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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us December 22, 2005 OUR VIEW Board is a model for newspaper credibility The challenges to newspapers in America right now are significant. The historic fourth estate finds itself taking a hard look at not only how it will deliver information, but also what it can do to maintain — some would say rebuild — the level of readers’ trust and confidence in that information. This task is foremost of all goals at the Ashland Daily Tidings. In addition to error audits, reader surveys, news content overhauls and procedural changes, the Tidings has taken a hard look at virtually everything it does. The latest effort to increase credibility, not to mention our connection to the community, began with the formation of the Ashland Daily Tidings Readers Board. Once formed, the board members were asked not only to represent the community, but to offer independent evaluation of the newspaper itself. Readers boards are nothing new. Most papers at one time or another invite members of the community to represent views, make suggestions and offer historical perspective. But in this era of greater accountability, marginal representation may not be enough to build credibility within the community. In this way, the Tidings readership board has been a unique project, one that is proving to be a tremendous strength for the Ashland Daily Tidings. Few papers that we know of forge such an active and intimate relationship with a volunteer group from the community. Few papers invite unfettered evaluation by its readers. Our readers board has offered a level of expertise, community awareness and diverse perspectives to the Tidings. The board’s only mission is to make the newspaper paper better. They owe no allegiance to anything or anyone except the readers of our newspaper. Six months into this experiment, we applaud this board’s diligence, commitment and independence. The members are not cheerleaders of the paper, but as they have contributed through hard work and earnest discussion, they have come to respect and promote the paper in the community. The readers board has become an important voice of the community for the Tidings, a paper built on more than a century of community involvement. The readers board speaks up for the reader. Collectively, they argue for fairness, encourage the paper to take a greater leadership role and give the readers the benefit of their insight. It has been said that newspapers owe society the information they need to be a self-governing people. In a small community, this is especially important, where fewer local options for news exist and the potential for biased passions to confuse clear information is even greater. The readers board has helped the Tidings improve in regard to this mission. To that end we thank them and look forward to continued progress in 2006. It remains an honor to be Ashland’s newspaper, as we have been for nearly 130 years. We wish you all a wonderful new year. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Deep Muscle Stimulator Ceramic Piggy Banks FREE Entertainment Guide Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products Backpacks Generic Viagra Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Sportsbook Absinthe Supply Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations African Safari Hammocks Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Bonus Casino King of Spirits ink cartridges Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams