KOSCIUSKO —
Explanation that is. As of late, I have found myself being bombarded with questions concerning – published facts in the paper and recordings of public meetings.
A newspaper, by definition, is a printed periodical whose purpose is to deliver news and other information in an up-to-date, factual manner.
Just last week, I received a phone call asking for a favor – With holding an arrest.
It’s not the first time I’ve gotten such a request but the answer is always the same.
Arrests, like marriages and divorce decrees, building permits, governmental meeting minutes, etc., are public records. The Star-Herald does not pick and choose whose name goes in the arrests listing each week.
Then, there is the matter of recording, by audio or video, public events and meetings.
Thanks to the Great State of Mississippi’s Freedom of Information laws I am allowed to record governmental meetings either by audio or video.
Recently, I was asked at a meeting if I was, in fact, audio recording the meeting.
I would say 95 percent of the meetings I cover in Attala County are recorded in audio form and the video recording is something new that we are working to perfect.
News sources have long been the eyes and ears to the people in their community.
It’s going to continue to be that way.
And we aren’t sorry for doing our job and we aren’t trying to ruin your life – It’s just the facts ma’am.
Leslie N. Dees is the managing editor of The Star-Herald. Email her at editor@starherald.net or follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/lndees
Opinion
Just the facts and then some . . .
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To ‘my boy’ and the Class of 2013
Legendary coach Vince Lombardi said, "The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand."
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Can ‘good’ news sell the newspaper?
As the saying goes – “If it bleeds, it leads.” The “hard stuff” – murders, wrecks, fires, deaths and the like – has been selling newspapers and upping the ratings of television stations for years.
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On Getting ‘Stranded’
Beth and I were in Kosciusko last week for our semiannual visit to the dentist. As we rounded the corner from West Adams onto North Madison, there she stood in all her refurbished splendor: The Strand Theater!
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Fear of Big Red canceled fishing
I have said before that my daddy loved fishing. Not having a son to fish with for eight years, I was his fishing buddy. He had his favorite “fishing holes” and one of them belonged to Mr. John Yates. The only problem was, we had to walk about a mile from where we parked our car to get to the pond.
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Summertime visiting
I was always so excited for summer break to come about because that meant that I could begin my visits to my cousin’s houses out in the country. I loved to spend several days with my aunt and uncle and three cousins in the Hebron community. I would always go during their revival time and we would go every night.
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Parlez-vous francais?
Absolutely not! Some of my Southern English is so drawn out with my Southern accent that some cannot understand me at all times.
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Bacon accident
My husband loves bacon. But only if it’s cooked in the oven at 425 degrees. It comes out in about 20 minutes crispy and crunchy.
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‘The night before Christmas’
T’was several days before Christmas and all throughout The Star-Herald everyone was scurrying to get the next edition out.
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Fire escape fear becomes a reality
When I was in middle school, we went to school in the big three story red brick building that used to set where the Attala County Library now sets. The first floor was third grade, second floor fourth grade, and third floor fifth grade
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Memories of The Strand
The Strand Theatre was so important to me and my life during my childhood. I was given 50 cents a week for an allowance and all of it would go to my Saturday movie time.
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