The Review did it again. In borrowing a phrase from our text messaging friends OMG! Where did they find Holly Stefanoff? Dan's Bar? Holly's account of last night's council meeting started out on page one of this morning's edition. The continuation was buried on page 5A. They should have buried the whole article. Better question yet, where was the editorial staff? Do they let it fly just to get it in print for the next day? Holly wasn't even listed on their Staff Contacts section.
Her article was very confusing and left me wondering just what exactly was she reporting in all that she tried to cover. In talking about the Shade Tree Commission she said "Suzie Hall" maintains their web site. I think she meant Suzie Haugh of haughdesigns.com. Then she went on to write "Dawn Johnson of 705 Broadway said of a recent Tree City USA awards get together held for 13 counties". End of sentence. What did Ms. Johnson say? From the MJ I learned the Dawn said the commission hopes to host a get together in Wellsville sometime in the future inviting representatives from 13 other counties.
It only gets worse. She talks of "concrete slabs" for veteran's graves when it was concrete markers for 20 veteran's graves. She talks about drain water which enters the ground, leading to the sewer and then must be processed". Could she mean drain water from down spouts that are connected to sewer lines? Lord only knows. I'm guessing here. She goes on about the "Zoning" issuing eight contractor's licenses for last month "which puts the village at about $440 for the year". Again I'm guessing she's referring to the Zoning Dept. and so far they have brought in $440 for the permits issued this year. It's building permits, isn't it? Cassandra Bloor will fill the "vacant assistant clerk position". What position is that? Again she left us guessing there. Council plans to acquire estimates for repairs at the cemetery caretaker's house. Why? What repairs?
The best one and this is the one that really got my gander that was in Holly's report is "Randy Allmon is researching estimates for a possible water tapping fee". Please tell us Holly just what is water tapping? If she is talking about tapping into water lines doesn't BWD handle that for the village. It has been mentioned before that Councilman Allmon is checking into updating the fees for new customers tapping into the our sewage lines. Perhaps that was it.
Who, what, when & why... I learned that in high school journalism. We were taught that was the most basic rule that must be followed in journalism. If Ms. Stefanoff is not going to take the time to familiarize herself with subjects she's going to write about maybe she could familiarize herself with basic grammar.
Thank God Erin Colella was there for the MJ and reported what she learned. Jim Mackey should quit clipping and pasting AP stories for his paper and pay more attention to what his staff is up to. There won't be any rewards for that kind of reporting.
Oh my gosh...
ole nib
24 comments:
Holly is not a staff writer. She is a 19-year-old intern, and this was probably her first council story. She was probably pressed into service because of the shortage that came when Jeremy left. She is a nice girl with a good future, and while the story could have used some editing, insults aren't going to help anyone.
Instead of being insulting, possibly you could call Jim and point out what you feel was wrong with the article.
Yeah, it takes a real man to slap around a beginner.
That's what you get when you send an intern to report a council meeting. She is filling in for Jeremy Lydic, temporarily, and only an intern.
Maybe she went to the Lucille Houston School of Journalism.
Nib--
I don't know the girl, but these are typical mistakes that happen when a young person takes on a new beat. I hope she gets better. You're absolutely right about editors not picking up these mistakes. The Review simply doesn't edit copy. If they do, the situation is worse than we thought.
This article was obviously not edited or even proof read. What was the staff & management at The Review thinking? Being an intern she should have been tagging along with "a staff writer" and not thrown to the wolves as they did her.
Call Jim. My ass. With 19 years in the business he should have known better than to sacrifice this young lady. He had more than ample time to assign another staff reporter. Sometimes managers have to make unpopular decisions such as handing out extra assignments. It happens in all types of businesses.
In defense of Holly her piece about Sgt. Carouthers in today's edition was much better and a world of difference from her report of the council meeting. Why the difference? She shows talent with the Carouthers story.
Holly - your handlers and the management owe you a sincere apology.
ole nib
And Nib, you owe her an apology too. You completely insulted her in your post without knowing the situation.
Holly is a wonderful, intelligent and ambitious young woman. I know her quite well — I gave her the intern position she holds now!
She'll learn from ithis and move on. Frankly, she's one of the hardest-working young people I've ever seen. And if you're not used to covering council meetings, the terminology can sometimes be very difficult to grasp, and from what I've heard, Wellsville council meetings can be particularly hard to cover.
Every beginner has rough patches, but trust me, not every beginner has bloggers out there waiting to pounce on their mistakes and rip them apart.
Holly will be just fine.
