From
Ashley Dawson, Delaware State News managing editor:
We
had a diverse slate of stories that resonated with readers this month.
In
enterprise topics, Matt compared
the salaries of county executives and top-level workers across the state in
a Sunday, October 6 story. Of note was that of 120 county employees topping
$100,000 in annual salaries, more than 100 worked in New Castle County. The
story was a big hit on Facebook, where it was shared 19 times from our page and
gathered 127 comments within days of the story being linked from our website. A
Speak Out column highlighted a diverse mix of those comments.
Other
enterprise stories included a Sunday, October 13, look at breaking up the
state’s largest agency, the Division of Health and Social Services.
That discussion has been spurred by a legislator who is seeking to change the
division’s focus and is holding public meetings this year with an intent to the
report to the General Assembly in late March.
On
Sunday, October 20, Craig Anderson reported on the need for a
specialized DUI court in Sussex given the high rate of repeat offenses
being charged and prosecuted. While felony crimes for drinking under the
influence have dropped in Kent and Sussex counties, the rate is approaching a
four-year high in Sussex. (Interesting to note that the News Journal just
picked up on this story in early November.
Both
of those Sunday stories also generated Speak Out columns.
An
exciting story that we’ve been closely covering – exclusively so far – is the drama
in Harrington since fired city planner Jeremy Rothwell took his improper
termination grievance with the city public October 22 and accused the mayor and
city manager of illegal behavior, based on his observances and documents he
obtained through FOIA requests and shared with the State News.
Within
days, the city
scheduled an executive session to discuss the city manager’s actions. The
day before that meeting, council changed the meeting from a personnel committee
to a full council meeting, posted two versions of the agenda (one at town hall
and one online), and then ordered an independent investigation -- suspending
the city manager while it takes place. The mayor said at that meeting that he
was innocent but would step away from his duties during the investigation.
We
then had a strong Sunday story with business leaders weighing in on the
fallout, the
impact that Rothwell’s presence and absence has made in town and further
details on the players involved in the investigation. This week, Matt reported
on the latest meeting, where some citizens spoke in defense of the mayor and
city manager. Our coverage will continue.
Mike
Finney reported on economic
development throughout the month, with an early story that explained
Grotto’s plans to relocate its dough production to Dover, an overview of the
retail construction taking place in Dover on Monday, October 21, with Dover
planner Dave Hugg touting the strong economy in Kent, illustrated by the 27
projects underway in Dover, 10 in approval stages and 11 under discussion
including the long rumored Cracker Barrel. (As with any time that Cracker
Barrel is mentioned, that created a buzz online and generated a Speak Out
column.) Two weeks later a new shop opened in the new Capital Station and Mike
reported on that activity as part of the shopping center’s completion.
From
Dave Ryan, Dorchester Banner editor:
Dorchester
turns to Banner during flood
Dorchester
Banner readers and other residents of the county found they could turn to the
newspaper, its website and social media during flooding that occurred in early
October.
What
you see in this situation is that locals recognized the Banner as a ready and
trustworthy source of information, both from the paper itself and their
neighbors.
The
incident was not unexpected - high winds offshore and a full moon were on the
way. Folks "Down Below," as marshy South Dorchester is known locally,
knew high water was coming. But when roads began to be blocked, the Cambridge
crew posted news and photos of the situation, and that's when others joined the
conversation.
It
quickly went viral, with thousands viewing the posts. Many commented additional
information as they experienced flooded roads, freely sharing important news
regarding their travel, safety and property.
The
Banner followed this with a cover story on the results of the high tide, which
included property damage, but no injuries. What we saw with this incident was a
small office using its modest resources to get out breaking news, current
nearly to the minute.
Members
of the public acted on that as needed, because they trusted the source and felt
free to comment in the Banner's forum, confident that their remarks would be
treated with respect.
Our
people in Dorchester met the challenge of presenting breaking news - on a
Sunday - to help their neighbors when they needed it.
From
Richard Crumbacker, County Times editor:
High
school students a generation or two ago wrote copy for school newspapers that
were published and printed by the schools themselves.
Those
days are sadly gone for many reasons... lack of staff involvement, fiscal cuts
that slashed school printing budgets, student interest reduced to YouTube
watching, etc.
However,
at Crisfield Academy and High School the “Crabber Current” continues again this
year to be published about every marking period through the assistance of the
County Times. The four-page pull-out section includes student and some staff
content which is entirely composed and presented as a PDF so there is no layout
required on our part.
The
school is billed for the section which it covers through the sponsors at the
bottom of each page. About 100 copies of the section are pulled from office copies
and made available to the school for circulation there.
Students
get a byline or are featured along with staff achievements, the community can
read what’s going on in their local school, and it builds goodwill. The first
fall edition was October 23. (To see the section, go the e-edition and then
search for the October 23 issue.)
There
is a second school and a private school in our market but school newspapers
require a committed advisor, advertising sponsorship, and students willing to
write. That trifecta does not exist at every location and knowing that one of
the three legs of this stool is going to retire at the end of the school year
could mean this is the Crabber Current’s last year as well.
From
Greg Bassett, Salisbury Independent editor:
October
was election season in Salisbury and the Salisbury Independent worked to make
sure voters had plenty of information before they went to the polls.
The
newspaper previewed in detail each of the five City Council contests, as well
as offering comprehensive coverage of the city mayor’s contest. The newspaper
also filed a well-received story detailing the candidates’ campaign receipts
and expenditures.
Just
prior to the election, the newspaper published a guest column from a local
business leader, challenging citizens to share with candidates what the unified
vision should be for the community.
Also,
this year the newspaper once again tapped its association with the local PEG
station, PAC 14, to interview 10 candidates for public office, as well as ensure
coverage of the mayoral debate held at the local university.
The
interviews were recorded and broadcast multiple times on cable television, and
were also made available on YouTube, the Salisbury Independent website and via
social networking pages.
Editor
also appeared on local NPR station to promote election edition and discuss city
races.
YouTube
Views (1,961)
--District
1 – 254 total views.
--District
2 – 67 total views.
--District
3 – 109 total views.
--District
4 – 56 total views.
--District
5 – 249 total views.
--Mayor
– 1,226 total views.
FaceBook
--Total
election story reaches: 26,738.
--Total
election story engagements: 6,724.
Reader
election column
--Total
election story reaches: 1,076.
--Total
election story engagements: 356.
Links
NPR
Interview
