Don't Shoot The Critic; Listen and Learn

WHEN WE'RE NOT CRITICAL ENOUGH - WATCHFUL AND PROACTIVE? WE GET WHAT WE DESERVE!  A PARKING LOT WHERE A BOG USED TO BE!

CRITICAL OVERVIEWS KEEP ADMINISTRATORS HONEST

     THERE ARE A FEW FOLKS OUT THERE, WHO THINK I'M OVERLY CRITICAL IN MY BLOGS, ESPECIALLY TOWARD LOCAL POLITICIANS. IF I CAN LIP-OFF, AND OPINE ABOUT GRAVENHURST CRITICS, I LOVE TO LOATHE, WELL THEN, AS THEY SAY, "WHAT'S GOOD FOR THE OLD GOOSE, IS GOOD FOR THE OLD GANDER." I'M DESERVING OF SCRUTINY AS WELL. THE EXCEPTION, AND I DO THINK I HAVE ONE, IS THAT I WILL OFFER SOLUTIONS THAT ARE REASONABLE, APPLICABLE, AND ADAPTABLE. SO IF I'M WILLING TO TAKE AN EDITORIAL JAB AT A COUNCIL DECISION, I RECOGNIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF BACKING-UP MY ASSERTION, OR ALLEGATION, WITH FACT, AND SOMETHING CONSTRUCTIVE. I'M SURE MY ADVERSARIES, ASSUME THAT I SIT IN A BEAT-UP RECLINER, WITH A LAPTOP, AND SPEND MY ELDER DAYS TRYING TO SETTLE SCORES AROUND THE OLD HOME TOWN. THEY ASSUME, AND SOME HAVE TOLD ME SO, THAT I'M JUST A GRUMPY OLD MAN, WHO NEEDS LAXATIVE. HOW WRONG THEY ARE. MY WIFE IS A HOME ECONOMIST, AND A PERSISTENT PUSHER OF FRUIT AND FIBRE IN OUR DIET. SO CONSTIPATION DOESN'T INFLUENCE MY EDITORIALS.

     IF THERE IS ANY ONE THING THAT ANNOYS ME, AND STIRS THE EMOTIONS THESE DAYS, IT'S THE FACT THAT ALOT OF STUFF GOES ON IN THIS TOWN, AND AT THE GOVERNMENT LEVEL, THAT IS NOT CRITICIZED AT ALL. IT SHOULD BE, AND IT WAS CHALLENGED WEEKLY, WHEN WE HAD TWO NEWSPAPERS SERVING THIS COMMUNITY. THE MEDIA NEWS REPORTING HERE IS WEAK. IF IT WAS TEA, IT WOULD BE NOT-QUITE TEA. IMPORTANT NEWS ARTICLES THAT SHOULD QUOTE AT LEAST TWO TO FOUR SOURCES, FOR VALIDATION, AND STORY FAIRNESS, OFTEN ONLY HAVE ONE VERSION OF EVENTS, AND MOST EXPERIENCED JOURNALISTS KNOW THIS ISN'T ENOUGH TO PRESENT BALANCED COVERAGE. THERE ARE CASES, ESPECIALLY WITH THE BALA FALLS PROTEST, WHEN I DO SEE CONSIDERABLE POINT, COUNTERPOINT, IN PUBLISHED ARTICLES AND LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. THIS IS GOOD FOR THOSE OF US TRYING TO KEEP UP ON EVENTS IN OUR COMMUNITY AND REGION. WHEN FOR EXAMPLE, THERE WAS RECENT COVERAGE OF THE PROPOSAL TO EXPAND THE BIA QUALIFYING ZONE, IN GRAVENHURST, SOUTHWARD, BUT PROBABLY NOT INCLUDING THE PLAZA AREA, THE STORY DIDN'T CONTAIN A TRACE OF COUNTERPOINT……AND THIS WEEK, THERE WASN'T A FOLLOW-UP ARTICLE. WHAT THIS TELLS ME…..A CRUSTY OLD NEWSHOUND, IS THAT THERE WAS NO APPARENT URGENCY TO DO A FOLLOW-UP, TO THE ORIGINAL ONE-SIDED ARTICLE, STATING ONLY, THAT THIS EXPANSION PROPOSAL WAS COMING IN THE SPRING OF 2013.

