Catch the Cougar

My son decided to run the Congdon Cougar Chase 5K this year instead of the 1K as in years past. He  joined the after-school running club and trained for about a month, building up to and completing some 28-minute runs on the Lakewalk. On Saturday, that work paid off when he ran 3.1 miles on a sodden, hilly trail at Lester Park in a downpour of rain, in a time of 30:27. He finished 47th out of 140 runners, and 8th in his division of 9-year-old boys.


He and his friends got drenched, mud-splattered and tired, as witnessed in these before, during and after shots. But they had a lot of fun. The Congdon Cougar that they chase stayed dry under an umbrella and -- very suspiciously -- wasn't muddy at all.

A lack of standards

Since I left the Duluth News Tribune as managing editor in 2008, seldom have I commented on the changes that have occurred since the break-up of Knight Ridder and sale of the paper and its other local publications to Forum Communications. On Sunday, while glancing through the Budgeteer News, I paused at the by-lined story on Temple Israel's upcoming Scholars-in-Residence program.

Since the story was credited as a work of Duluth Budgeteer News reporter Teri Cadeu, I expected to see some original reporting and writing. Beyond the byline, not a single word was original. The article was the press release from the synagogue published verbatim. I know, as I had posted parts of the release on the synagogue's Website the previous day.

Back when the Duluth News Tribune purchased the Budgeteer News and other local publications, I was charged with working with the editors of those publications to raise journalism standards and to foster sharing of news coverage among long-time competitors. Many participated, along with reporters and editors at the Duluth News Tribune, in sessions I led on journalism ethics and standards, including issues such as plagiarism, accepting items of monetary value from sources, and the use of anonymous sources.

One such session specifically outlined the use of press release material in reporter by-lined or newspaper-credited stories. Facts could be used -- as long as they were verified independently. Quotes could be used -- only if those sources refused to be independently interviewed and we reported in the story that they were being cited from a news release. Writing needed to be one's own; the lifting of phrases or paragraphs wasn't allowed unless credited as part of the news release. Failure to follow these guidelines resulted in discipline up to and including termination from one's job.

Sadly, I'm not surprised or even that upset about what I found in Sunday's Budgeteer News. It's simply a level of standards I've come to expect.