Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
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Ironic, isn’t it, that a system that provides so many advantages for its citizens also provides the means of its own demise. Unlike nearly every other system of government that came before it, U.S. democracy offered its citizens individual freedom, respect and relative equality. Yes, it’s true that the founders left women and enslaved people out of their plans, but, thankfully, the nation has moved to implement the founders’ original principles as we have learned more about and moved to embrace what they actually mean. American democracy makes...
Dear editor: Nebraskans for Peace State Board supports American Democracy as stated in the US. Constitution, with its openness to human rights for all people and its checks and balances in government through the legislative, executive and judicial. We urge our fellow Nebraskans to further democracy through widening perspective by reading writers one disagrees with and try to understand their thinking. Nebraskans for Peace acknowledges the large number of newspapers in Nebraska and the existence...
Typically, at the end of the legal notices that run in the paper, I add the phrase, "The public has the right to know." You do. The premise is etched into our statehouse's north wall, "The Salvation of the State is Watchfulness in the Citizen." Now, more than ever, you should educate yourselves on the ins and outs of freedom of information laws. Now, more than ever, there's a need for citizens to become involved. This is Sunshine Week, a time to highlight the necessity of open government. In...
Sunshine Week is March 10 through 16, and this year, there's an even greater need for you to get involved.Sunshine Week annually celebrates freedom of information laws in every state. It also salutes efforts by good government advocates and journalists to use and ensure the effectiveness of those laws to get the information we need as self-governing citizens. The name is a play on the commonsense words spoken more than a century ago by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, that "Sunlight...
Thoughts that keep a news publisher awake at night: Would Benjamin Franklin cringe at the tardiness of mail delivery? Franklin, publisher of “The Pennsylvania Gazette,” first ran Philadelphia’s post system and, in 1753, was appointed joint postmaster for the 13 colonies. By 1758, Franklin’s actions established a means to send newspapers via post service. Winifred Gallagher, in “How the Post Office Created America: A History,” gives Franklin credit for instituting an order that newspapers...
As recent events have demonstrated, the readiness and modernization of the United States’ defense capabilities are as important as ever. Keeping Americans safe and prioritizing American interests must always be a leading goal. Our open borders, paired with ongoing global unrest, not only threaten national security for the United States and our allies, they have serious implications for economic security around the world. This was clearly evidenced on a recent trip I made with many of my c...
Thomas Jefferson wrote, "Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost." After last Friday's raid on the "Marion County Record," a family-owned newspaper covering a county situated approximately 60 miles north of Wichita, I am worried that freedom of the press - a fundamental principal of democracy - may be eroding in rural America. Since Sunday, I've scoured every news report covering the raid, which included all five members of Marion's police...
Grassroots government is thriving in Nebraska. There are eight petitions circulating with hopes of making the 2024 General Election ballot, according to Secretary of State Bob Evnen. The action is guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which gives people the right to “petition the government for a redress of grievances.” From the old familiar legalizing medical marijuana to an exemption of grocery items from sales tax, various groups or individuals are seeking the signatures of registered voters to support their cau...
For the past decade, the media has been obsessed with the idea of a growing divide between rural and urban areas, often portraying it as a deep chasm separating the nation's citizens. A recent example of this coverage took it a step further. Not only are we portrayed as divided, but there are now suggestions that we should make it official through a divorce. Case in point: the Greater Idaho Movement, an effort by its supporters in eastern (rural) Oregon to secede from Oregon and join Idaho. The...
The new governor says, jubilantly, the honeymoon cruise with the Nebraska Legislature was a huge success. Sorry governor, I'm seeing flags. Red flags. The cheering I hear is, "See you in court!" So, let's wait until the lawsuits are filed and the petition drives are all launched before we get too excited. In a "report card" from his office, Governor Jim Pillen said he was elected to office "with a clear mandate to make transformational change in the areas most important to our future: our kids;...
It came down to Ron Hull. In September, the seven members of the Nebraska Hall of Fame Commission met in Lincoln to decide whether to induct civil rights leader and Omaha native Malcolm X. Three members were in favor of his induction. Three were opposed. After years of debate and several failed attempts to get the slain civil rights leader into the hall, the long-controversial effort now would be decided by one man. It was up to Hull, a silver-haired 92-year-old, a longtime Nebraska Public...
The powers that Google and Facebook have over economic and political power in society – especially over the news industry-has caught the attention of lawmakers in Washington, DC. After a close election and many worries over the quality of public debate, many ask if social media have played a role in the misinformation that erodes our free press and plagues our democracy. Nowhere is this power more daunting than in the social media giants' use of news organizations' reporting, which the p...
Local journalism is a cornerstone of democracy and a vital source of information for communities across the country, with newsrooms covering local politics, high school sports, local business openings, cultural events, and other matters that help a community remain vibrant and connected. But the industry is facing an existential crisis because of the unyielding power of Big Tech platforms, such as Google and Facebook. With less than four weeks left in this Congress, now is the time for the Senate to pass the Journalism Competition and...