     SO HERE'S WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED WITH MY EDITORSHIP. THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN A SIDE-BAR STORY, WHEN THE EXPANSION PROPOSAL WAS FIRST PRESENTED ON THE FRONT PAGE OF THE BANNER. THE SIDE-BAR STORY, BENEATH, WOULD HAVE FOCUSED ON OPINIONS BY THOSE BUSINESSES IN THE SOUTH END, THAT ARE APPARENTLY, GOING TO BE ASKED, OR FORCED (THIS WAS NEVER EXPLAINED EITHER), TO BECOME PARTNERS IN THE NEW-LOOK BIA. I KNOW FOR FACT, THERE ARE OBJECTORS TO THE PLAN, AND THE NEWSPAPER SHOULD HAVE EXPECTED THIS AS WELL. EVEN THIS WEEK, THE STORY WAS AVOIDED ALTOGETHER, AS IF, BY OMISSION, ONE MIGHT GATHER THERE IS ZERO OPPOSITION TO THE PROPOSAL. THIS ISN'T SO, AT LEAST ACCORDING TO MY SOURCES, AND IN FACT, IT WILL BE ONE OF THE STORMIEST SPRING SEASONS AS A RESULT OF THE EXPANSION PLANS. WHY WAS THIS INTEGRAL PART OF THE COVERAGE OF THE EXPANSION, UNWORTHY OF OPINION, FROM THOSE ABOUT TO BE IMPACTED BY HIGHER TAXATION?

A CRITICAL MEDIA IS A SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY

     In the case of the Opera House roof, there were a few councillors who probably wished I'd fall off one. Just not the Opera House. I wasn't being critical of town council because I had nothing else to write about, but because I have an audience that wants to know about this kind of event, or situation, and many of them are constituents concerned about the management of our town's affairs. I read a report, a month or so ago, that was wrong. It was wrong when it was published, and I offered evidence, that all was not going smoothly, as claimed, or on schedule, and over and above….. there was a honking big hole in the roof. I wasn't trying to be an a…hole or start some rebellion of citizen activists. I could if I wanted to, but it wasn't really necessary, just to make a point. I was just being an observer, like any one else in this town, who doesn't buy the rhetoric from official sources. It took the town a hell of a long time, to come clean on the problems the roofers encountered, and in this case, thankfully, it was the newspaper that followed the leads, and the obvious discrepancy, between the official line, and what all of us could see every day, while walking or driving past the Opera House. I did badger council and the media, to fix this shortfall of information for the benefit of constituents. I wasn't picking a fight at all, as some believed. I was asking for truthfulness from the folks who guaranteed us, their reign of power would be transparent. That's a whole other story. I predicted the roof repair was going to be interrupted by snow, and this was not a good thing. So yes, even as a pain in the ass critic, I was right. Love me or hate me, I was telling the truth. I was brought up that way, so I guess my mother was to blame….God rest her soul.

     The absence of investigative forays, like we see with the Toronto media, means that a lot of things go undetected, that frankly we should know about…….and not just after the fact. When it comes to the future of the BIA expansion proposal, for example, the media must endeavor to treat this with eyes wide open. It has the potential of getting ugly, and especially, if there is any perception, that this is going to be rammed through the municipal approval process. We want to see counterpoint on this, because we're confident, objectors exist and may already be thinking about plans for opposition. So presently, because the media hasn't found this aspect interesting, we are left to speculate that something is brewing……but we're not quite sure what. Speculation my friends, is a bad, bad thing. Especially for the present BIA, that has traditionally lacked any ability to self-criticize, or assess precisely why many member businesses, won't have anything to with the Board of Directors. But you would never know this rift existed, unless by experience and hearsay. Thus, the BIA appears to be the happiest, most together organization in the free world. That's what they would like us to believe. If you subscribe to the press coverage, then you'd be awfully surprised to find out there's a lot of discontent in the present uptown business community. Will the town ever take this into consideration, especially before they consider expansion plans. When will the media feel it is necessary to investigate the disharmony……and find out, how many member businesses want a change of the year after year status quo?

