Monday, January 31, 2011

Innocent until proven guilty?

It has come to the editor's attention that at least three Methow Valley residents subscribe to a weekly newspaper from a neighboring town solely because that newspaper includes names in its police blotter of people arrested and charged with a crime, and they want to know who their "bad neighbors" are.

It has been the policy of the Methow Valley News to include names only after a person has been convicted of a crime – except in the case of serious or very public incidents – under the belief that people are innocent until proven guilty, and by associating a person's name with an unproven charge forever links that person with that alleged crime, even if they are later acquitted. Arrest records are public; anyone may get the information from them from law enforcement agencies.

What do you think? Do you favor a no-holds-barred policy of your local paper listing names of all people arrested and charged with a crime, or do you prefer the current policy of waiting for a conviction to make the names public in the newspaper? Would that change if you were arrested for something?

– John Hanron

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Cool, a blog. Finally there's something to do around here.
Sue

Deadline day

It's a full house here at the News office today as we work on another issue of the MVN (somewhere in the neighborhood of number 5,600-plus). Tuesday is the day when it all comes together with an evening deadline looming until we fire an electronic copy down to the World press in Wenatchee. We are 16-pages this week so there will be more to read and more paper to start your fire with....
Also, check another addition to the website: our Gallery that will feature photos not found in the paper from recent events.

Cheers,

Paul

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Welcome to The Snooze!

You've found a blog soon to contain observations, thoughts and whimsical musings from the staff at the Methow Valley News. This in-house posting board is part of our efforts to expand the paper's online offerings and go beyond the printed issue. The Snooze is a work in progress and we're not entirely sure what direction it will ultimately go – hopefully it will take many different paths.
 
Readers of The Snooze will be able to respond to posts, even anonymously, if desired. This aspect of cyber-communication is new terrain for us in the printed page world. We'll see how it goes, and instead of laying out the standard guidelines for appropriate commentary, we'll initially trust that folks will respond with respect and thoughtfulness. Of course, there is always the delete button, not that anyone at the News desires to oversee this blog 24/7.

 
So, thanks for visiting the site and, like so many things in life, we'll see where all of this goes.
Stay tuned!

Paul Butler
Publisher