Tidings missing the `good' in kids 4

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--> --> Tidings missing the `good' in kids By Russell Otte Choir Director, AHS On June 14, 70 students plus chaperones and friends departed from Ashland High School to perform at one of the most significant performance venues in the world. Why was there no coverage in the newspaper? Parents had contacted the paper with information to share about this outstanding honor. On June 17, these 70 students joined musicians from Venus, Florida; Bowling Green, Kentucky; Portland, Oregon; and New York City for a performance of Mozart's Requiem for a standing ovation in Carnegie Hall. Upon returning to Ashland on June 19, I contacted a reporter of the Tidings staff requesting some form of coverage of this outstanding effort and was told that she would work it in. It is now June 23rd. The material offered to a writer in regard to the outstanding positive activity of 70 students has been set aside without public report while that same writer has gone digging for a negative report on a small number of AHS students-former students and reported on the front page. I don't get it. At the minimum, our community deserves to know about the good things going on as well as the "bad." How dare the policy and/or philosophy of our "local community paper" denigrate the positive work of large numbers of young people by selecting to report the negative only. Sensationalism does not build a healthy community. If you must report the "bad" to meet some journalistic standard, then at least have the courage to report an equal amount of "good." Make a conscious decision to look for outstanding activities by young people in arenas other than sports and put as much effort into reporting those successes to the community so that citizens can have faith in young people. At the moment the 70 young people with whom I work have learned from the Ashland Daily Tidings that the way to receive acclaim and fame is to misbehave and break the rules. The power of the press is mighty. That which is not said can be just as powerful as that which is said. The silence from the press about the good done by these young people is a deafening lesson. Will the press accept the results of the education provided to the students? Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing