ARTICLE
Over the past several months, I’ve talked to many former Morning Call reporters.I’ve been fortunate to have had a professional relationship with so many members of the press, many of whom are now in another line of work. Newspapers have been rapidly evolving, and in many cities, the staffs have been downsized from the days when they pursued their journalism degrees. Their dream to embark on an exciting career working for one the country’s many local daily papers was short-lived compared with the original plan of a lifelong career.I’ve worked with the press for a lot of years, and frankly, have enjoyed it immensely. It’s kind of like riding a roller coaster. It can get wild, but you just can’t resist going around one more time.As a young professional fresh off the Mack Trucks assembly line, it took time for me to learn the ropes and understand the dynamics of the press. I found that sometimes being too close to a story jaded my objectivity and ability to judge fairness. As tough as some of the old-school reporters were 35 years ago, they had a way of teaching without coddling you.You never were meant to be anyone’s public relations firm as some wanted you to be.A different kind of focus has been on the press lately. The once-bastions of objective truth are no longer above reproach. Let’s face it, there’s a long history of people who were unhappy with their treatment by the press. But lately, they’re more vocal about their criticisms and tend to want news that shares their take on the world.Objectivity today has a very different meaning than it did in past years.Many of today’s well-known journalists aren’t like the local people I’ve worked with. Today, many members of the national press are busy building a resume and selfishly jockeying to increase their own brand on both sides of the political spectrum, while also taking on Hollywood-type personas.I consider myself fortunate to have grown up with The Morning Call.I remember as far back as when it was locally owned and run by the Miller family. I remember when the newsroom was filled with seasoned veterans running full speed to find a scoop for the front page. In those days, making the front page was the pinnacle of a hard day’s work.In that regard, not much has changed. Reporters still search and scrape for information to create a story that hopefully will capture the reader’s attention.What is different today? Stories now appear online and are posted within minutes of a press conference or specific happening. Readership interest of any given story can be made very clear by the number of hits it gets online. It’s a more immediate way to assess the value of a reporter’s work on any given day.When I was a kid, you found out what was happening in our world once that early morning rag hit the front porch. And there was hell to pay on rare occasions if my dad’s Morning Call wasn’t delivered. That news was supremely important to his understanding of his business, his community, his world.For me, I couldn’t wait to see if the Phillies won the night before, if Liberty beat Allen in the basketball game at The Palestra or what Willie Mays’ batting average was. It was all there in a magical printed way. Everything a kid wanted to know and cared about in the wide world of sports was right before my very wide eyes.I couldn’t really understand why my dad had to read it cover to cover. In those days, local and national stories meant far less to me than to my dad. He’d sit at the breakfast table, drinking coffee and taking in every printed word. He’d comment on a given story, but it didn’t mean much to me as long as he was finished with the sports section.OK, don’t get me wrong. People were unhappy, even back then, about a local game that The Morning Call didn’t cover or the great press they expected wasn’t quite as wonderful as they may have viewed it in their version. Or when the editorial board took a position that may have shined a negative light on a subject near and dear to them.That’s why I hope we never, ever lose our local press.You see, they tell us what’s happening in our world — not just Trump’s world or Kim Jong-un’s world — but our world. They tell us where our tax money is going, who’s running for office and what businesses are growing. If our neighbors or people we care about have passed away or an unfortunate tragedy has taken place on any given day, we find out from our local press.You see, they can’t say it because being in the print business is an under-the-radar kind of job. You stand in the back at a press conference or event and then report on what was said. By design, you’re almost invisible until the story hits. Many times, someone’s unhappy with a reporter’s interpretation of events and then, and only then, they’ll hear from us.So, here’s to all the reporters I’ve watched work literally thousands of stories over the years — the Matt Assads, the Tim Darraghs, the Jeanne Bonners, the Scott Krauses and, say it ain’t so, Bill White. And to former publishers Bernie Stinner, Dave Erdman and Robert York. They built the culture and worked the numbers to keep the business running. To the tough editors who pushed and drove reporters to track down a lead when it seemed impossible. And here’s to the many professionals who are still working hard at the news on today’s rapid-fire, give-me-info NOW world.I’m an underdog guy and our dailies are working hard to stay in the game. But to me, they make our lives more relevant, more exciting and more meaningful. Their coverage makes what we do important. They critique us daily and make us better professionals and better people.So, you go Morning Call. You keep covering our Valley. You keep making us look in the mirror and reflect upon ourselves. You keep allowing our student athletes to realize their dreams and their parents’ pride when they see their child’s name in print.You never were meant to be anyone’s public relations firm as some wanted you to be.You were meant to educate, support and critique this community. You won’t get a standing ovation for it, but the community needs you and would miss you if you were gone. So don’t give up. You shaped this Valley in so many ways.We need you … even if we seldom tell you.Tony Iannelli is president and CEO of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce. He can be reached at tonyi@lehighvalleychamber.org.Copyright © 2018, Lehigh Valley Business Cycle