I stumbled upon a few Facebook postings from some of my fellow Ellinwood High School classmates noting that our 35th class reunion was coming up in July. That gathering is fodder for another day, but the idea that I’ve been out of high school for three and a half decades brought to mind that I have also been affiliated in some for or another with journalism for that same time span.
I often joke that I contracted journalism as a teen as if I had contracted some rare, incurable disease. Or, it could be considered an addiction, one my wife has tried to get me into treatment for since typewriters and Kodak Tri-X film.
Fear not, this is not going to be one of those “I remember when” columns about how things of have changed. Sure, one day all this could be done by robots that can spell “pneumonia” and know the difference between “effect” and “affect,” but this, too, is a topic for some other time.
Instead, this is going to be a discussion of what hasn’t changed.
I spent the better part of a day recently visiting with classrooms of potential future reporters at Great Bend High School. These were kids who don’t know a world without the internet, cell phones or social media and the challenge was finding common ground.
Truth is, not as much has changed as one might think. That is what I chose to focus on.
Sure, the way we deliver the news to our readers has changed, if not grown much more diverse. Newspapers are now doing broadcasts and video, the thoughts of which turned the stomachs of many young journalists in the early 1980s.
But, a few things remain the same.
First, we must still be able to effectively communicate information. Whether you are writing on stone tablets or papyrus, or writing for the web or mobile device, the need for good, strong writing remains.
Thankfully, emojies haven’t devoured the English language like Pac-Man, yet. Grammar and style are still key.
And, so is content. Journalism 101 in 1983 taught us to always answer “who,” “what,” “when,” “where” and “why,” along with “how.”
Basic reporting also taught us that the truth is the truth, facts are facts and opinion is opinion. That leads me to the second thing that remains constant.
Any writer knows that word selection can mean the difference between putting a reader to sleep or into a coma, or inciting them to war or rebellion. News stories should do neither.
We don’t connect the dots, just present the dots, or the facts, not draw conclusions. Sure some stores could be more exciting. But the goal is not to rouse the rabble to grab pitchforks and torches, just tell them where the castle is located and that Dr. Frankenstein lives there.
After the Tribune runs a story, most often when it is a bit on the controversial side, people will storm our gates. “Why didn’t you report this or that? There is more to the story, why didn’t you print that?”
The answer is simple. Prove it.
We don’t go to press with a story unless we can verify information from more than one source. We also have to have folks willing to go on the record with their comments and information.
Before a big story breaks, there are a lot of behind-the-scenes discussion that takes place. Do we want to run with this? Do we have all of the facts straight? Do we have all the facts, period? Is there another side to this?
Then, we discuss about placement. On the front page? If so, where? Above the fold or at the bottom?
This all plays into our credibility, which is our hallmark. It is what sets us apart from the talking heads on news networks.
We don’t make this stuff up. If we did, we’d be the purveyors of “fake news.”
Lastly, we realize many don’t want the boat rocked. They want to only read about the garden club or school plays.
“Why all the negative news?” they ask. Sadly, it exists.
Just like it is our job to be accurate and fair, it is also our job to present the bad along with the good.
We just try to do it with compassion.

Dale Hogg is the managing editor of the Great Bend Tribune. He can be reached at dhogg@gbtribune.com.