Counties seeking a reliable federal partner

From The Valdosta Times

The Atlanta Press Club’s recent symposium on fake news highlighted the importance of reliable news sources. The proliferation of false reports shared on Facebook and the genesis of spurious websites means that trusted news sources are more important than ever.

Susanna Capelouto, senior editor at WABE in Atlanta, was tapped by the press club to facilitate the Media Literacy discussion.

Capelouto aptly pointed out a distinction between trustworthy news reporting by bona fide news sources as juxtaposed to the purveyors of what has been called fake news.

Legitimate news sources police the integrity of reports by what she called the Three Es: Ethics Editors Experience Journalists are not credentialed or licensed by government and for good reason.

As Capelouto said, no one wants government deciding what is true and not true and what will be reported or not reported.

Keith Herndon, journalism professor from the Grady School of Journalism at the University of Georgia, agreed saying the media must operate as the Fourth Estate, holding government accountable and operating with complete independence.

Journalists, unlike most bloggers, adhere to a code of ethics, generally either the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics or a similar code adopted by the news organization itself.

The codes require journalists to seek truth and report it; do no harm; act independently and be accountable and transparent.

Editors require reporters to adhere to journalistic rigors, factcheck and help to ensure reports are credible and reliable before publication.

Both individual and institutional experience in gathering, writing and editing the news is critical to protecting the veracity of reports.

No such rigors are applied to social media sites and independent blogs.

The intentional purveyors of fake news are slick and can be quite difficult to detect.

A number of the sites have been identified by Politifact but are still shared on social media while new fake sites, posing as major news outlets, are cropping up at an alarming rate.

For example ABCNews.com.co, may look like ABC News but it is an imposter. There are similar fake sites posing as the New York Times, the Washington Post and a host of other sites. Looking real and being real are not the same thing. The fact that newspapers, and other media, sometimes make mistakes does not make them fake news outlets.

There is vast difference between making a mistake, whether it is a typo or a factual error, and intentionally spreading falsehoods and totally fabricated reports.

Trustworthy media sources readily and quickly correct mistakes. Fake news sources just keep spreading false information. We encourage our readers to be discerning and double check the source before blindly sharing viral posts on social media.

Here are a few questions you should ask about a link on social media:

Is the story being reported by more than one news outlet? (exclusives are rare these days)

Is the URL legit or does it contain questionable extensions? (.co instead of .com, for example) Does the story itself contain multiple sources? Is the story a news story or an opinion column? No one wants to be duped by a fabricated report and no one wants to be made to look stupid to their social media friends by sharing a totally false, made-up, article. So, be careful and trust trustworthy news sources.

We like what Capelouto said at the press club event Monday when she said there is “no such thing as ‘fake’ news.” Her point: It’s either news or it’s fake. It can’t be both. From The Newnan Times-Herald

There’s something going around. More and more people locally are catching it. What’s happening is people are dreaming big, very big. It’s exciting to be around unbounded visionaries because their enthusiasm is contagious, which explains why there are so many major projects in the works. Consider a few recent news stories:

The state has plans to make Chattahoochee Bend State Park into a world-class destination, at least within the mountainbike community.

The nation’s first German-style apprenticeship program here is completing its first year successfully and is expanding next school year.

A proposal for a multi-sport complex would have an estimated six-to-one payback ratio because spending by tournament participants, their families and fans would boost the local tourism industry.

Plans in neighboring Heard County for a destination allterrain vehicle course would draw visitors through Coweta County and enrich our hospitality industry.

A 25-mile network of trails for walking, running and biking could ensure our robust real estate market remains smoking hot, experts say.

The Newnan campus of the University of West Georgia is slated to become the prototype for 21st century higher education.

Of course, not all of these projects will reach fruition, and maybe they all shouldn’t. The boastful forecasts for each of them will also turn out to be overly optimistic in most cases. Grownups know that.

Still, this is a lot of major projects under consideration. That doesn’t count those already in the works, like construction of an interstate interchange, the expansion of Piedmont Newnan and paving of McIntosh Parkway - all necessary to keep up with the county’s current growth rate while fueling future growth.

Fortunately, the momentum from these ambitious projects snowballs as it picks up speed and side benefits.

The pace they set becomes the quick-time tempo for the whole community.

The hustle of our community is palpable to anyone who’s spent time in a stagnant one. Dynamism begets dynamism. Imagination feeds imagination. Optimism encourages optimism.

As Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Victor Hugo are each credited with saying, “Dream no small dreams for they have no power to stir the souls of men.”

Remember the fun we’re having here and now. It’s truly a remarkable period in the history of Coweta County, and your grandchildren will wonder about it one day. And dream your own big dreams.

IThe ink is barely dry on an agreement to keep the federal government open, and the talk of Washington is already about another shutdown at the end of the fiscal year in September.

With unpredictable federal governance taking its toll on county governments, it should be noted a shutdown won’t stop county hospitals from opening. Emergency rooms will treat the sick and injured. Sheriffs will be on patrol. Jails will receive anyone they bring in. School activities will take place, and parks will host weekend warriors of all stripes.

Courthouses and other county facilities will open and register people to vote, grant marriage licenses, lend books, recycle trash and pave roads.

Because whatever happens on Capitol Hill, counties will remain open for business, delivering services — many of them mandated by state and federal laws — to residents, businesses and communities. Counties, responsible for so many programs and critical services citizens rely upon, cannot afford to shut down.

Counties support 1,000 hospitals, 1,900 local health departments and 750 behavioral health centers.

Counties operate nine out of every 10 local jails.

Counties also own and maintain 45 percent — the biggest share — of America’s road miles, 40 percent of all public bridges and almost one third of the nation’s public transportation systems and airports.

Counties deliver services under considerable financial constraints.

Forty-five states impose limitations on counties’ ability to tax and generate revenue, yet counties find ways to make ends meet, often through partnerships.

Our nation faces major challenges — poverty, unemployment, health care, infrastructure, the opioid crisis — and local governments need a reliable federal partner to address them.

What we don’t need is government by continuing resolutions and bills that lurch from crisis to crisis.

Despite counties’ best efforts, the unique federal, state and local partnership all but guarantees a federal government shutdown or shortterm fixes will cause significant disruption at the local level. BRYAN DESLOGE Mike Lester, Washington Post Writers Group

Some services will be scaled back or stopped altogether, employees and contractors could be laid off, and projects residents have requested will be delayed.

Many counties are already facing drastic cuts because Congress has failed to reauthorize and fully fund the Payments in Lieu of Taxes and Secure Rural Schools programs, which compensate counties for nontaxable federal land within their boundaries.

With a shutdown, national parks and other federal cultural resources will close, depriving counties of tourist activity and the revenue that comes with it. Community Development Block Grant funding would cease except in cases that would threaten public safety. The same is also true for affordable housing grants. Funding for needy families would also stop, usually backfilled, but not always, by county appropriations and local taxpayers.

Beyond the direct impacts of the budget uncertainty are bigger-picture discontinuities that disrupt local government’s efficiency. It’s very difficult to plan an infrastructure program, for example, if the federal government funds operations in wildly varying increments of months and even days but never for a full fiscal year and never under regular order in which lawmakers weigh bills in committee and hear from concerned parties about spending priorities.

Continuing resolutions just cement the status quo when the only thing constant about this nation is change.

The role of government is to create the conditions for safe, healthy, vibrant and economically competitive communities. If we want to spur the economy, we need a more predictable policy environment from our federal partners for counties, businesses and the public to make informed decisions and move our country forward.

Federal government shutdowns and continual governing by continuing resolution erode the public’s faith in all levels of government and hinder our ability to deliver results at the local level.