Thursday, October 19, 2017

When it comes to civics, the students get it -- but does anyone else?


            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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