     There is disharmony in a lot of BIA neighborhoods. Not just in Gravenhurst. It's hard to get full compliance anywhere. Most of us voyeurs of municipal comings and goings understand how difficult it is to have a water-free ship in the stormy seas of a seasonal economy. In Quebec, with the latest investigations into organized crime, and politicians who got too close to the action, scrutiny can really hurt a reputation. Town councils, like political associations the world over, are targets for criticism, and this has its roots in the history of government…..any government. One just expects to be scrutinized as a politician. If that cramps your style, then don't run for political office. It's when media intervention, or bloggers like me, start upsetting apple-carts, even though justified to do so, we're considered the horsemen of the apocalypse. But regardless of what we might be called, for seeking truth, and exposing hidden realities, this is the very foundation of responsible journalism. It is to serve the readers…..the public, by offering insight where there has been little; to expose details and situations that were not known, but important information to the appreciation of the full story. I've read stories about local events, being outstanding successes, when I know, because I was there, they were in fact, unmistakably failures. Having full knowledge and capability to write a press release, and making the reader believe my point of view, I fully appreciate the purpose of the "good times were had by all" approach. In a lot of cases, who the hell cares. In a few others, however, there are those who strenuously object to the lies, and misrepresentations. When someone calls an event a success, on a major community event, there should be counterpoint, and even supporting comments……which might lead a reporter to scratch the old noggin……because numerous versions have been revealed. Well sir, I'd rather have this dimension to play with, than give news readers one side only.

     The BIA expansion proposal, will become a disaster, if there is a continuation of the "pro side" is the "only side" approach. My suggestion to the BIA is to encourage debate, and operate with full transparency during the council application process. The town needs to be fully aware of the present situation of the BIA, because it is their business. They need to be particularly critical, because the opposition from the other end of the main street, is going to be prepared with their own fact finding. You can count on it. There will be property owners who like the idea of an expanded BIA zone, and they should have their say……..and make their position public, just as those in opposition. The point I'm trying to forge here, is that it doesn't have to be a battle ground. If the BIA thinks it's going to be easy "pickins" they are delusional. There is lot of potential, to hammer out differences, before it gets to the nitty gritty of decision making. The first consideration, is to advance the information sharing. When you have a front-pager, telling a neighborhood of property owners, that they're going to be paying more in taxes…..because of the company they keep, …..it is evermore incumbent, to follow-up with information resources, particularly at town hall. Folks in the affected area need to know their legal options. If the BIA wants to have this expansion, they will see the necessity of making it an amicable negotiation……where stakeholders feel a part of the process……and not the victims of a tax grab, and municipal bullying.

     I don't think the proposal will be without argument, and this is the workings of democracy. It's one thing to present the news that this proposal is on the table…….and quite another, to let those sitting around the table, have a shot at point - counter point. It is going to happen regardless. But we don't need to tear the main street business community apart, getting the deal finalized…….or defeating it. Those in the proposed expansion area, need to find out how they are going to be affected. If they can't get it in the local press, then they should contact their council representative, and request an explanation, and time-line. Take it from someone familiar with protest…….organization is the first line of defense…..and what carries the weight from beginning to end.

     Thanks for joining me today. I will be starting my Christmas Sketches of Gravenhurst on Friday, on the evening before the Santa Claus Parade, on Saturday. Hope you will come out and show your support for the kind citizens who help put this annual event together. It's a nice way to get the season off to a friendly, traditional, hometown Christmas season. It's for the kids! Let's give them the party they deserve.