WHAT I’M TALKIN’ ABOUT

By Ed Gotwals

Change never seems to be an easy thing when you’re going through it, and at times it can be downright painful.

“Are you guys going out of business?”

We’ve heard that question around town lately in the wake of the announcement that we are transferring printing of Public Opinion from our building on North Third Street in Chambersburg to our affiliate, The York Daily Record.

It’s gratifying that some people are concerned. However we want to assure our print and digital readers and advertisers that Public Opinion — which has been part of downtown Chambersburg since 1869 — will continue to exist for a long time to come.

There’s no doubt that the rise of the internet and electronic devices has disrupted the way many organizations do business—including libraries, bookstores, the U.S. Postal Service, universities, travel agents, television and newspapers, to name a few.

As more people get their news and advertising on digital devices, newspapers like Public Opinion have been taking steps to reduce the considerable costs of print production and shift those resources to transforming our business for the future.

Consolidating printing operations is one such step. Over the past few years, newspapers around the country in communities large and small, including Hagerstown, Hanover and Lebanon, have “outsourced” printing and other production functions to affiliates or partners.

The going-out-of-business rumors persisted briefly about those organizations, and yet they are still in business, publishing local news online, on mobile devices and in print.

Operating a large printing press is an expensive proposition and it no longer makes sense for news organizations in close proximity to maintain separate printing operations that are in use only a few hours each day. Many weekly newspapers have outsourced their printing for years.

Other changes have been under way at Public Opinion as well.

Public Opinion’s parent company, MediaNews Group, underwent a restructuring last fall and now comes under the umbrella of a new company called Digital First Media. Since then DFM has pulled together some of the best minds in the news industry and digital worlds to come up with an exciting blueprint for its news organizations and their collective audience of 57 million in 18 states.

We now have the ability offer advertisers both within and outside the community a large and growing array of digital products to reach customers with the characteristics they seek.

Visitors to publicopiniononline.com have seen the website grow to offer up-to-the-minute news, daily local video, live chat and livestreaming of local events, expanded photo galleries, tools allowing users to search public records databases, and a website dedicated to covering Shippensburg, shipnewsnow.com.

Daily visits and page views are constantly growing and our social media audience on Facebook has surpassed 8,000 “likes.”  People can get breaking local news from our website but also through our e-edition, smartphone apps, Facebook and Twitter (we also have a Facebook page dedicated to Greencastle), and daily news updates sent via email to the electronic device of choice. Our social media followers regularly share news tips, photos and comments that add our knowledge pool.

Public Opinion’s audience across multiple platforms, including our daily print editions, has never been greater. We’re excited about our ability to deliver local news and information in whatever form people need it — and about being part of the transformation of the news industry.

Becky Bennett,  Public Opinion editor

Here’s a proposal we have made to our parent company, Digital First Media, for funding to create a community center within our building at 77 N. Third St., Chambersburg. What do you think

Chambersburg Community Center Proposal

INTRO:

We propose to renovate an under-used, 24 X 24 area directly off the lobby of our current historic building two blocks off Main Street and downtown Chambersburg, Pa., to serve as a space for local history research and exhibits, access to Public Opinion archives, community meetings and after-school tutoring, and public meetings/open houses with staff. The idea is to create a welcoming, flexible space that can meet a variety of needs.

BACKGROUND:

Public Opinion has been a physical presence in downtown Chambersburg since 1869. Our current building, which we have occupied since 1956, is the former Chambersburg passenger station of the Cumberland Valley Railroad (built in 1875). Our current lobby was the passenger access point to the trains – and much of the building’s outside, including a bell and marquee, retains its historic look.

Due to our central location we have a significant number of walk-in customers and visitors, although that has declined since we converted from p.m. to a.m. print publication in 2005. Our location several blocks from Memorial Square is well-known, is relatively safe and uncongested, and offers nearby parking.

