A disturbance at a local park may be no cause for concern, depending on the clarity of the details of the news story.

More information, please

When I think about the need for clear communications, I think back to my news writing days and my thoughtful editor Dan, who used to say it’s preferable to give people extra information rather than not enough, so they don’t misunderstand the information that you provide. Misunderstanding leads to confusion and misinterpretation, which leads to second guessing and disbelief.

Disbelief is what we felt when Dan told us about a viewer of our website who wrote us to insist that we weren’t correct when we called the sky ‘blue.’

Yes, some viewers would be ridiculous in their comments. There were many that chided us for covering certain stories because they didn’t feel those stories were newsworthy. We always responded kindly and sincerely but what we really wanted to say was: ‘This site is a free service from a private broadcaster. Your tax dollars don’t pay for it so if you don’t like the site, don’t visit.’ Continue reading →