Dooce Coupe?

The following is a comment thread I posted in regarding a news article about a blog war. Isn't THAT an oxymoron?


CyndyHardy 22 minutes ago
Armstrong is a blogger, not a journalist: she is not confined by the 4th wall. YOU don't have the power to control how she chooses to capitalize on her own celebrity.

Good on her for building her brand to where Yahoo sponsored her trip in return for a story. If her personality offends you, TOUGH! The result informed YOU about a sad situation in Bangladesh. Shame on YOU for bashing the messenger. Get off your wallets and do something positive, for a change.

JeannieP 7 minutes ago in reply to CyndyHardy
But her tweets didn't inform me about a sad situation in Bangladesh. Every one of her tweets for the past 24 hours have been about trashing this other blogger. I think it would be great if she used her celebrity for poor people but she isn't. She's using it to be mad at somebody, and I can't even find the tweet where the other blogger attacked her and started it. It is all very confusing and I would rather talk about the poor people.

CyndyHardy 0 minutes ago in reply to JeannieP
Her Twitter profile links to her blog. You'll find her Bangladesh story there.

Twitter is probably just a vehicle for Armstrong to attract blog interest. n fact, her older posts tell how she got into blogging in the first place. Now she makes a good living from it, through advertisers who buy ad space because a lot of people read her blog.

This whole story is relevant to the decline of newspapers because people aren't willing to pay for news. As a result, newspapers can't afford to pay decent salaries, or finance lengthy investigation pieces. While traditional journalists ideally (I said IDEALLY) adhere to a professional code of ethics in news gathering and reporting, bloggers are just people like you who like to write. It is wrong to assume bloggers should be fair, unbiased or even nice.

Some confusion is propagated by stories like this Trib article. It seems to capitalize on the controversy instead of the more important issue in Bangladesh. But, remember, most people would rather read about the cat fight. That generates page views, which generates advertiser interest, which pays Sean Means's salary and theoretically gets people to click through to other news stories.



Raff_The_Sweetling 49 minutes ago
So who's running the kitchen in their households?

CyndyHardy 10 minutes ago in reply to Raff_The_Sweetling
Maybe she's paying a guy like you?
And here is the rest of it. Read more!

Hold the chief accountable

Four officers were shot dead while working on paperwork at a local coffee shop in Parkland, Wash. News reports allege the shooting was premeditated by one or more perpetrators.

It is difficult for anyone to concentrate on one's surroundings while writing on a computer. That this crime was premeditated indicates the officers regularly compromised their safety.

The department and police chief should be held accountable for their parts in this tragedy.

As a journalist and former law enforcement officer, I saw this coming. I wrote about it nearly two years ago when Sedona, Ariz's police department initiated a laptop program.

Click through to read my story.


Sedona's top cop seeks mobile laptops

by Cyndy Hardy

SEDONA, Jan. 8, 2008 -- The Sedona Police Department is seeking City Council approval for about $190,000 to purchase 30 new laptops and related equipment for its patrol cars.

The request is scheduled for possible approval at the council's Tuesday, Jan. 13 meeting. If the item stays on the consent agenda, it would be approved without discussion.

The plan for purchasing this system would improve public and officer safety in Sedona through immediate access to tactical information for use in problem solving with a community policing philosophy, according to Sedona Police Chief Joe Vernier in a January 7 email interview.

"A mantra that we commonly hear and read about is, 'Information is the lifeblood of policing,'"? he said.

The Sedona Police Department received at least three bids for the program. CLH International, Inc. bid $201,487. Denver-based Portable Computer Systems bid $204,091.

Mr. Vernier has recommended the City Council approve Phoenix-based Mobile Concepts Technology bid for $190,077.

The program was approved in the city's Fiscal Year 2008/2009 city budget.

The city will be reimbursed for the cost through a $561,180.00 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice the police department received in 2008, according to a staff report.

Hidden costs?

While researching for this article, an unexpected potential cost surfaced.

