Over the past few years, we at the News Tribune have tried to improve and increase communication within the community, believing society grows stronger when we are in conversation with each other.
Methods of encouraging this conversation have included Coffee with the Editor events in which residents are encouraged to ask questions or bring ideas for the newspaper and the community, all over a free cup of coffee.
Other methods have been evident in our approach to election coverage. In this edition, you’ll see invitations for you to send in questions for the candidates. We take those questions and publish the responses from the candidates.
You’ll also see in this edition ads and stories promoting our upcoming candidate forums. Candidates from area House and Senate races, as well as county races, will appear at one of three forums; those events will be livestreamed for those who can’t make it to the forum sites.
Our next endeavor in increasing engagement within the community is the creation of a reader advisory board. Its goal is to meet monthly to discuss relevant issues affecting our community. From those discussions, editorials could be written to raise awareness of a particular issue. The discussions may also spark columns from the individual members of the Reader Advisory Board, as well as spark ideas for news coverage.
So how does the Reader Advisory Board work?
To answer that question, let’s talk about the newsroom overall. The News Tribune newsroom is comprised of 26 journalists — reporters, photographers and page designers. The core mission is reporting news without offering opinion.
Three of those journalists — Opinion Page Editor Gerry Tritz, graphic artist Jim Dyke and myself — contribute elements to this Opinion page, where opinions are expressed.
The opinions expressed in Dyke’s editorial cartoons are his, but the News Tribune Editorial Board reserves the right to edit and have final say in whether a cartoon is published.
The Editorial Board has five members: General Manager Jeff Herr, Circulation Director Michael Johns, Comptroller Mayra Long, Tritz and myself. The board’s role is to craft editorial positions based on the News Tribune’s historical stances on issues, as well as considering evolving viewpoints. The daily editorials that run under the header Our Opinion are usually crafted by Tritz and then are reviewed by the Editorial Board before publication.
While we believe the Editorial Board is still a solid approach for dissecting the issues of the community, we also saw the opportunity to expand the number of voices at the table so we might discuss more issues and from different perspectives.
We have invited four diverse members of the community to join an inaugural News Tribune Reader Advisory Board. We meet monthly for lunch and discussion.
The first four members of the Reader Advisory Board are:
• Greg White, a retiree from law enforcement. His last position was Cole County sheriff, but he also has served in law enforcement with the Jefferson City Police Department and in Alaska. He frequently preaches at many local churches and serves on the boards of The Salvation Army and Missouri Baptist Convention.
• Pam Murray, a Community Health Center of Central Missouri board member. She has served on the Jefferson City Public Schools Board of Education and the Holts Summit Board of Aldermen. She also founded and edited an all-volunteer newsletter serving Holts Summit for seven years.
• Denise Chapel, director of vendor relations at Missouri Consolidated Health Care Plan. She is president of the State and Local Government Benefits Association, immediate past president of the Jefferson City Parks and Recreation Commission, and vice chairwoman of Missouri Girls Town.
• Jeff Holzem, retired, who developed software and managed projects for Westinghouse/ABB and DST systems.
Two of the four will serve three-month terms; two will serve six-month terms. In three months, we will be seeking applicants for two six-month terms on the board.
From these discussions, our hope is we gain a better understanding of issues within the community, as well as the history and complexity behind choices that have been made or will be made.
In some instances, we envision the Reader Advisory Board may draft an editorial espousing its shared views, or we might publish separate columns that lay out the differences in thought within the board and community.
Again, the goal of the board is to expand the voices and diversity in discussions about issues facing the community.
We welcome your thoughts and feedback as we venture on this new path. You may send those thoughts to [email protected], give me a call at 761-0255 or drop by the next Coffee with the Editor.
Gary Castor is managing editor of the Jefferson City News Tribune.