Monday, April 6, 2009

NEW ERA

The editorial on April 3rd "Flirting with 'sexting' remedy" describes the controversy over teenage girls sending "racy photos of themselves" to classmates. It concludes "A legal remedy maybe required in some sexting cases. For that, prosecutors should look to the juvenile-court system, with punishment emphasizing counseling, not jail time. Any legal action, though, should be a last resort to address a trend among teens that is irresponsible and careless, but not necessarily criminal."

WATCHDOG: Getting upset about kids sending picture with themselves "in a bra" or "emerging from a shower, towel wrapped around her waist" reflects more on the warped mind set of the accuser than any wrong action by the kids. How does this differ from being at the beach?

The Watchdog awards the New Era a wag of the tail for addressing the matter and, if ever so gently, suggesting that we should let kids be kids.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

SUNDAY NEWS

(Nothing)

WATCHDOG: Another sign that the "Fourth Floor" at the Lancaster Newspapers, Inc. controls content is the lack of any commentary in the Intelligencer Journal, New Era and the Sunday News on the defacto shutting down of the New Era.

The Sunday News notes the occurance in its column "Catching Up On The News" with about 60 words under "Papers Combine." A brief mention of job losses at the newspapers accompanies those at other firms in the lead article "Where we stand in shaky economy." But that's it.

No editor or journalist dares to comment upon, let alone criticize, the "Fourth Floor" when it comes to closing down the New Era or, for that matter, when it comes to misleading the public concerning the Convention Center Project and the witch hunt of the former commissioners.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

NEW ERA



"'By consolidating our news reporting efforts into one daily newspaper, we plan to significantly increase local news coverage and our reporting efforts throughout Lancaster County,' [Editor Ray] Shaw said. ....Regarding Lancaster Newspapers' Web initiatives, [Ernie] Schreiber said, 'We are preparing to launch major improvements to our Web sites, adding new features and information aimed at increasing our presence on the Internet.'"

WATCHDOG: Let's hope this is no April Fools joke. Three wags of the tail.