Many police departments pay officers extra for special training and certification in programs such as drug recognition, canine handling, and Special Weapons and Tactics.

In Massachusetts, some departments pay officers extra for advanced technological skills and the associated duties.

A heated community debated followed when officers in Framingham, Mass. tried to get extra pay for using a laptop program similar to the one proposed by the Sedona Police Department.

The Sedona Police Department's current position is that computer training and skills are a routine officer function, according to Mr. Vernier.

"This is no different than any other training we do such as firearms qualification, etc.," he said.

The police department uses New World Systems technology similar to one featured in a company informational video, Mr. Vernier said.

"Officers are already trained on most aspects of the New World System. It is currently installed on our network and officers use it to do reports, search calls for history files, view calls for service, etc. The biggest change will be that officers can get their information and file reports in the field instead of having to come into the police station," Mr. Vernier said.

Sedona officers will be trained on the laptop aspects of using the system.

"We will also have to train and certify officers to access the national and state databases. If this is beyond the officers regularly scheduled shift, then we pay overtime. Since we have to staff 24/7, overtime training costs are planned for and budgeted," Mr. Vernier said.

We asked if the current purchase request is part of a larger plan for a proposed Regional Dispatch Center.

"The system was pursued well before regional dispatching was proposed. We will implement the system even if regional dispatching does not occur. The system can support regional dispatching if that happens. We also plan to work to access other local and [national] databases; and share ours with these agencies," Mr. Vernier said.

We asked if the program will change the role of dispatchers, since officers will have instant access to information.

"The basic role of dispatchers will not change," he said. "There will be less air traffic on routine or non-priority matters which will save dispatchers time to multi-task in other areas."

Officers and dispatchers can share information via instant messaging that they may not want heard through scanners, he said, and critical safety information and priority emergency calls will still be aired so all units will hear it, he said.

The officers will have the information on the laptops in their cars which should help reduce repeat requests for the same information if the officer's attention was diverted, or couldn't hear parts of the radio transmission, Mr. Vernier said.

If officers get a 'hit' on their laptop for, say, a wanted suspect or vehicle, dispatchers will still have to call the originating agency to confirm warrants and extradition, Mr. Vernier said.

Dispatchers will also still perform duties such as clearing out recovered stolen items and warrants that have been served, he said.


Laptops pose some safety concerns

Public safety and officer safety are important concerns to any police department.

Drivers in general can be distracted by anything from a car radio to cell phones. In recent years the term 'distracted drivers' has become common with U.S. policy makers.

An article in a December 2007 publication by the National Conference of State Legislatures stated:

"An emerging trend in state legislation is to address multiple distracting behaviors not only cell phone use on the road.

"In 2007, legislators in nine states considered new laws to prohibit a broad range of potential distractions, including reading, writing, attending to pets, watching television and other activities.

"Washington lawmakers passed a broad distraction bill that included a provision that made it the first state to specifically prohibit text messaging while driving. Four other states considered similar legislation."

At the 2008 Governors Highway Safety Association's annual conference in Scottsdale, Ann McCartt, senior vice president for research at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, said there is consistent and compelling evidence that distracted driving increases the risk of accidents, according to a Sept.10, 2008 article in The Arizona Republic.

The GHSA Distracted Driving Policy states "when on the road, all drivers should not text message, use cell phones or other electronic devices, faxes, computers or other distracting devices except to report a crash to emergency responders. If a driver must use such devices to make a call or report a crash, the driver should first stop in a parking lot or other protected area."

Arizona law only specifically prohibits school bus drivers from using cell phones while driving.

Arizona Revised Statute 28-963 prohibits television screens in vehicles that are any point forward of the back of the driver's seat; and visible, directly or indirectly, to the driver while operating the motor vehicle.

Police computers are not televisions, but they are mounted in the front-seat area of the patrol vehicle.

We asked Mr. Vernier about the Sedona Police Department's policy on using the laptops while driving.

SPD is still developing a policy based on models from the International Association of Chiefs of Police and other agencies. Most of the policies are safety-based; and restrict typing while driving, he said.

