Sunday, October 23, 2011

Come to Oneida election event at Rec Center

The candidates in races for Oneida Common Council and mayor will be appearing at  "Your Voice, Your Choice," the candidates' night sponsored by The Oneida Daily Dispatch and the League of Women Voters.
Of course, the best way to participate is in person at the Oneida Rec Center on Cedar Street at 7 pm. But if you can't be there you can watch over the Internet at oneidadispatch.com.
Some questions have already been submitted, but if you'd like to submit send it to me at kwanfried@oneidadispatch.com or send it via twitter or as a comment via the live feed.
Please be advised there is no guarantee your question will be asked (the earlier you get it in the better) and this will be our first video live feed and although we've tested it, the truth is we can't be sure what will happen until it happens.
If you watch it over the Web, I would appreciate it if you would tell me how it yours for you and what sort of computer setup you have.
This is and interesting election and this promises to be an interesting  event.
See you there.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Don't believe everything you read on the Internet

I was speaking to a local political candidate a couple of days ago.
He wanted to point out that a commenter on our website said something that isn’t true.
He was nice about it, but it was clear he wanted me to pull down the comment he felt was inaccurate.
But I unhappily refused.
The truth is many of the comments about him, about his opponent and about many other things are untrue; for better or worse, that’s the nature of the Internet
But I told him I should point out to readers that you shouldn’t believe everything you read on any website… even ours.
Comments by anonymous posters simply aren’t subjected to the factual scrutiny imposed on news stories and letters to the editor.
The theory is when someone makes a wild claim, others in the online community will question or refute it. It’s sometimes messy, and by its nature a free-for-all, but allows people to put forth their ideas and comment on their community with a minimum of censorship or butting in by your truly.
When it is working well, true statements will be accepted by consensus and the group will reject falsehoods.
But some comments simply can’t be posted.
On any given day I may be accused of being a Nazi censor when comments aren’t posted or and unfeeling jerk when they are.
(For the record, the two most common reasons comments aren’t posted is name-calling or in the case of people charged with crimes but haven’t been to trial, comments about their guilt or innocence, other crimes they may have committed or what torture would be appropriate for them. Also, be aware that although the comments are anonymous, I can see the commenters’ IP numbers. If you file 15 comments under different screen names I can tell. When this happens (and it does), I’ll let through one or none).
News organizations across America are struggling to foster the vibrancy and spirited free-for-all that online commenting can bring without turning into a vicious snake pit of wild accusations and hate.
Online anonymous commenting is far more popular than letters to the editor were,  even in newspapers’ heyday.
We’re far from perfect, but I think we’re doing a better job the message boards at Syracuse.com or topix.com.
Accusations of favoritism go along with an editor’s job; always have, always will. People want to believe you have a hidden agenda and want to see this person or that person elected because of politics, friendship or even bribery.
Well I, for one, do have an agenda, but it’s not hidden. I want interesting local elections with lots of give-and-take from all sides and I want it to take place on the pages of our website and newspaper.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

More from Community Day at VVS

Come to VVS High School today~ bring the family and enjoy cookie samples, live fire department burn demos and lots of crafts!  Visit our booth for free drawing for $25 gift certificate to Price Chopper and sign up for home delivery and get a Reader Reward discount card

Belly dancers demonstrating considerable skill.in the auditorium.

Community Day's Begun

Big crowd early.
This seems to be a popular indoor event.
Stop down an say hi.

 Our new circulation supervisor, Sabrina Sharkey, is here, too. Come meet her; she's nice.

I'm hoping to help some people sign up for free news alerts on their phone.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Come see us at VVS Community Day

The Dispatch (and a ton of other organizations) will be set up Sunday at VVS.
It's one-stop shopping to learn about that many groups active in the area.
While you're there stop in and say 'Hi.' We'll be set up near the front door.
We'll be giving away some nice prizes.