LINCOLN — Nebraska does not require people to present a photo ID at a poll booth on Election Day. Ballot Initiative 432, a bill that caused contention for members of Nebraska’s 1st Congressional District, is designed to change that. The last of three hearings for this initiative took place Tuesday, Oct. 16, when seven proponents and 11 opponents testified in front of Secretary of State Bob Evnen. Appearing on Nebraska’s ballot in the Nov. 8 election, this initiative would require a physical ID, with photo identification, to cast a vote, which...
Do you remember what it was like to not be able to get the answer to an elusive question as soon as you asked it? Like how long sea turtles live? Or how far away is the sun? Or the name of that actor from that one movie? Before the omni-present Google and smartphone, these answers were likely missing (or required a lot of work to find). So when these questions came up in the past, conversation would stop. That's because the language of America is our common understanding of the facts of the...
ZACH WENDLING Nebraska News Service Ed. note: This piece is included in UNL's Democracy Day project, a national intiative where more than 300 news outlets published stories about democracy in the United States. In just a little over a year, Nebraska's media landscape has expanded to uncover and shed light on more undercovered stories with the addition of two new publications. The Flatwater Free Press, which published its first stories on Sept. 3, 2021, preceded the launch of the Nebraska...
Voter integrity was yet again a topic of discussion when Antelope County Commissioners met, Sept. 6, in Neligh. Chairman Charlie Henry opened the floor to Sheryl Baker, who yielded her time to Mike Seier, who spoke about materials presented by Antelope County Patriots at the previous board meeting. Commissioner Regina Krebs questioned information that had the official tally with a "true" number, and she was interested where that number came from. According to Connie Baker, the information came...
Google and Facebook have enormous economic and political power in society – especially over the news industry. Many ask if they have played a role in the misinformation that erodes our free press and plagues our democracy. Google and Facebook have a duopoly of the distribution of digital news content, which drives people to their platforms where they make money. The platforms hoard critical data and use clever tactics, like reframing stories in rich previews, to keep users on their sites – sip...
LINCOLN--Higher education institutions could adopt a statewide goal aimed to increase the percentage of Nebraskans who have a postsecondary education. A legislative resolution, LR335, introduced by the Nebraska Education Committee March 16, proposes a statewide goal that at least 70% of Nebraskans, 25 to 34 years old, have a degree, certificate diploma or other recognized credential with economic value by 2030. The current attainment rate for this age group is approximately 58%, according to the resolution, and rate is about 55% for Nebraskans...
The Nebraska Press Association has launched a new public website to provide greater public access and notification to the workings of all government entities and courts in Nebraska. The website – www.nepublicnotices.com – is a cooperative effort of all Nebraska newspapers and is managed through the NPA. The free-access website was initiated in June 2021. Currently, more than 90,000 notices are on the site and more are posted each day. Notices are fully searchable by keyword, type of notice, by...
Does American democracy survive without the backbone of independent local journalism? That question serves as the theme of the documentary, “Storm Lake,” airing recently on the PBS show, “Independent Lens.” The segment follows the daily ins and outs of Art Cullen and his family, who run the Storm Lake Times, which debuted in 1990. Initially, the paper printed weekly, with Friday distribution. Within three years, the Times began printing daily. A month later, another newspaper in Storm Lake st...
Nebraska will retain three congressional seats, based on official 2020 U.S. Census data released Monday for purposes of congressional apportionment. The state’s population grew by 7.4%, with 1,961,504 people residing in the Cornhusker State. That number is up from 1,826,341 from the 2010 census. Landing as the 37th largest state, Nebraska’s growth rate was on track with national trends. The U.S. Census Bureau announced the 2020 Census shows resident population of the United States on April 1,...
DAVID CHAVERN President & CEO News Media Alliance Over the past year, local journalism has been more important – and more needed – than ever. From the COVID- 19 pandemic to the reignited social justice movement to the explosive 2020 U.S. presidential election and its aftermath, people have been turning to news publishers, day in and day out, to keep them up to date on how the changes happening around the world affect their daily lives. However, while news has been more in-demand than at any tim...
Last week, I spent part of Thursday, Friday and Saturday meeting colleagues via Zoom, taking part in sessions of the National Newspaper Conference. The socially-distanced version offered multiple chances for sharpening skills and networking with newspaper publishers and reporters from across the United States. The event renewed nearly all of the ethics I believe are key to providing community journalism. And, several sessions left me re-evaluating some ideas newspapers use because “it’s the way...
In a year of fighting a global pandemic, historic protests for racial equality and the rapidly approaching presidential election, America needs journalists to bring them critical reporting. The events of this year have led to significant increases in traffic to news publisher websites, as Americans look to local journalists to inform them about the news and events in their communities. People trust and appreciate their local news publishers. But publishers are also losing tremendous advertising...
