Another Feather in the Cap

A little over a year ago, the following story appeared on the WTVO website:

Where's Alan?
Reported by: WTVO Newsroom

Wednesday, Aug 8, 2007 @07:00am CST

UPDATE 8/8/07: There have been requests for an update on the condition of Fox 39 News anchor Alan Jones.
"There's been some improvement", says Jones. "Since my last posting a few months ago, I've undergone eyelid surgery to take care of some of the blepharospasm effects of apraxia. That's allowing me to keep my eyelids open a lot easier. And a regimen of Botox will help as well."
"I'm more than ready to get back to work on the air, and believe that will happen soon. Thanks for thinking of me."


Fox39 News Anchor Alan Jones hasn't left the station as many have asked. No, he's just not in a position to be on the air right now.
"I've been dealing with a severe case of dry eye and what's called benign essential blepharospasms. Those are involuntary eye spasms that are closely aligned with dry eye", says Jones.
"That and the symptoms of dry eye; the irritation and light sensitivity; make it impossible to be on the air. But I've been getting extensive treatment, so hopefully I'll be back at 9 soon."
The station has been receiving numerous phone calls and e-mails wanting to know Alan's whereabouts.
"Thanks for everyone's concerns and questions. I'm still here, producing the Fox39 News at Nine, while my colleagues do a great job filling in for me."

Well, now we know where Alan Jones is. He was just announced as the new Editor of The Freeport Focus, the soon to be daily newspaper in Freeport and surrounding communities. Dan Stevens, current reporter, columnist, editor and publisher was able to keep this under wraps until today's big headline story in Village Voices. It will be the lead story in tomorrow's Focus, also.

How does this bode for our "News Wars" that has been brewing for the past month or so (obviously, much longer than that, but most was behind the scenes). There have been a few major changes at the long-standing newspaper in our area, but the upstart Focus is going ahead with great ambition and great promise. While I know there is a certain amount of ill-will since my inauspicious dismissal from the other paper, and a definite feeling of bias in favor of AdPix, Inc. since I am now a contributing columnist, the overarching feeling in the community is that they are ready for a "local" paper with "local" writers and "local" stories.

People are starting to send in their subscriptions for "Faith in the Focus", the new office is about to be functional, and it will be within a stone's throw of the building at State and Main. This, as it is often said, is about to get interesting.

Would You Like to Rethink That Plan?

Click the title above to read about the design plan for The Journal-Standard that was written by the most recently departed editor, Andrew Analore, whom upon my dismissal from The J-S, informed me that he had moved half-way across the country for this job. He also made it clear that he had as much at stake in this community as I did. I did remind him of the track record for editors at our local daily (though there will soon be a second daily in town) and that I wondered if he could comment on Freeport after living here for more than 18 years. I guess we'll never find out now.

Why is any of this of any importance? I think it goes to the heart of the lack of communication between The J-S and the community. There is still no word forthcoming on Olga Gize Carlile's status, while the publisher may now call Lena home, he has still only been here for less than two years, and as for the finding out the pulse of the town in coffee shops (as Mr. Analore alluded to in his column about the design change of the paper)...just which coffee shops is he referring to?
I haven't heard the positive comments coming from anyone about the design changes in any of the ones that I frequent, namely all three... Cafe Mondo, Nine East Coffee, and Higher Grounds.

I understand that The J-S is "ready to rumble", and I admit to being disillusioned with their current status (and to being slightly biased as a contributing columnist for the Village Voices and Freeport Focus papers), but I am contacted almost daily about The J-S by people who were disappointed by their decision to cancel my "For the Love of Community" column. They didn't want "personal" columns included in their new format, but now that is exactly what they are going back to, including those by the publisher and new columnists (most of whom are GateHouse syndicates, or local ones who do not live in Freeport or our immediate circulation area).

So, what is it going to be? A nameless distributor of day-old news and sports scores or one that engages the community with thoughtful, current topics by local contributors? I guess we will soon see, won't we?