Sandy - Holly will do just fine without my apology. Normally I'm very lenient with newspaper print errors. They have been quite abundant at the ER every since Glenn Waight retired. If Holly is going to make it in the real world she will learn to take criticism and learn from it. Basic grammar and sentence structure was literally beaten into me. My mentor wanted me to learn as she did that it was important. At the age of 14 I really didn't care. Over the past nearly 50 years I learned she was correct especially if you wanted to get a point across so people can understand what you're trying to say. That was not very evident in that particular piece and I will not say I'm sorry. I'm a paying customer and proponent to an entity that is struggling to survive in this age of computers. I expect better for what I pay for. That is my right. Holly was ill prepared to cover that meeting and her mentor should have seen that. She was hung out and when it comes to Wellsville I'll make mention of it. That was an insult to my community, my home. I wish Holly nothing but the best and I surely hope she does just fine. Like I mentioned above she does show talent. She must be a very good person since you, Ms. Fitzgerald, and others have come to her defense. Bless her...
ole nib
Quote: " don't know the girl, but these are typical mistakes that happen when a young person takes on a new beat. I hope she gets better. You're absolutely right about editors not picking up these mistakes. The Review simply doesn't edit copy."]
And these are the people Matt are always whining about don't make enough money...maybe this is why.
Oh, forget about it. Now you're insulting me and I'm not rising to your bait.
I will say, however, that Wellsville is full of unsolved murders, strife in its city government and backstabbing as a way of life, and a teenager's grammatical errors are an insult to Wellsville?
In your profound words, OMG.
And with that, peace out, Ole Nib. Have fun with your blogging.
Someone is suppossed to edit the staff writers stories. Is that Jim Mackey? Whoever it is, they should be fired. Just the fact that they still have Lucille writing stories for them tells you what kind of operation they are running. Many Sundays, my husband sits at the kitchen table and cirles all the mistakes in the Sunday Review and mails it back to them. I guess that has no effect. Maybe when they shut the doors there and no one has a job they will think, we should have proof read before we went to print. But I doubt it. No one should have to call Jim and point out the mistakes, he is supposed to be able to read. Maybe that is the problem. Nib, you are right on. If he isnt smart enough to send someone qualified to do a job, then maybe he should lose his.
"And with that, peace out, Ole Nib."
A little long in the tooth for this kind of silly remark, aren't you?
Give her a break. She is new to the job. I am sure she will get better. Another thing, she is not filling in for Jeremy, he took another job in Youngstown. I guess you were perfect when you started your first job. She will be fine.
Nib, I must say the comment about this young lady coming from Dan’s Bar was completely uncalled for. To compare anybody that works for a living to the five dollar Ho’s at Dan’s Bar is unfair, at the least. You can make fun of her grammar and still be condescending but not to the point you have taken it. I wonder how close you are to a libel lawsuit with those comments?
Tyrone shoelaces...I wouldn't worry about nib having a lawsuit, worry about yourself. Very classy and kind of you to call people five dollar ho's. You know what they say...it takes one to know one.
jc..... I am not worried in the least. Thank you for your concern :-)
It has always bugged me how some bloggers hide in the sniper's nest of a "screen name," and take potshots at people who put their names in ink on a daily basis. I see a lot of "anonymous" posts on this thread. I can only imagine what the blogs looked like when I first started.
There is a distinct difference between 'constructive' and 'destructive' when it comes to criticism. As someone who appreciates the news reporting craft, I thought for sure you would know that, nib.
I am just as guilty as the next person for making grammatical and spelling errors, and I've made my share of mistakes in regard to facts. Sometimes at meetings, it can be difficult to keep up, especially when you don't know the backstory.
A journalist should always assume his writer doesn't know the whole story while writing. The inclusion of backstory, no matter how many times it has to be done, is vital to ensure a story is written thoroughly. This is something that can be learned only through experience and training, both of which Ms. Stefanoff has just begun her journey.
You could have said that, Nib. Instead, you opted to attack her by comparing her to the clientele of an unsavory establishment that has a reputation in the area. You succeeded only in showing your own personal prejudice instead of getting to know your own subject before you wrote.
I am fully aware, by the way, that I have done that as well in the past. I was called on it. I work to amend my inhibitions in writing.
It would be a wonder if this blog post has not stifled Ms. Stefanoff's desire to pursue journalism. Having tough skin for criticism is something all writers must grow, but there was nothing constructive in this criticism. It has belittled an intern who has taken the weight of Wellsville reporting on her shoulders; a weight that can be difficult to bear as a rookie reporter. It's where I started, if you remember, and I know for a fact I had problems out of the gate. I recall one week straight where I had to put retractions in the paper. And I heard about it.
As a journalist, I acknowledge the fact that The Review (contrary to what some may say) is a professional publication and should present itself as such. Therefore, a story that isn't up to par with presented facts should be a 'once in a blue moon' occurrence.
