Working Toward Better Together - Editorial
When it comes to our reporting, it is never a “gotcha” game.
The Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics begins by stating our belief that public enlightenment is the foundation of democracy.
As journalists, our responsibility is to both cover our community diligently and hold people in power accountable, the latter of which can be occasionally uncomfortable when working at the local level.
That does not mean our pursuit of transparency and truth is any less robust than an investigation you’d see in a larger newsroom, though, nor does the close physical proximity of living down the street from our sources dissuade us from doing it. In fact, we pride ourselves on doing quite the opposite—pursuing the facts without bias or fear. And that is something we will always stand by.
Real journalism, especially on the local level, is not for the weak. Any reporter worth their salt, in every newsroom in the world, has experienced pushback, whether it be a strongly worded email, an angry phone hang-up, or direct-to-your-face dismissal when seeking comment or investigating for an article. But we know—or at least hope—that it isn’t personal, because we know it never personal from our end. The pushback doesn’t feel great, but we come back each day because deep down, we know that our work matters and we love our community.
The Enterprise’s fact-finding mission regarding town agenda postings was just that—a fact-finding mission. It was by no means an attack on town hall or the town clerk’s office; it was an effort to find out what was going on and how it affected the community. The facts we did find, though, seem to validate our confusion—the official notice posting method for the Town of Mashpee, according to the Attorney General’s Division of Open Government records regarding municipal posting methods, is in fact a physical notice on the town hall bulletin board. That was something new to this editor; nearly every other town on Cape Cod has its municipal website on file with the Division of Open Government as its main posting method. The only other town in the region that opts for a physical notice over a digital one is Truro.
Another thing that we strive to do as journalists, per the SPJ, is “be vigilant and courageous about holding those with power accountable.” The Code of Ethics has a footnote on the importance of local newsrooms in doing just that on the local level. We agree, and our goal will always be to do so with vigilance, courage and the ethics to back it up. That’s because we live and work here, too, and like most residents, we want the best for our community. We would much rather build it up than be perceived as trying to tear any part of it down.
That being said, there is an old saying about how “you get what you put in.” We want to see good come from Mashpee, because it is a great town with even greater people. But there are several town boards, committees and commissions with vacancies; the town is hiring board secretaries, and volunteer opportunities are abundant if you know what you’re interested in.
Mashpee is run by good, competent people, but there is always room for more good people to get involved. In order to get more good out, maybe there is a need to put more good in. Communities are stronger together than they are divided, and we think we can all come together over our shared dedication to bettering our town. And that, in the end, can go a long, long way.