COMMUNITY NEEDS/INTERESTS:

* History is a strong interest of community residents, dating back to the burning of Chambersburg by Confederate troops in 1864 (the only northern town burned in the war). Public Opinion is a repository of a great deal of local history not currently accessible publicly. We want to restore access to Public Opinion archives of old photos, clip files and microfilm editions of the paper pre-1999 when we transitioned to digital archives. We get regular requests for access to this material, which we generally have to regretfully decline. We also aim to make it easier for the public to search our online archives and photo galleries, order photos etc. by providing equipment and assistance.

* The wifi-equipped room would function as a research room for people interested in local history, which would be more convenient than the local historical society building, which requires appointments in order to visit. Our building is a short distance from other local historical buildings — the John Brown house (where Brown planned his attack on Harpers Ferry), the old courthouse, Heritage Center and the old jail — and thus could be a “base camp” for visiting researchers.

* We would like to provide a display space for Public Opinion-owned artifacts, framed pages and photos of local historical value, as well as occasional community collections, for instance, of local historic postcards.

* In addition, we could have periodic exhibits or themed shows of current and archived Public Opinion photos. As an added service, we may want to purchase access to a genealogical service or database.

* The community has a need for handicap-accessible, public meeting space in the downtown area, particularly in the evenings when public buildings and businesses are typically closed.

* We need a presentable room in the building for open houses, meet-the-staff events, public sessions on how to get news published, public editorial board meetings etc. Another option would be to add a few books or toys for kids, who might accompany an adult visitor.

OPERATION/STAFFING:

Our community center would be staffed during daytime business hours by our lifestyle staff, and early evenings by our community engagement editor. Other staff would visit or assist as needed.

Check out Shippensburg reporter Morgan Young’s blog on www.shipnewsnow.com, about reading the daily police log. She makes both serious and not-so-serious points.

Read her blog post here.

Public Opinion sports columnist Graham Messner began a Christmas Day column this way:

“So Wednesday was Joe Paterno’s 85th birthday.

Happy friggin’ birthday.

And today is Christmas.

Merry friggin’ Christmas.

What a mess this whole Jerry Sandusky thing has become.

I simply can’t imagine how JoePa is feeling today, but can’t imagine it’s a feeling of joy and goodwill toward all men.”

A caller told me in no uncertain terms that he was offended by the reference, “Merry friggin’ Christmas,” which he said was disgusting and which degraded Public Opinion. He said he and his entire family found its publication on Christmas particularly upsetting.

My view is that, although the invented word “friggin’”  originated as a euphemism for an obscenity, its use today has become so common that in most people’s minds, it has lost its original offensive meaning. It is used – and overused — merely to convey an intensity of feeling. Its use in the Paterno column was in no way an attempt to demean or insult Christmas.

“Gosh” and  “darn” evolved similarly.

But to some people, euphemisms for obscenities never evolve to an acceptable use.

I remember a similar outcry against a convenience store ad for a “frickin chicken” sandwich.

What do you think? Further, in the Internet and social media age, is there still a standard of offensiveness that a news organization should observe? We haven’t heard any complaints about OMG, yet.

–Becky Bennett, editor

By Community Editor Debby Heishman

Franklin County folks are busy, community-minded people. They always have been.

Service clubs donate time and money to schools and nonprofit programs; students graduate from college; young people join our country’s military service; scouts and school children send cards and goodies to our troops overseas; communities and churches plan fundraisers for familes who face a medical crisis.

All of these community efforts are worth talking about. Our community news staff wants to hear from you. How do you get your news to Public Opinion?

Information should be sent in writing. Typed paragraphs that are clear and concise are easier to publish than attached images of a poster or advertisement.

Past events

For news about things you or your organization have done or for upcoming religious, wellness or educational programs:

–e-mail  community@publicopinionnews.com

–fax 264-0377 (send to attention of Iris Hersh on cover sheet)

–mail to ‘community news,’ Public Opinion, 77 N. Third St., Chambersburg 17201.

Include date or month of the event and include your contact information in case we have questions (we do not publish this information).

