Shelbyville Daily Union - Frank Mulholland's Blog

Editor's Note

In reference to the Richard “Dick” McDonald letter to the editor below.
The staff at the Shelbyville Daily Union feel it is our duty to report news such as the tragic accident of Diana Turner. However, we always go through a painful process of trying to report the news that we know will be upsetting to family members in a sensitive and thoughtful manner. Our goal is to present the news and hopefully not add to the grief of those touched by the event.
With the Turner accident our entire newsroom staff and publisher went through each photo trying to present one that told the story and yet did not add to the grief of the mourning family.
Our newspaper has a strict code of ethics and our parent company insists on a strict adherence to core values.
The principles of those core values are:
We will conduct our business with integrity. We will act at all times with integrity and honesty, both in our internal and external dealings, with fairness and straightforwardness of conduct.
We are committed to Excellence. We will actively seek to achieve and maintain the highest level of excellence in all our newspapers and other products and services we provide for our readers and advertisers. We will adhere to the highest standards of journalistic excellence.
We are a Customer-Focused Company. We recognize that our customers are the only reason we are in business and we make a commitment to them to listen and respond positively to their needs.
Our Vision
We will own and operate quality media enterprises that offer growth potential and add value to our company. We will be recognized as the leading provider of community news, information, and related services in every market we serve.

Dear Editor;
I am writing about the tragic death of my sister (April 2) in a traffic accident on Illinois Route 128 and the treatment of her dignity by your competitors. While at the funeral home on Saturday (April 5) I was told by several people that there was an Internet slide show, set to music of 46 pictures depicting the accident and that approximately six of these photos showed different views depicting glimpses of my sister at her death in her van. I was also advised that after complaints from the public that some of these photos were removed. Why were they published in the first place? The most disturbing thing about this is there was a link at the end of the slide show where people, for whatever reason, could buy these photos. How Morbid! I cannot fathom how a self respecting newspaper or in this case Internet newspaper editor could justify profiting off of my families pain and suffering. There is, I think for most of you some standards that dictate what is proper to print or publish. I cannot believe that your competitor and his Internet paper would have to crawl so low to make a buck when good reporting would suffice. I would hope that anyone who sees this “Editor” (and I use that term lightly) would let him know what society actually thinks about this kind of reporting and that people would not advertise with this type of rag. On the converse however I would like to applaud the Daily Union and Decatur Herald and Review for tastefully reporting the accident with enough photos but not in excess. You,/they, however, did not feel the need to exploit the circumstances for gain and in the process cause my family any more pain.
Thank you,

Diana Turner’s brother:
Richard “Dick” McDonald
Camanche, Iowa

April 21, 2008 02:02 pm

Where Are the Fans?

I recently decided to attend a basketball game at Shelbyville High School, and was shocked to see a gym not even half filled for the game.
Our young men, who have worked their tails off practicing and getting in shape, were playing to an almost empty gym. And this was a game against Tuscola that had been hyped and had all the components of a very good contest. The game turned out to be a very close game with Shelbyville about 10 points behind at the beginning of the fourth quarter, and coming back to win the contest in the last minute.
The Shelbyville High School Booster Club had organized a chili supper, the young man from Tuscola that will be playing football for Michigan, John Wienke was playing and the Booster Club had hoped for a good turnout.
My wife and I had a good dinner of chili, sandwich and a dessert then settled into the gym to watch a good basketball game.
We both agreed the atmosphere was wonderful. The pep band was playing songs to warm up the crowd, the cheerleaders were working to get the crowd fired up.
Then the choir sang the Star Spangled Banner in four part harmony, and the mood was set for a fun evening of basketball.
We were both shocked at the lackluster turnout of fans from Shelbyville. I do not exaggerate when I say the gym, even with the fans from Tuscola, was not even half full.
Possibly if the team was having an off year and had not won many games, the lack of fans could be attributed to fair weather support. But, that is not really the case, as the team now stands with 12 wins and 7 losses. While that may not be the best record in the conference that is still a very good start.
Then when it is considered Shelbyville has two of the premier players in the area in Jay Nottingham and his sister Ann for the girls team, I really have trouble understanding the lack of support. Both students have scored over a 1,000 points and pulled down over 600 rebounds in their high school careers. Several other Shelbyville players including Torry Schloz, Nick Nugent, and Caine Cloe made the game a fun way to spend the evening.
Granted we attended a game on a Tuesday, and no doubt there are fewer fans on a week night than on a weekend, however, there were only a very small amount of students attending the game.
Shelbyville has been known in past years to be a basketball town. In fact when our team was having a great year and won the state title, as I understand it, you could not find a seat in the gym. Although this team may not win the state title, they are playing good basketball and are fun to watch. Maybe even more important than the record is the fact that those young men and women deserve our support.
If you have ever played in a sport on the high school level or had a child that did, then you know about all the sacrifices, hard work, long hours and deep commitment it takes to participate in a program such as basketball. That kind of work deserves an audience to watch.
The Booster Club works very hard each year to raise funds for extra-curricular activities and plans to give out $2,000 in scholarships starting this year- one $1,000 and two $500 scholarships. They too deserve our support.
Many people pay lip service to the value of sports in a high school environment. However in this writer’s opinion, sports will never play an important role in our community unless we support the student athletics. We should be having “pack the house” rallies and pep rallies to support these students athletics.
Lastly, another excellent reason to attend high school sporting events is the fact that they are an inexpensive way to go have a good time. The events are also an excellent way to spend quality time with your family. The kids may not want to sit with parents, but by parents attending they set a good example for the children.
Go watch our team in action, I believe you will enjoy the game, have a good time and show your support for your high school and your community.

February 15, 2008 05:09 pm

Editor's Note

Where Are the Fans?

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