"They also clearly state that officers are ultimately responsible for the safe operation of their vehicle irrespective of any system they are using while driving, e.g., radar, in-car video, radio, lights, siren, etc," he said.

Field work poses some officer-safety concerns

Vehicle laptops will keep more officers in the field instead of in an office writing reports, according to the Sedona Police Department's staff report.

But even if Sedona officers pull off the road to type up reports, they run the risk of being distracted from what is going on around them.

Officer Mark Anthony Sawyers of the Sterling Heights, Mich. police department died in 2004 from gunshot wounds he suffered while sitting in his patrol car writing up an accident report.

We asked what safety measures Sedona officers take while writing reports in the field.

"Officers write summons, field notes, interviews, etc., in the field. The difference here is that we will be putting this into a computer instead of paper in most cases. Staying alert and vigilant to ever changing conditions and situations around us is the predominant safety measure we take.

"This is referred to in public safety as, 'Situational Awareness.' Some steps can be as simple as backing your car into an area where someone can't surprise you from behind," Mr. Vernier said.

Copyright 2008. Cyndy Hardy. This article may not be reproduced, reprinted or redistributed without prior written permission from the author. Contact the author at cyndyhardy@msn.com. Read more!

Forgive us our trespasses: Embrace lands Salt Lake couple in handcuffs

A couple was arrested in Salt Lake City on June 9 (CORRECTION: July 9) after holding hands, hugging, and sharing a kiss on property owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Mormon church security guards saw the public display of affection, reportedly deemed it “inappropriate,” and immediately demanded the couple leave the property.

The couple refused to leave and questioned the guards’ right to evict them, probably using some profanity in the discourse, according to news reports.

The Mormon guards reportedly forced the couple to the ground, handcuffed them and searched their clothing. Then the guards called Salt Lake City police, who cited the couple for criminal trespass and released them.
SLCPD Sgt. Robin Snyder compared the “offense” to a nonpaying customer who tries to use a restaurant restroom, according to a Deseret News article. Police can’t arrest the person for trying to use the bathroom, but they can arrest the person if they refuse to leave, Snyder reportedly said.

In religious connotations, “trespass” is commonly equivalent to “sin.”

Under Utah law, as it may apply to this incident, criminal trespass means a person unlawfully enters and remains on a property with intent to cause annoyance.

The person must know his presence is unlawful by means of an obvious fence or posted sign; or because the owner or “apparent” representative personally communicates the offense to the person.

“If a person is asked to leave private property for whatever reason and refuses to do so, that is technically trespassing,” Snyder reportedly told The Salt Lake Tribune.

Utah law says it is a defense to a criminal trespass charge that “(a) the property was open to the public when the actor entered or remained; and (b) the actor's conduct did not substantially interfere with the owner's use of the property.”

The property in question used to be a major public road with sidewalks in the heart of Salt Lake’s downtown district. The city sold the property to the LDS church in 1999. Now it is an outdoor pedestrian mall with no vehicular traffic – private property, but open to the public.

The arrested couple lives in one of the hundreds of homes north of the pedestrian mall. They were walking home from a downtown, outdoor concert event.

In most U.S. jurisdictions, property owners cannot use force to detain a trespasser until police arrive because it prevents the detainee from curing the offense by leaving.

Utah law restricts the use of force in protecting property “to the extent that he reasonably believes that force is necessary to prevent or terminate criminal interference with real property or personal property.”

As indicated by news reports, the annoyance was the public display of affection.

If, and to what degree, the couple’s embrace substantially interfered with the church’s use of its property is not yet known.

The Salt Lake City Police Department refused a request for the complete incident report, citing the state’s rule that it has five days to comply with a public records request, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.

The couple – Derek Jones and Matthew Aune – believes the church guards singled them out because they are gay, according to Jones’s written statement to www.blueinredzion.com and statements the men made to news outlets.

The LDS church’s position on homosexuality is well documented. Many reader comments on local news Web sites support the church’s right to enforce its beliefs on visitors to its properties.

