Cheers & Jeers: March 24, 2008

March 24, 2008 04:51 am

— CHEERS: to local media outlets that conscientiously avoid using material from the newspaper in their reports. An editorial in Friday's Press-Republican said such unauthorized use has tested our patience around here, and it apparently hit a few nerves. We heard from several outlets either emphatically denying engaging in the practice, such WIRY, or admitting it to various degrees. We will not reveal which ones we know do or don't lift our stories, as we don't hear or see every news report in the region and therefore couldn't possibly know which ones never do it. Remember, there are degrees of unauthorized usage. Fundamental information that would be available anywhere does not trouble us. It's using our quotes and the products of particular research we've done that rankles so. And, if our stories are sent to our cooperative, The Associated Press, it becomes eligible for use. Still, even under that latter circumstance, professional courtesy calls for the user to credit the original source -- in this case, us. In order to sort out the guilty and innocent parties, we suggest readers, listeners and viewers be attentive to news reports and see if the material is knowledge common to all parties or whether it is information that could be gleaned only from the newspaper story. We believe that not every local outlet is guilty of unethical practices. And we hope that, as a result of that editorial, none will be from now on.
CHEERS: to Georgia-Pacific for keeping its .4 mile of sidewalks along Margaret Street shoveled year after year. Even during snowstorms, that company is assiduous about keeping its sidewalks passable. Not only is the snow removed, the walks themselves are clear down to the bare concrete, and icy spots are sanded. Though G-P's employees use only a small portion of the sidewalks, the company always clears the entire length, in the spirit of being a good neighbor.
Along those lines,
JEERS: to the city residents who seem to interpret the snow-shoveling provision in the city ordinance to have no application to accumulated ice. The intention is clear sidewalks -- not just clear of snow.
CHEERS: to Flo Barber, who works at the L&M Convenience Store in Mooers, and very engagingly, according to one of her customers, who described Flo as "happy, bubbly, always making people laugh." On Friday leading up to Easter, Flo was dressed in a bunny suit, to the delight of the clientele in and out of the store. When one customer won $2 in a lottery game recently and Flo had forgotten to deduct the winnings from the bill, Flo made up for it by having the ticket and the two dollar bills framed for a presentation to the winner. We're always glad to hear about people like Flo who make life a little less stressful for the people with whom they come into contact.