Upcoming events

For details about upcoming fundraisers, performances, social events and other entertaining events you or your organization are planning:

–e-mail weekender@publicopinionnews.com

–fax 264-0377  (send to attention of Amber South on cover sheet)

Include street address of the venue; the cost of the event and a reservation deadline, if applicable; and your contact information in case we have questions (we do not publish this information).

Photo attachments

We accept photographs as separate attachments (.jpg format, at least 200 DPI (dots per inch). We also accept hard copies of photographs. These may be picked up in our lobby after the item has been published.

Community Editor Debby Heishman can be contacted Mondays through Fridays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 262-4748 or dheishma@publicopinionnews.com.

From time to time on this blog, we’ll introduce you to the reporters and editors who gather and produce the local news, photos and videos that you see in print and on your digital devices.

Today, meet the Public Opinion sports staff:

Ed Gotwals has been the sports editor for Public Opinion since 2000. He has been in the P.O. sports department since 1977. He is a graduate of Chambersburg Area Senior High School and Gettysburg College. He has been a high school soccer official for 36 years and officiated college games for 22 years. Golf is his passion outside of work, which is probably why he strives to make his lawn look like a fairway (still working at it). His favorite teams are the Baltimore Orioles and Denver Broncos, and he’s still not on the Tim Tebow bandwagon yet. You can reach him at 262-4755, egotwals@publicopinionnews.com, or on Twitter @EdGotwalsPO

Mike Miller is a staff writer for Public Opinion. A graduate of Towson University, Mike covered the Baltimore Orioles for four seasons before coming to Chambersburg in January of 2011. He enjoys hockey, craft brews and long form journalism. You can reach Mike at 262-4788, mmiller@publicopinionnews.com, or on Twitter @BowieMike.

Colin Stevens hails from the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. A proud graduate of DeMatha Catholic High School (Hyattsville, Md.) and Towson University, Stevens initially pursued a degree in business but switched majors midway through and finished with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism. In between rare gigs with his blink-182 cover band, Stevens interned for the Baltimore Sun and Synthesis Multimedia Productions before beginning his professional career as a sports reporter for the Public Opinion in July of 2011. You can reach Colin at 262-4819, cstevens@publicopinionnews.com, or on Twitter @ColinsStevens06

Joe Kroepil joined Public Opinion after graduating from Shippensburg University with a B.A. in communication-journalism. He began his career in the sports department, spent several years on the news side, then returned to the sports desk. He is a native of western Pennsylvania and follows the Pittsburgh Steelers, Pirates, Penguins, the University of Pittsburgh football and basketball teams and the Boston Celtics. You can reach him at 262-4749, jkroepil@publciopinionnews.com, or on Twitter @jkreps99

Also, for up-to-the-minute coverage and discussion of high school sports in Franklin and Fulton counties, be sure to follow @POsportsdesk on Twitter and the PO Sports Zone blog, http://publicopinion.ipage.com/blogs/posportszone/ for coverage of high school sports in Franklin and Fulton counties.

-Becky Bennett, editor

Public Opinion has been published since July 20, 1869, when it began as a weekly newspaper with offices in the Wolfinger Building (later Newberry’s) on Chambersburg’s Memorial Square.

Having been around in print form for 142 years, we’re not surprised that many people think of Public Opinion, first and foremost, as a newspaper.

But a local news organization is not defined by a printing press, or a building (although we’ve been housed in the historic Cumberland Valley Railroad building on Third Street since 1956).

It’s not defined, in the digital era, by any other publication method or format either – and we have many: publicopiniononline.com, Facebook, Twitter, Public Opinion and GametimePA.com mobile apps, shipnewsnow.com, Greencastle PA on Facebook.

Public Opinion is defined by its work — specifically, by how it serves the community – and by the journalists who do the work. Our goal, as it was on July 20, 1869, is to be “a true friend” to the people of Franklin County, and to fight their battles “with vigor.” (Warner-Beers History of Franklin County 1887).

On this blog, we’ll start a discussion about who we are, and the stories behind the news coverage. We invite you to join in.

Becky Bennett

Editor, 2001-present