FROM THE EDITOR
With conscientious journalism, we will overcome
By
Terrance Thornton
Independent
Newsmedia Those of us here at Independent Newsmedia Inc. USA believe the
printed word still means something.
It seems
public discussion of meaningful issues has been made difficult --- if not
impossible --- thanks to partisan politics, personal attacks and inaccurate
information.
The
result is not healthy for a democracy. Citizens are wary of getting involved in
public issues. They don’t attend meetings. They don’t educate themselves on the
issues facing their communities.
Bad
discussion leads to bad decisions made by governmental bodies. Citizens feel
left out and neglected. They turn away from the democratic process.
That’s
not good.
Local
newspapers, however, have always played a key role in nurturing democracy ---
and I’m convinced they remain as important as ever. Indeed, there is no more
important time for a local newspaper to matter in communities around
thenation. Scottsdale is no exception.
Our goal
--- our mission -- at the Scottsdale Independentnewspaper is to provide that service and be that newspaper
to residents of Scottsdale.
Independent
Newsmedia Inc. USA, publishers of theScottsdale
Independent, is a unique publishing and
printing company that supports every American’s First Amendment rights and
encourages and assists citizens in exercising those rights responsibly.
We’ve
published a local newspaper in one form or another in Scottsdale for over three
decades. But it’s this unrelenting dedication to that ideal that has lead us to
prosper where others have stumbled.
Continual
improvement is our constant goal, and we are always looking to improve our
impact on those who care about the community of Scottsdale.
But we’re
in this together. We need your help in order to accomplish our mission of
building a weekly newspaper and online product that accurately refl ects the
great community you call home.
A little
bit about us
Our
unique structure is designed to maintain our independence from corporate
interests, political leanings or even our own viewpoints because my opinion ---
or the ones possessed by those above me --- have no place in the practice of
conscientious journalism at the Scottsdale Independent newspaper. We pay taxes like any other company, but
there are no shareholders, no dividends are paid, and all after-tax profits are
reinvested in serving our mission. We are held in sacred trust by a rotating
group of five trustees who believe in our mission and are pledged not to
benefit personally from their involvement. We have thought this out
and believe steadfastly we are ready to become what others were before us:
the local paper of record.
Your
thoughts matter
We at the Scottsdale
Independent are dedicated to the
idea our profession is explicitly protected by the First Amendment of the U.S.
Constitution and with that charge comes great responsibility --- one we don’t
take lightly.
A major
focal point of our pledge to readers hinges on ensuring the ability for an
everyday citizen to voice his or her opinion on matters of the day. Our pledge
to readers promises that we will:
• Operate
our newspapers and websites as members of a sacred public trust;
• Report
the news with honesty, accuracy, purposeful neutrality, fairness, objectivity,
fearlessness and compassion;
• Use our
opinion pages to facilitate community debate, not to push our own opinions;
• Provide
the information citizens need to make their own intelligent decisions about
public issues;
• Help
our communities become better places to live and work, through our dedication
to conscientious journalism;
• Treat
people with courtesy, respect and compassion;
• Provide a right to
reply to those we write about;
•
Disclose our own confl icts of interest or potential conflicts to our
readers;
• Correct
our errors and to give each correction the prominence it deserves (on pg. 1 if
that’s where the error was).
Get
involved in your community
A great
community deserves a great newspaper.
I want
you to tell me and our staff what is going on around you and what needs to be
reported on at scotts-daleindependent. com and in the Scottsdale
Independentnewspaper.
Not only
are we committed to reporting the news of Scottsdale fairly and accurately, but
we also want our product to reflect the community and its citizens. We want
your news and photos of school events, clubs, organizations, church activities
and more.
If you
feel passionate about something, let others know by running your opinion in our
newspaper designed specifically to serve your needs. You can email
them directly to me at tthornton@newszap.com or
you can send them to our general email, which is received by everyone on our
editorial team at scottsdalenews@ newszap.com.