However, I also recognize that any rookie reporter needs more than a week to get comfortable in a beat. It took me almost a month before I was comfortable enough to call council members and other contacts outside of the Village Hall. It is something that I'm sure Ms. Stefanoff is equally uncomfortable with, but will soon become second nature to her.
And I hope she knows that she can call Wellsville council members anytime she needs clarification. Unlike some other council members I dealt with on another beat, the Wellsville council members have always been happy to talk to the press whenever they are called. At least, that was my experience.
Should Holly continue to pursue her journalism education and join the ranks of the unthanked, I applaud her. She will get better through experience and education; of this, I am confident. I took her around the beat a few times while I was still on staff and introduced her to everyone I could. She accompanied me to a Port Authority meeting, Salineville council, the pretrial of Eric Dillard, as well as my regular rounds.
However, this does not mean she should be immediately comfortable with the beat. Any reporter needs time to adjust to a new beat, and I know the staff at The Review will help her along just as they helped me.
I feel like a rookie at the new job, by the way. See? No matter who you are, how long you've done it, or where you start, it always takes time to adjust to change.
Unless, of course, journalists aren't allowed to be human.
-Jeremy
I had the opportunity to speak to Holly yesterday, and you people on here bashing her should take a deep breath and think about what you are doing. She is so hurt, she was crying. She told me, she just wanted the people of Wellsville to know that she is very sorry, and she was doing the best she could. She is new, and all of us know what it is like to start a new job. But how many of us know what it is like to get a dressing down on a blog site about our performance. Maybe you people should have your job performance and what people think of how you do your job on a blog site for everyone to read and comment on, even when they dont know what they are talking about. She is a great young woman and the damage you are doing to her is unconsionable. Grow up and find something else to critisize. That won't be hard for any of you. Hurting someones self esteem and making it hard for them to do their job is terrible. Please stop.
I have flagged this blog. I'm sure, Nib, you won't post this, but by insinuating Holly is a patron of the worst bar in town, you are in violation of libel and decency rules on blogspot.
Why don't you do the right thing and take this nonsense down? I used to enjoy your blogs when you were decent and human. Now you're just being a jerk.
Shove your red pen where the sun doesn't shine.
Let me tell you about Holly Stefanoff. She has finished up her freshman year in college, where she is excelling.
Last year, she graduated near the top of her class at Beaver Local High School. In addition to her many activities, she was on the swim team and has been a swimming teacher at the local YMCA.
She's professional, smart, mature, talented and dedicated. I knew it the minute she marched into my office as a senior in high school and told me she wanted to be an intern.
To insult this outstanding young woman by saying she was picked up at Dan's Bar, the lowest, most disreputable place in East Liverpool, is far worse than any mistakes she made in covering your council meeting.
Yes, as a journalist you have to grow a thick skin. However, you shouldn't have to answer to questions about your character and morality just because you spelled someone's name wrong.
And if the last writer is correct, and Holly was crying over the nonsense on this blog, then I wish I still worked there to tell her that it isn't worth her tears and someday, she will be far away from this nonsense.
Jeremy was right. This is a sniper's nest.
Sandy
P.S. "Peace out" was said sarcastically in a response to OMG. Get it, anonymous sniper? Guess not.
If anyone could make something intelligent come out of what the councilmen say, they should get an award. Lets all go down memory lane "reading is fundamental". Thanks Rosie! Holly, dont feel bad. Consider what you had to work with. When Holly moves on to bigger and better things, they can haul Lucille out of moth balls and let her screw up everything she writes.
I remember sitting in a Wellsville meeting once and having a well-known businessman tell me to "take down this phone number."
Assuming it was for someone he thought I should call for more information and wrote it down.
"That's the number for the National Enquirer, where you should be working," he blasted me in this public meeting.
At that point in my career, I'd been hearing such insults for, oh, 20 years or more.
I just laughed. Other PROFESSIONALS in the room booed him. It was a good day in the 'ville!
I've been tossed out of mayor's offices, yelled at in council meetings, and once called a racist during a meeting for some absolutely unknown and unfair reason.
Hang in there, Holly. It comes with the territory!
I always tell people: If you don't have anything to hide, you don't have to worry about me. Those who do have something to hide often try to kill the messenger (I'm not referring to Ol' Nib here, just in general).
jobob - Thanks for weighing in and sharing some of your experience you went through in your career as a journalist. I sincerely hope this young lady can look back on this as a learning experience someday. My problem is more with the ER and how they can get fairly shoddy at times. Holly's by-line just happened to be on that report that sent me over the edge. In a way I regret going there. It was a learning experience for me. As I said her defenders are impressive and she shows some remarkable resilience. Since that report I've seen some remarkable talent under her by-line, talent that even some veteran reporters have yet to learn. I'll be sorry to see her go back to school in the fall.
ole nib
Yo nib, get another hobby. honestly. peace.
Post a Comment