The village’s
annual Civics Forum is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 23. It is a great display of civic engagement by
students from Buffalo Grove and Stevenson high schools who team up to discuss
and debate matters of civic interest.
Which is
more than most residents do.
The longtime
event is coordinated by Village Clerk Jan Sirabian, who probably knows the
importance of civic engagement more than most village officials – just ask her
about voter turnout for village elections.
A key
component of civics education and civic engagement is a vibrant news media –
just ask the Illinois State Board of Education, the Center for News Literacy or
the News Literacy project.
No matter which side of the fence you
may be on, the news media is more vibrant and important today than it has been
in the decades. It is not perfect, but without a vibrant and independent media,
news consumers – in this case Buffalo Grove news consumers – are left out in
the dark.
And it is
getting darker. For years residents had
options for local news – the Daily Herald, the Journal-Topics, the Buffalo
Grove Patch and the Buffalo Grove Countryside.
There have been others, but they have vanished.
While local media
outlets still exist, they are limited in the breadth of their coverage. The
Daily Herald is anchored by veteran journalist Steve Zalusky. But his gig with the Herald is part-time and
there’s only so much one part-timer can do.
The Journal-Topics covers meetings and runs some press releases, but finding
the paper is a challenge. Patch, which used to have a reputable reporter in Cristel
Mohrman, is just plain useless without any credible reporting.
Which leaves
us to Pioneer Press. In its heyday – a long, long time ago, each Pioneer paper
had local reporters to cover features, schools, and municipalities.
That was, a
long, long time ago.
In more
recent times, the Countryside has relied on community columnists Aileen Simons
and Susan Dubin and staff writer Ronnie Wachter.
Simons and
Dubin provide editorial content that I have never been a fan of. These columns
go back to the time when feature sections were called “Women’s News.” Fortunately, we’ve moved forward. The society
and gossip columns morphed into stay-at-home moms (seriously) who wanted to
earn some extra money writing about things in their world. While, as noted, not
a fan, Dubin and Simons provide a voice and outlet for local information,
albeit at times a bit more personal than community information.
They used to rotate weeks. But not
anymore. To save money, Tronc, which used to be Tribune company, pared Simons
and Dubin back to once a month. This move no doubt will save thousands of
dollars and will allow Buffalo Grove readers to get caught up on events in
Harwood Heights, Barrington or Itasca.
And then
there’s Wachter. He’s been around Pioneer for what seems like decades and
became a fixture at Village Board and school board meetings. He also wrote news
and features about Lincolnshire, Long Grove and where ever else the folks at
what used to be known as Pioneer needed him.
But it seems
that either Wachter got too expensive or the folks at Tronc decided that local
news just ain’t worth it because Wachter, along with other veteran local
journos are gone.
Local news
is important. So important that Report for America has embarked on a program to
get 1,000 journalists trained and in local newsrooms (Report for America local initiative).
But
apparently Tronc doesn’t think so.
Local media
is essential in keeping local government agencies such as village boards,
school boards, park boards, etc. accountable and transparent. This is not
intended to point the finger at any agency in Buffalo Grove because it is the
case in any city.
It is
difficult to get residents engaged if they are unaware of what is happening in
their community. There are important issues that need independent and well-trained
journalists covering them. Posts on social media just doesn’t do it. All you need to do is look at the “Everything
Buffalo Grove” Facebook page to see the rampant amount of misinformation that
spews forth from emotional wags who have probably never set foot in Village
Hall.
What seems to be
left for local news consumers is a smattering of news stories about local
issues. What’s fading are stories
about everyday people who make a difference by volunteering, or who
take an extra step in business or in their personal life.
Yes, the delivery system of news has changed as
have the habits of new consumers.
But the need
for civic engagement has not diminished, which is why there is now a mandatory
civics education course in every Illinois public high school. In pursuing the
course, the Illinois State Board of Education’s task force on civics education
cited the need for essential news literacy skills from an independent news
media.
It is
essential, perhaps now more than ever. Monday night’s Civics Forum is not a
knee-jerk reaction to the times in which we live. Buffalo Grove has been at the
forefront in working with high school students for nearly 20 years. It is a
labor of love for Sirabian and she is disappointed when the audience is limited
to village staff, students and, with luck, a parent or two. The key word is
luck.
Without a
strong and vibrant community press, many people will not hear about the work
done by the students.
Which is, to
say the least, too bad.
If residents
want to facilitate positive and constructive change, the need to be informed
and become civically engaged.
Attending
Monday’s Civics Forum is a good place to start.
We can all
learn something from the students.
The annual civics forum is scheduled for
7:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 23, in the Jeffrey S. Braiman Council Chambers at the
Buffalo Grove Village Hall, 50 Raupp Blvd. For further information, call
village hall at (847) 459-2500.
Got news or story ideas? Send them to me at gaggininthegrove@gmail.com
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