The Westside Express has survived now for three years. The first TWE issue was published on May 25, 2021.
Many people thought it wouldn’t survive one year, let alone three. Many other people have asked publisher Gene Lieb and me why we do it. Those who know us realize that Gene puts in over 50 to 60 hours a week and I put in a few hours myself.
I can’t speak for Gene, but in today’s column I’ll try to explain why I continue to be involved in this newspaper.
I’ll also identify some of the challenges The Westside Express faces and then talk about some of the satisfactions or rewards (all non-monetary) involved in being a volunteer senior citizen editor of this newspaper.
Be warned: This is perhaps my longest column ever. But I needed to take the time and space for what I consider an important topic.
For the half-century I’ve lived on the Westside, I’ve appreciated a hometown newspaper, one that at least once a week brings together the different threads of a community into a single fabric. A good local newspaper covers governing bodies like city councils, planning commissions and school boards, but it also provides a panoramic snapshot of the many different events and activities of individuals and organizations in the community.
Hometown newspapers are also good at highlighting young people for their activities and accomplishments—in schools, sports, 4-H and FFA activities, etc. There’s a feeling of pride when parents cut out stories or photos with their children in it, whether they’re toddlers or high school seniors. What they clip from the paper can be displayed on a refrigerator or put into a scrapbook and looked at first as an accomplishment and then as a memory.
For several years before The Westside Express started, my local newspaper, however, had little of the elements I appreciated in a newspaper and instead filled its pages with stories from other cities. I thought that was a shame.
Which leads me to the second reason for volunteering for The Westside Express – hedge funds. In many cities, large and small, across the United States, hometown newspapers disappeared not only because advertising revenues were down but also because they were bought by hedge funds, which then drained whatever equity was in them, bleeding the newspaper dry to an ignominious death.
My participating in The Westside Express is a way of thumbing my nose at hedge funds. I’ve always been a fan of underdogs, and small newspapers are clearly David going against Goliath.
My third reason is accuracy. Facts matter. Good newspapers don’t present rumors or speculations as news, which unfortunately happens too often on social media.
Good newspapers have worked hard over the years to present the news and the facts behind it, as best as they can ascertain the facts. Reporters are instructed to get the stories straight, including spelling names correctly and getting quotations right. Then the stories are double-checked, or vetted, by editors. That second layer of checking is crucial to ensuring accuracy.
My fourth reason is that newspapers, for lack of a better metaphor, are watchdogs. Newspapers, in both large cities and small towns, help keep elected officials and government officials accountable, simply by reporting the news, reporting the facts as they are. Yes, there are opinion pages, but in all the other pages good newspapers present the facts as best they can — and then leave it up to the readers to make a judgment.
Without local newspapers, the local boards, councils and commissions often feel they can do whatever they please, because they think, “Who’s going to notice?” There have been countless accounts across America of government officials acting illegally or unethically with impunity, because there is no newspaper to report their actions to the public.
I could probably give a few more reasons, including my firm belief in, and appreciation of, freedom of the press, as guaranteed in the United States Constitution. But I’ll move on to some of the challenges, as I see them, of working for a small hometown newspaper for the past three years.
The first is time – the time it takes to produce a newspaper. The prime example of that is Gene Lieb, who not only publishes The Westside Express, but also sells advertising, enrolls subscribers, takes photos, suggests stories and delivers newspapers to the post office and stores –overseeing the entire operation, including the very limited budget.
I don’t put in nearly the number of hours that Gene does, but I put in more than I anticipated when I started, usually 20-30 hours each week, a lot for a retiree enjoying the golden years. My wife Sandy says I’m not retired but retarded.
And newspaper work, even for a local paper, is 24/7 every week – with a weekly cycle of making assignments, checking on reporters, gathering stories, editing and uploading them. Although The Westside Express comes out once a week, news is happening every day and reporters turn in stories throughout the week, until the drop-dead Sunday evening deadline.
Another challenge is recognizing that a printed newspaper is going against the tide. Many young people don’t know what a newspaper is, since most get their news, such as it is, from social media. Often I have to remind people, young and old, that, yes, there is a printed newspaper covering Los Banos, Dos Palos, and Firebaugh, and yes you can subscribe or buy individual papers at local stores.
Fortunately, Gene and the rest of the people who work with The Westside Express have received a lot of support. From the beginning Hank Vander Veen and his production staff, including Sharon, Dennis, and Kristina, along with people taking classified ads and obituaries like Michelle, have provided a backbone which enables the newspaper to be published.
Then there is the board of what had been the Dos Palos Sun, community members who believed enough in local journalism to enable the Sun to morph into the Express. Two people who worked for the Sun, David Borboa and Janet Miller, also brought their talents to the Express.
Early on the publishers/editors of the Mariposa Gazette (Nicole and Greg) gave Gene, Kim Yancey, and me the encouragement and belief that a local newspaper could not only survive but thrive, as the Gazette has.
The Stanislaus State Creative Media Department (which includes journalism) also provided support early on and continues to do so. Professors Shannon Stevens and Pam Young and the university students they have recommended to The Westside Express have been a godsend.
Which brings me to what might be considered an unintended positive consequence—the joy of working with young people interested in journalism. Students of Stanislaus State and the Los Banos Campus of Merced College, along with students attending or recently graduating from Los Banos, Pacheco, Dos Palos and Firebaugh High School have been the heart of the Express’s reporting staff.
The young people who have helped the most are the university students who have served as my co-editors – Courtney, Camryn and Catherine. After Kim Yancey, former Los Banos Enterprise editor, decided to retire a second time from editing, those three young women have saved me from going insane.
An especially amazing young person is Javier Powell, who has attended and reported on the Los Banos City Council and Planning Commission and the Los Banos Unified School Board meetings. He has gone over and above our expectations.
I have to admit, amid the workload, I have enjoyed working with all of these young people. They have been enthusiastic and reliable and have believed in the importance of local journalism and a printed newspaper, which also has a digital presence. Even as I approach 80, they help me feel young at heart. These young people give me hope for the future, not only for newspapers but for this country, starting in our local area.
And then, of course, there have been many community members who have come forward freely to submit their written contributions to The Westside Express. These include Westside pastors, doctors, and therapists; individuals like Mike, Rob, Priscilla, and Kirsten, who have written regularly for us for the enjoyment of it, and the many people who share news and views of their organizations and agencies.
Finally, of course, I’m grateful for all the adversities and subscribers who put their money where their hearts are. They make it possible for this paper to continue.
The Westside Express has indeed survived for three years, and, I believe, has thrived, thanks to many, many people. I hope it continues for many years to come.
But I also hope someone out there someday—soon, I hope – comes forward to take my job, maybe even with pay. I’m proud of what this newspaper has accomplished, but I’m also tired. Above all, I’m hopeful.
John Spevak’s email is john.spevak@gmail.com.
