George,

Thanks for the opportunity to comment on the Indymedia article.

I think sites like CvilleIndymedia offer a valuable opportunity for residents to get involved and express their opinion openly. I check it out every day.

It saddens me to hear that people feel they can't participate in the news. The very reason reporter's phone numbers and e-mail addresses are listed at the bottom of our stories is to give people the chance to tell us what they think [e.g. Contact David Dadurka at (434) 978-7299 or ddadurka@dailyprogress.com]. But I find people don't take advantage of this enough.

I know of at least one occasion when a Progress reporter was reading comments on cvillenews.com and found the comments of those who were posting insightful enough to prompt a follow-up story.

I'm glad Alexis feels that the local media has been helpful on local issues. He's made comments criticizing media careerists in other area publications and I think that's a poor stereotype of news reporters. We got into this job to expose the best and worst in people, certainly not for the money.

I've never worked for a national news outlet, but from those reporters I've talked with who do I've never heard any complaints about editors killing a story because it criticizes a business or public official. I'm sure it happens (though its more likely that it gets killed because the reporter hasn't done a thorough job and editors fear lawsuits). Even more likely there are some stories that unfortunately fall through the cracks, because editorial departments in the news industry as a whole are being shortstaffed. That's where the everyday person comes in.

I have my own misgivings working for a corporate media outlet -- I'm not crazy about the concept of a corporation owning both a newspaper and a TV station in the same town, which is one of Media General's goals in each of its marketplaces. However, having worked at the Progress for more than two years, I haven't seen a corporate conspiracy to twist and shape what reporters write. In fact, I've seen the publisher all of maybe four times since I've been here. Reporters rarely talk to the editorial opinion writer.

The Indymedia site has strong potential for publishing source material. I would encourage more posting of public documents, it's something that though corporate media has the capability to do it but doesn't do often enough because of staffing. Exercise your FOIA rights, we are losing them piece by piece.

And I would encourage the editors to learn more about libel law. I was surprised by the decision to drop the "Commonwealth Transportation Board Rep on WINA" post. If an executive or owner of Eure Communications contributed to Schilling's campaign, then why not post it openly? Newspapers cite corporate contributions to political campaigns all the time, I don't see the harm in Indymedia posting that.

I do have some concern about the contributors of the site taking on the role of journalist. I hope they refrain from calling their writers that. It would be like me calling myself a carpenter because I hammer a few nails on occasion. Rey [Barry] is right. News reporters are expected to look at a story from as many different angles as possible. The average person is probably not going to take the time to interview multiple sources or verify the accuracy of the information they use.

Thanks,

Dave Dadurka (electronic mail, May 14, 2004)

For related article, see also The Daily Progress - The Only Local Daily in a Sophisticated Market.