CARLTON FLETCHER: Maybe it’s old-school, but I prefer first-hand information

I make my living off the evening news. Just give me something, something I can use.

— Don Henley

If this appears to be self-serving, I apologize in advance. But it’s something that’s been on my mind for quite some time.

I had someone tell me recently that he didn’t subscribe to this newspaper anymore, that he only occasionally reads articles written by myself or my colleagues when they started making waves on Facebook.

It wasn’t the first time I’d heard that.

But then this person said something that struck a chord with me: “If I want to find out what’s going on here or anywhere else, I just go to the Internet.”

Ahh, the all-powerful Internet. The place where you can go to find out anything about everything. Of course, it might sound like sour grapes for me to point out that, when it comes to the Internet, you have to wade through so much misinformation and outright BS to get to the real story, you come away with no clear idea what the answer is to your original question.

Sadly, however, being inundated with misinformation and BS is fine with far too many people. Heck, throw in a few conspiracy theories, and the story gets a whole lot juicier.

This is not a knock on the other local media outlets that cover news and events in our community. They, like every other legitimate media outlet, have their own economic issues to deal with. But I’ve noticed lately when I — or one of my Herald colleagues — attend meetings of most of the 10 boards/commissions/authorities I cover (or others that my colleagues cover), we’re often the only media representative present.

I’ve talked with some representatives of the other media, and the gist of the reasoning for their absence is that “showing up for all those meetings is the old way of doing things.”

I tried, really tried, to wrap my head around that. Obviously, I’ve been doing this job longer than most in the area, so I freely admit to being a proponent of “old-school” ways. But no matter how objectively I look at the requirements of this job, I cannot for the life of me come up with justification for not being present when news is taking place.

Many so-called “journalists” — in all forms of media, including newspaper reporters and Internet bloggers — consider themselves just as effective going to “sources” after the fact and getting information second- or third-hand. And if that works for them and their audience, who’s to argue?

But when the Albany City Commission or the Dougherty County Commission or the Dougherty Library Board or the Albany Utility Board or the Dougherty Board of Education or Monroe High’s head basketball coach or any other local government or public agency meets to carry out their business in the now, that to me is when news is made. Surely the policies that these groups adopt and the actions they take become most relevant when they are enacted. But the process of enacting those policies is where true news is made.

I laugh when someone tells me he or she gets his or her information about local goings-on from Facebook, some random blog or some website. Because rarely do bloggers or denizens of the World Wide Web show up for meetings. (How boring is that?) It’s generally easier to get the information elsewhere and put their spin on it.

Of course, it’s the elsewhere that’s the real story.

I can speak only for me — and, again, at the risk of sounding self-serving — but old-school, new-school or even middle-school doesn’t matter to me when I’m looking for information. I’m looking for, as Jack Friday used to say, “The facts, ma’am, just the facts.” And, preferably, I’d rather get them from the source, not some second- third- or fourth-hand account.

And that means showing up, being there, doing the grunt work. Because even if the report is by the worst reporter in the business, I’ll believe a first-hand account way more readily than I will any other, no matter how pretty a package is wrapped around it.