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Date: 12/5/2018
So, as I noted in my last column, I spent a week at the Cape and got a lot done on a chapter I need to complete for a book project.
I spent far more time watching cartoons from the 1930s than paying attention to news, which is my normal obsession. It was a good break.
Of course, though, news came to me in the form of Facebook posts and, as I am a weak man, I read a number of stories and read a number of replies to those posts.
What struck me was, with everything that was going on here in our area, most people were posting about national issues.
Here is how it worked in broad terms: the liberal folks were posting items about President Donald Trump and the conservative people were finding stuff about Hillary Clinton or President Barack Obama to bring up.
Some of the people on either side of the spectrum were making clear their distain for the subject of their posts.
Perhaps it was being on vacation, but I reacted. This is what I wrote: “Here’s an idea: instead of constantly posting national news stories and your comments, try posting about issues facing your community and state and what you could do to address these issues. I’m tired of the hate.”
I am very tired of the hate. It’s not doing our country any good, and for the most part, the complaining isn’t doing anything to fix a problem.
So I wanted to challenge my Facebook friends – and now our readers – to actually think about issues they could address here at home.
Think a moment. Are there problems that could be fixed, discussions that could be undertaken that could solve an issue?
What Trump and Congress does can have significant impact on our lives, but local issues can have more immediate repercussions. C
onsider the ongoing discussions about where to license cannabis shops in cities such as Springfield, Chicopee and Holyoke. For many people that is a huge issue.
How about the next state budget and what it will mean for Western Massachusetts? How will the next set of property tax rates for local communities affect residents and businesses?
What do we need to do to leverage our local tourism industry? What would be the next economic development projects for our communities?
Do you want backyard chickens in your town? Are our local schools performing as they should be?
A friend of mine is struggling with illegal parking that is making the street on which her business is located unsafe. That is a real issue for her and her customers. I’m not saying that one shouldn’t react to national news.
I’m not saying one shouldn’t troll obscure partisan websites looking for something to post that would irritate your Facebook friends of a different political point of view.
Hey, it’s your life.
If you believe the way to influence people you call “friends” is to constantly insult their beliefs, go with that. There are several people whose multiple daily posts infuriate me. I write responses and then erase them. It seems to work for me.
I just believe social media could be used more effectively for positive change if it is focused on a local issue.
Local news?
Speaking of Facebook and local news, my friend Ryan McCollum recently posted the following: “Anybody else notice an uptick in local Western Mass television channels’ Facebook profiles posting stories that just throw raw meat out there for angry people to comment? Whether it’s about race, political correctness, immigration, guns etc.” A quick look confirms that many of the stories that are posted by our two commercial TV stations are controversial or provocative and have nothing to do with local events or people.
Many of McCollum’s friends posted their agreement.
I get it. The idea is to get people on your page and if a story from Texas can get someone to click, then the post has done its job.
It’s not about news; it’s about content that could lead to increased advertising. Again, I understand it.
I just think these news outlets are doing a disservice to their audience. In a perfect world the eyeballs you’re attracting to your page ought be about local news and not some story from 1,000 miles away with no local connection.
Of course, we don’t live in a perfect world.
Such a strategy can’t work for us, as we are all about regional news stories. My staff and I will keep posting stories that are definitely from Western Massachusetts.