Thursday’s thumbs

Get ready to cast ballots by learning about candidates

The other day we finally took our winter gloves out of our vehicle and tucked them safely away in the drawer with the insulated undies and wool socks. It seems we might just be past the point of needing them to keep our thumbs warm, but just in case, we’ll keep them busy by offering a few up-and-down digits on a few recent news items.

Preparedness isn’t just something Boy Scouts need to be concerned with. Registered voters need to follow the Scout Motto to “be prepared,” too. Early voting starts next week for the Democratic and Republican primaries in Arkansas. We hope voters have been paying attention, but many races have been fairly low-key. It’s time to do that political research, to asks friends and family members their thoughts and to look for opportunities to learn more about those running for office. If you believe our communities, state and nation can do better — and who really argues we’re doing the best we can? — then voting matters. Voting smart matters a great deal. Do your homework. And vote for people who are decent human beings first of all. We don’t need any more dishonesty in public office.

If you visit the “about us” section of the website for the White House Correspondents Association, you’ll learn the organization “exists to promote excellence in journalism as well as journalism education, and to ensure robust news coverage of the president and the presidency.” Did anyone get a sense of any of that by what was broadcast across the nation from the group’s annual correspondents’ dinner? Not a bit. The nonprofit organization cites worthwhile goals of protecting access to the nation’s leaders, including the president of the United States. But their vital work begins to look like an afterthought every year when coverage of the correspondents’ dinner reflects high fashion, elbow-to-elbow hobnobbing with newsmakers and surrounding events that is more about marketing than about news coverage. Yes, some of the jokes were tasteless and mean, but what do comedians do? They do their acts. No shock there. But the White House Correspondents Association, which raises money for journalism scholarships and promotes the important work of the press, needs to make serious changes so that its biggest event supports its causes, rather than diminishes them.

Journalism is a lot like tap water in that we all rely on it being there, but don’t give it much thought unless it’s not there anymore. A free press and trained journalists are vital to our nation, but efforts to deliver quality journalism face challenges, whether it’s inflicted by its own practitioners or by the corrosive attitude of our president toward reporters and the job the press does day in and day out. But we need serious journalists, and that’s why we’ll offer an upturned digit to the School of Journalism and Strategic Media at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. The school just announced it has received full reaccreditation by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. We know, that sound like a yawner, but it’s not. It reflects an achievement reached by fewer than one-quarter of the journalism schools and departments in the nation. Measuring one’s work against a high standard produces results, and our journalist friends at the UA deserve to be commended.

How rich is it that the folks running C&H Hog Farms have claimed the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission failed to adequately seek public comment on its denial of C&H’s permit. The state argues it didn’t have to. Of course, one of the main reasons many Arkansans have been active in opposing the hog farm is how its first permit for operation came from the state with very little public involvement. So what’s the lesson? Involve the public. It serves everyone’s best interests.

How satisfying is it to witness the formal organization of a Northwest Arkansas chapter of The Links Inc., a service and social organization for African-American women. About 30 women who have already spent the past year informally working on community service projects and developing friendships have now formalized the local chapter of the national 15,000-member organization. They say they’ll devote their volunteer work in five areas: children, the arts, health and human services, national needs and international needs. We applaud their efforts and their spirit. Anyone paying attention knows African-American women — these and others — have been active in many organizations to make Northwest Arkansas a better place. Their additional involvement in The Links is a positive reflection on the region’s diversity and their individual devotion to improving the world around them.