Discrimination based on sexual orientation is not protected by state or federal laws, however, the couple was treated “just as any other couple would have been,” LDS spokeswoman Kim Farah said in a prepared statement.

Utah government agencies count more than 20 million airport visitors and more than 20 million vehicles entering state borders per year.

The LDS church’s Temple Square, adjacent to the incident location, is touted as the number-one tourist spot. Visitors spend about $1.590 billion per year according to the Salt Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau.

As of this writing, no news reports have said whether other couples have been evicted from the church’s property for holding hands, hugging and kissing.

Copyright 2009. Cyndy Hardy. This article may not be reproduced, reprinted or redistributed without prior written permission from the author. Contact the author at cyndyhardy@msn.com. Read more!

Pet rock escapes; takes dip in Sedona Spa

Talk to any Sedona Jeep tour driver and you’ll learn that kids don’t own the market for saying the darndest things.

Drivers put a lot of effort into spinning interesting and compelling yarns about the geography and history of places they take city folk and international visitors; especially those who drive for companies that have to go a little farther into the outback to get to the good trails.

Sedona has spectacular scenery and wildlife you won’t see elsewhere. Sometimes that prompts guests to ask questions only a mother would love. Your tour guide is apt to have a little fun with them.

Guest: How high up the mountain do you have to go before the deer turn into elk?
Driver: Um, deer don’t ‘turn into’ elk.

Guest: Why are the rocks redder at lower elevations than higher up on the mountain?
Driver: That’s as high as the painters’ ladders reach.

Montezuma’s Castle is a 1,000-year-old Sinagua Indian dwelling that’s basically a 20 room high-rise apartment built into the hillside. It’s definitely off the beaten path of modern civilization.



Guest: Why didn’t they build it closer to the highway?
Driver: …

My personal favorite is the one where a guest asked why some large boulders were wrapped in wire cages. The straight answer is that the wire prevents them from slipping from erosion.

Driver: Remember when pet rocks were all the rage in the 1970s? Well, some people just couldn’t take care of them and dumped them off in the desert. We had to cage them to keep ‘em under control.

Seems one got away and took a dip in a hot tub.

No joke. Read more!

You go, Caleb!

In response to this article ...

It’s a sad thing that our profession was once important enough to be written into the law of the land; and now it is relegated to the law of supply and demand.

I feel your enthusiasm and your pain, Caleb. I was often targeted by a special interest group in Sedona, Ariz. for shining light on its clandestine political operations. The difference was that Arizona state laws make it much easier to obtain public documents that what I’ve encountered in Utah.

If your assumption that the Cedar Hills council conferred – in person, through emails, phone calls or any other means – such actions would go to the front of the Attorney General’s to-do list in Arizona.

You’d be able to walk into the city clerk’s office and demand, within a reasonable time, access to emails, phone logs, daily planners and sticky notes. And they’d better have them because Arizona’s AG is serious about the public’s right to access the records it owns.

That has not been my experience in Utah County – where I’ve been run around in circles, been delayed, and been denied access to council member’s contact information.

Journalists here – who have the same access as residents – often can’t even obtain an agenda until 24 hours before a meeting. The law allows that, however, it doesn’t do much to facilitate earnest public review so that people – including journalists – can be prepared for an action meeting.

On top of that, some unscrupulous journalists and their publishers have made decisions that have devalued our profession to the point that the public no longer trusts us.

In my recent experience, the time it would take you to properly investigate this particular situation is not cost-effective for what you’d be paid.

You did a good job, Caleb. Hold them to the fire. If it doesn’t work out for you at least you were true to yourself and to our profession. Read more!

Cyndy Hardy wins state multimedia honors

The Arizona Press Club announced its 2008 awards on May 16, 2009.

Here's what the judge had to say about my 2nd place award for Best Use of the Web:

“This series of reports are very local and relevant to the daily lives of Sedona residents. The use of video and photography help create a sense place and reveal the inner workings of local government.”

