Thanks for Making the Chronicle a Success

EDITORIAL - by Jim Albert - Thursday, April 1, 2010 - Yes, my friends, it's true! The Chronicle has ceased operations as of today! We will no longer be actively reporting local news. I have mixed feelings about this decision but it was, nonetheless, a decision that I needed to make.

Because of contractual obligations, the site will remain online for the next 200+ days. During that period, we will continue to post submitted materials -- letters to the editor, classified ads, announcements and press releases. But we will no longer be writing news articles or covering local meetings. We no longer have a sales staff, so we will not be posting new banner or sidebar ads.

It is my hope that an individual or group will step up to the plate at take over day-to-day operations of this site. I believe the Chronicle has great potential. With the right staff of writers, editors, sales people and office personnel, I see a very bright future for this online publication. It could not only continue to serve the public -- by keeping them informed -- but it could be a very lucrative business venture as well.

I came up with the idea of creating an online newspaper several years ago. To be honest, the Daily Globe was my inspiration. I wanted the Chronicle to be everything the Globe wasn't:

Honest - I strived to make my articles truthful and factual. This isn't easy. When you have strong emotions on issues, it's hard to be objective. I made every effort to separate fact from opinion.

Accurate - I can't begin to tell you how many times I'd read a Globe report of a City meeting I attended only to wonder if I was at the same meeting as the Globe reporter. The reason I made audio recordings of the meetings I attended is so that I didn't misquote people and to insure accuracy. How many of you remember when a local businessman's death was reported in the paper four days before he died? Do you remember when the Globe reported that an Iron County dispatcher was arrested for prostitution? The reporter misread the incident report and put the name of the dispatcher as the accused party. I could go on and on with inaccurate reports that have appeared in our local newspaper.

Responsible - A person has a right to due process. It's wrong to smear a person's reputation without allowing him to have his day in court. It's irresponsible to pass along information that hasn't been properly verified. When a death occurs, decency dictates that you don't publish the identity of the victim until the next of kin are notified. Twisting facts to make a story more interesting and to sell newspapers is wrong. If you aren't capable of doing a proper investigation... don't pretend to do investigative reporting.

Fair - A paper's policies need to apply to everyone equally. You shouldn't out your enemies, and you shouldn't protect your friends. Policy should dictate what stories are "newsworthy" and which are not.

Opinion vs. Fact - Articles shouldn't be a blend of opinion and fact -- they should be factual and truthful. Opinions should be reserved for editorials, editorial comments, and letters to the editor.

 Political Influence - It's not the place for a news organization to endorse issues or candidates. Allowing candidates a forum to express their political beliefs is a good thing, but a news publication should never endorse candidates or political issues. The Chronicle was apolitical.

Open - It's not right to publish letters to the editor that only match your opinions. If you allow an individual to express his views on an issue, it's only fair to allow the next individual the opportunity to express his opposing view. Intelligent people can read a variety of opinions on any given topic and are able to formulate their own opinions on that topic. Presenting only one side of an issue, in my mind, is cheating the reader.

I believe I achieved my goal. I am proud of the product we produced. I truly believe we served a need in the community, and I am very grateful to everybody that participated in the process. It amazes me that we have had nearly eighteen million hits in such a short time!

Thanks to everybody for the tremendous show of support I have received since the announcement was made that we will be ceasing operations. I wish you all well, and thanks again!

Jim Albert

P.S. - If you are interested in the Chronicle, please contact me at (906) 932-1810 or by email at deaf_services@sbcglobal.net.