis for a husband-and-wife-owned group of weekly newspapers. My beat, such as it is, covers mostly Princeton and Farmersville.

That’s when the realization struck. I hadn’t lost the touch I acquired when I was starting out pursuing this joyous craft. I am not going to fill you with false bravado about the quality of the work I have done for my new bosses. Suffice to say, though, that they can depend on me to deliver them what they seek in a timely fashion. Deadlines, man, are everything in print journalism.

I also have determined that communities such as those I cover in Collin County still depend on local newspapers to tell their stories. It certainly is true that the digital age of journalism, the COVID pandemic and political pressure from on high all have had an impact on our influence in people’s lives.

However, community journalism is still kicking in Collin County, Texas. I am delighted to be able to continue to contribute to the telling of those stories to people who constantly tell me they still relish the feel of an actual newspaper in their hands.

local news, media news

This news hurts badly

Freddie Campbell was a dear friend, a confidant and someone with whom I could discuss just about anything.

He died the other day, apparently of complications from cancer. I struggled a bit over how I want to remember Freddie. I came up with something to share, so … here goes.

We worked together for nearly 11 years at the Beaumont Enterprise. I ran the editorial page, Freddie was the paper’s IT guru, the guy who kept the main-frame computer system running.

My day started the same way practically every day once Freddie and I became acquainted. I would go to work, read the paper (which was required of us) and start planning the day’s tasks.

Then Freddie would amble into my office. He would sit down and we then would begin discussing the news of the day. Later on, as often as not, the news involved the then-president of the United States, Bill Clinton. Freddie hailed from Little Rock, Ark., so he was quite familiar with the president. He didn’t think much of Bill Clinton and was unafraid to express his dislike to me. I had a different view of the 42nd POTUS. We would tussle, argue, even get our dander up. He then would get up and go about his day.

The routine would repeat itself the next day and days after that.

Freddie was a good man. He was smart and came from a family steeped in newspaper tradition. He was so very proud of his daughter and the woman she became.

But curiously, though, our friendship hit the rocks in recent years. We lost touch with each other because in the current toxic environment that has poisoned so many relationships, we couldn’t argue our points and then move on.

I regret deeply that our friendship soured.

Rather than talk any more about that, though, I am going to recall the joy we both felt in working for a newspaper, the Beaumont Enterprise, that sought to report on the community, to offer perspective on where we believed was the right direction for the region we covered … and toiled diligently to ensure we could deliver the news each day.

Well done, Freddie Campbell.

media news

News has become boring

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News junkies — such as me — shouldn’t ever say what is in my heart and what is about to come out on this blog.

But the candid fact is that the news is beginning to bore me. I spent two weeks in Germany without a TV in sight in the home of my friends. I didn’t miss the commentary and reporting offered by international journalists.

I have been home for a few days and to be honest I have barely turned the TV on since my return. Why is that?

I think it’s because the news has become predictable. The news involving the former POTUS is tracking just about the way many of us thought it would. He is facing criminal prosecution involving the 130 grand payment to the adult film actress. I have heard conflicting reports on how the trial is going. I’m going to wait for the verdict.

The Israel-Hamas war might be getting a break from the carnage. I’m going to wait for the agreement to be announced.

Student protests have erupted on college campuses around the country, including at University of Texas-Dallas. Students are upset with what they believe is our nation’s wrong-headed support of Israel.

I am trying to get re-engaged. A part of me wants to re-connect with the news outlets. However, I keep waiting for reporting that isn’t stale, or on issues about which I know plenty already.

The ex-POTUS’s conduct — including the violations of the gag order imposed by the judge in his hush money trial — would have landed him in the slammer, were it not for his title of ex-Philanderer in Chief.

I am left with trying to find other ways to occupy my noggin. Surely, I can locate something to fill this thick skull of mine.

media news

No TV? No big deal!

NUREMBERG, Germany — I have been living in a home for the past few days that has no TV.

There isn’t one to be found anywhere. You know what? I don’t miss what my Dad used to call the “boob tube” … and he sold them for a living!

My friends opened their home to me about 10 days ago. We did watch a film on one of their laptops: “The Post,” starring Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks, about the release of the Pentagon Papers.

As for the news as presented by TV journalists, well, it has bored me to sleep for too long as it is. Prime-time programming might not be any good, either. Although to be honest, I don’t know what they show on German TV networks. So, I don’t really know what I am missing.

I am not devoid of news. I sure have plenty of outlets to feed me information I need to know. I have been keeping up with the hush money trial of the former president. And some other stuff, too.

I will say, though, that my friends’ home is a quiet place without the white noise humming from a television set.

Am I going to change my ways when I return home to Texas in just a little bit? Hardly.

The respite, though, is welcome.