Articles included:
"Fondamenta of Sedona,"
"Chapel of the Holy Cross: A Legacy Set in Stone,"
"Bob Bradshaw: A Modern Cowboy Story,"

"Accused members may strike back at accusers," about potential open meeting law violations, and
"Man’s best friend doles out smiles to traffic-jammers."

Sedona.biz publisher Carl Jackson attended the awards ceremony and had this to say:

"When we equipped Cyndy with a computer, video camera, and video editing software, she exceeded my wildest expectations with her skill and enthusiasm to soak up new media.

"Ms. Hardy not only investigates and writes articles, she also shoots her own video and edits it. We think Ms. Hardy is a “new media” reporter and an example of what all journalists will become. Hopefully this award puts to rest the ongoing debate between print and Internet journalism. It's now clear that neither the printed page nor the web page produces quality journalism.

"Only great journalists like Cyndy Hardy can do that by peeling away the layers of a story until the truth is revealed, and crafting words and phrases to make that story come to life in the reader's imagination."

Hey, Carl! Can I have that certificate? :) Read more!

Christmas in May

Every now and then I do a Google search of my own name to see if anyone's talking about me or plagiarizing my work -- hey, it happens.

Buried on the fourth page of search results was an entry for the Arizona Press Club.

Seems I've won an award for something I did for Sedona.biz in 2008.

I feel like a little kid on Christmas Eve!

I won't know what the award is for until May 12, when the APC announces the awards at its annual banquet in Phoenix. Read more!

Prediction

Not quite Sedona news, but I thought my article about public transit might be of interest to those of you lurking about this site since my move to Utah.

I graduated from a high school near Lindon, Utah – back when cows and hay dominated the landscape and the population was about 10 times less than it is today.

Seems Utah County (we’ve always called it Happy Valley) turned to auto dealers and call centers as its main economic driver, unlike Sedona’s tourist base.

But, the problems of growth, workforce and housing seem similar.

Sedona and her neighbors have been debating public transit for years, as one of many possible solutions to attracting workers and alleviating the high cost of living.

Could light rail and commuter trains be in the future?

Phoenix already has it. How long will it be before someone suggests linking that system into Northern Arizona?

I predict it will happen, although who knows when.

Sedona’s politicos will surely resists it, since light rail is theoretically accessible to all – including the undesirables.
Read more!

Do you 'Tube?'

In my spare time I often browse journalism peer sites to learn more about the new media phenomenon and try to get ideas for my own direction in the business.

This video was produced by a professor of anthropology and his students. It examines the impacts YouTube has had on social media -- which is a profound insight, to me, on how we as a profession can learn from new technologies to better understand and serve the public.

I hope you'll take the time (about 55 minutes) to watch it.

Read more!

Two more cents worth

If the public and publishers choose to support free content in the name of community journalism, everyone deserves what they get.

For example, the Sedona Red Rock News recently canceled a city column because they found out the city was simultaneously submitting the column to my local publisher.

The RRN dressed up its rational in a disagreement with the mayor over editing policies, but the back story was that the paper wanted exclusive rights to the free content.

A city staffer told me the city was going to relent and only send their content to the RRN. I suggested it might not send a good message for the city to play favorites with the media when the objective is supposed to be maximizing public outreach.

I mean, who are we supposed to be serving here?

In another example, The Sedona Verde Valley Times posted an article yesterday that crucified a man for being gay, perhaps to intimidate him from appearing in a court case in which he is the victim of a threat by the guy who wrote the article I mentioned in my last comment.

The editor who wrote the piece is an avid supporter of the defendant, and the groups he is involved with. He and I have different ideas of journalistic ethics.

By the way, the special interest group I spoke of was supposed to make a presentation today at a mayors’ committee meeting that might have influenced the type of lighting ADOT will install in Sedona. They canceled it, according to city staff, based on the faulty information in that article; written by their ally.

Apparently, they didn’t read my follow-up piece before canceling.

The SVVT read it. And still won’t admit they were wrong.

Ya get what you pay for, folks.
Read more!