Bond's Broadcast

Aggressive. First. Accurate.

Followed by honesty and integrity.

These three words sum up the editorial mission of The Sidney Sun-Telegraph.

As a small town, daily newspaper it is always our mission to gather news in a responsible manner.

First, being aggressive allows a certain amount of esteem to be latched onto our journalistic pursuits. It’s essential that those reporting for our newspaper, editing copy, or preparing the printed pages through design apply specific principals in the field of journalism.

I have learned over the years to study the patterns of the masters of success in this business. The more a journalist can bring to a job the better off the paper is – as well in general are the readers who use the publication each time it is printed or uploaded.

As some of you know we added a new staff member to our editorial department. Her name is Hannah Van Ree and she earned her academic stripes in the Edward R. Murrow School of Journalism at Washington State University. That was Mr. Murrow’s alma mater.

Edward R. Murrow was born in 1908 and died in 1965. He was a hard hitting, skilled journalist who was aggressive every day of his working life.

Added to his great journalistic approach and results he was regarded as one of the world’s best journalists based on his honesty and integrity. And that, is what it is all about.

In addition to Mr. Murrow one of the greatest reporters to every pen a story or cover a national event is Helen Thomas. The long-time reporter for United Press and then United Press International, she covered eight presidents and an array of characters in the nation’s capital and around the world.

Not only are both of these perfect examples of those who are aggressive – there are many great professionals to pride themselves in breaking big stories – these two representatives of the Fourth Estate also make it a point to be first.

Being first is what drives those who report or capture the news and those of that ilk. Being on the scene, gathering accurate and confirmed data and filing or writing or uploading a story of a breaking news event offers a great deal of energy and especially motivation.

Getting in front of the game and being first in the true, honest presentation of the news is extremely important to allowing those who read or view your work to develop confidence in the work produced day after day, event after event.

Last, and certainly just as important, accuracy drives the relevance of every story. In fact, of the three words of choice in this column I would far prefer to be accurate than first. That is what has caused the demise of so many in the media. It has shortchanged the readers of many publications and the lack of ethics – such as tapping cell phones for data – is just wrong. Papers have closed as national publishers chose profits over people – and quality on a large scale.

I hope things never change at least when I am the responsible party. I will always ask if information and sources are honest, have integrity and are sound in the pursuit of accurate journalism. Always have, always will.

And so, for another week, thanks and thirty.

Contact Hank Bond via email at [email protected]