Clawing our way through the news
Dog owners undoubtedly will bark out their objections, but I’ve become purringly convinced that cats are brighter than most of us.
My 21-month-old tabby — like two previous cherished pets — demonstrated this while I was away last weekend picking up a couple of armfuls of awards from Kansas Press Association in Salina and speaking to Oklahoma Press Association at a massive casino and resort in Shawnee, southeast of Oklahoma City.
The trip was refreshing, and not because of time spent dodging road repairs on the way.
In this business — and probably many others — professionals often are surrounded by people who don’t really understand what they do. Being with peers from other communities is reassuring when you learn you’re not the only one facing common challenges.
Editors and publishers I talked to were unanimous in their concern about how many citizens — especially self-styled powers-that-be — continually accuse them of publishing fake news and focusing on negativity.
Most lamented how elected and appointed officials everywhere seem unusually inclined to try to bully reporters and to try to hide as much of public business as possible behind closed doors and in public records they redact or refuse to supply in affordable, timely manner.
To a person, all objected to being labeled “mainstream media,” which they regard as code words for talking heads on TV and in podcasts who claim to be journalists but actually are spinmeisters pushing listeners buttons.
Far too many people seem disinclined to want to know facts — the things real reporters provide regardless of whether they support particular points of view or are deemed positive or negative.
Picking up one of three cash awards designed to encourage greater democracy through greater investigative reporting, I was struck how ours was the only traditional newspaper receiving cash.
Too many mega-corporations that care not a whit about their local communities have taken over too many local newspapers, sold off their buildings, and gutted their staffs.
The public has a right — nay, a responsibility — to be concerned about this trend. It’s understandable that the rest of us, who haven’t been bought out, sometimes feel some of the public’s wrath.
But none of this is why my furry companion, Zenger, proved to be as smart as his predecessors, Agate and Lucius Neiman Grant.
When I left for Salina, I set out two heaping bowls of kibble — more than enough to get him through the time I was to be away. Upon my return, I discovered that — just as his predecessors always did — he had eaten from only one of the bowls, almost completely emptying it, while saving the other, presumably in case I didn’t return.
Despite the fact that they sometimes seem to have the attention span of the moths and other insects they love to chase, cats think strategically and long-term. They’re unlike humans, particularly elected and appointed officials, who often figure they have maybe a term or two left in office before whatever they do will become someone else’s problem.
Cats may be catastrophically curious to the point of being nosy, as many real journalists are. But aside from when they climb trees and can’t quite figure out how to get down, they always seem willing to take responsibility for landing on their feet. That includes making sure they always have a reserve of food even when the hand that feeds them isn’t readily available to playfully nip at.
The hand that feeds elected and appointed officials belongs to taxpayers. Far too many officials are willing to take big bites that won’t be felt until future years so they can get through current terms of office and ensure re-election.
It happens not just in Big Beautiful Bills but also in bonding for street repairs and even deals to lease government vehicles. Future debt is ignored for accomplishments that can be touted today.
Leasing vehicles is a lot like sampling an addictive drug. It may feel great at first. You get to sell off your old vehicles and pay a predictable amount to rent replacements. But what will happen down the road if the company renting to you jacks up its rates? Will you have to remain renting at inflated prices because you can’t afford to purchase an entire fleet of replacement vehicles all at once? You got the buzz of profiting from selling them. Now you’re left with the hangover of not being able to afford to replace them.
Whether it’s cats or government spending, the hand that feeds the beast needs to understand whether the beast has the commonsense God granted even the lowliest of animals. What you hold in your hands as you read this in print is the best tool you can possess to make sure your hand — and wallet — are only playfully nipped, never savagely and selfishly bitten.
— ERIC MEYER