The contemporary Whitewater Register is inheritor of a proud legacy in Whitewater. The Register has squandered that legacy, and has a bleak future. The paper is a weekly, multi-section newspaper serving a town of fourteen thousand. The paper has several, mostly self-inflicted challenges, from which it is unlikely to recover. 1. Incurious! The worst problem…
Press
Press
Carrying Water for Larry Meyer
by JOHN ADAMS •
Few people are surprised anymore when they hear about accounts of press bias in newspaper and television reports. Readers are often, and rightly, skeptical of what they read and hear; is there a selective, distorted reporting of a story? There are still serious journalists in America, but seemingly fewer than in the past. Fewer in…
Press
Copy and Copyright
by JOHN ADAMS •
Most newspapers and blogs, including FREE WHITEWATER, will copyright their content. The City of Whitewater, also, asserts a copyright in its contents. (Actually, the city’s website disclaimer makes clear that not all rights are reserved. In any event, fair use principles would apply.) Unlike other websites, and the local newspaper, you can be assured that…
City, Police, Press
Burying the Story: Update on Larry Meyer
by JOHN ADAMS •
Whitewater Police investigator Larry Meyer, now retired, has been at the center of two controversial investigations: Star Packaging and that of a local landscaping company. The latter investigation has led to a federal civil suit against Meyer. On August 2nd, The Week, under Donna Lenz Wright’s byline, ran a story on the lawsuit, entitled, “Expert…
City, Police, Press
Star Packaging — One Year On
by JOHN ADAMS •
City, Inbox Reader Mail, Press
Inbox: Reader Mail — On the Banner
by JOHN ADAMS •
From a reader who identified himself as ‘Aaron Burr’ — his remarks in black, my replies thereafter in blue. John, I couldn’t agree with you more concerning Steve Spear. If you are correct that he has applied to get his old job as municipal judge back, that is appalling. Under no circumstances should he be…
City, Press
On the Whitewater Banner
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ve written about the Whitewater Banner before, and I thought that I’d post more about that website. The Banner’s greatest strength is that it posts more Whitewater information online, more quickly, than any other website. Some newspapers post less (e.g., Daily Union, Janesville Gazette, The Week), or nothing at all (Whitewater Register). I’ve called the…
City, Police, Press
Coming Attractions for the Week of July 30th
by JOHN ADAMS •
We have a busy week ahead of us, with following topics on deck: Reader Mail: A letter from a member of the Common Council. Reader Mail: People who want Steve Spear’s return as municipal judge. Reader Mail: A letter from the owner of the Double Dip Deli on ‘Public Art.’ (Yes, printed in its entirety.)…
City, Police, Press
Coan on Star Packaging from the WPD Newsletter, Volume 48
by JOHN ADAMS •
The Star Packaging raid offers insight into how Whitewater Police Chief Jim Coan presents his police force to the community, and as a consequence, the message he sends to his team. No action of Coan’s force has been as justly controversial as the Star Packaging raid, and at each stage his statements underlie an unwillingness…
City, Police, Press
Journal Sentinel on Star Packaging Raid
by JOHN ADAMS •
On May 1st, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ran a thoughtful, informative story on the Star Packaging raid. Georgia Pabst wrote the story, running on page B1, of the paper. Here are some nuggets from that story, that may not have been printed in local papers, with my comments following: 1. From City Councilman Maxwell Taylor,…
City, Press
A Normal Perspective Would Help Us All
by JOHN ADAMS •
In most cities and towns, a few organizations and institutions play the role of community watchdog. Whitewater has no one who plays that role, as the Whitewater Register — our hometown paper — doesn’t behave like a community watchdog. In other towns nearby, the newspapers are willing to ask questions of elected and appointed officials.…
Police, Press
The Week on Star Packaging Raid
by JOHN ADAMS •
Mike Heine of The Week has a good summary of developments in the Star Packaging raid, where the Whitewater police and other agencies, acted against Mexican workers, and the American owner of the business, leading to criminal charges against both. Here’s Heine’s summary of the raid: Whitewater businessman Allen L. Petrie, owner of Star Packaging,…
Police, Press
Whitewater Register’s Fawning Story on Police Day
by JOHN ADAMS •
The Whitewater Register proudly proclaims that it’s in its 151st year, implying a place in our history, and entitlement to our respect, its present quality could never justify. Under editor Carrie Dampier, the Register is a fawning, uncritical paper. There’s no solid journalism in the Register, just laughable cheerleading, and ignorance of the challenges that…
Press
The Whitewater Register: Overview
by JOHN ADAMS •
Whitewater has its own paper, the seventy-five-cents-a-copy Whitewater Register. Although it’s merely one part of the Southern Lakes Newspapers chain, the Register still lays claim to being Whitewater’s home paper. The Register‘s banner proudly proclaims that the paper is in its 151st year, proof that a century and a half of effort sometimes comes to…