Sunshine Week celebrates newspapers

Sandy Robinson and Ben Carlson were part of news reports in Minnesota’s newspapers. Neither one was probably aware of the attention created by the event.

reports as routine, but chronicling the lives of Sandy and Ben often represents yearslong initiatives to gain access to information. The items often find a spot on refrigerators or a permanent place in family scrapbooks.

St. Patrick’s Day

Whenever St. Patrick’s Day rolls around, people ask me if I’m Irish. I tell them that my great grandfather was Irish so I have some Irish blood running through my veins. When I was growing up someone’s nationality was a big deal. My grandmother was a Slovak and she married someone who wasn’t. That caused a huge rift in the family because my grandmother was expected to marry a Slovak man. I lived across the street from my great-grandmother, Baba, who was Slovak. We weren’t allowed to go visit her because my siblings and I weren’t “pure blood” Slovaks. Isn’t that crazy? I would see Baba outside sweeping her walkway and always wanted to go and say hi. She didn’t speak very good English but I was curious about her. Thank goodness times have changed. It doesn’t matter as much to people what your nationality is and that’s a good thing.

While thinking about St. Patrick’s Day I am reminded of a story I did on the Holocaust last month. Ken Engle’s parents were Holocaust survivors. They arrived in New York on March 17, 1949. There was a St. Patrick’s Day party in a park. Engle’s dad bought a shamrock button and wore it every St. Patrick’s Day until he passed away in 2010. Engle said someone asked his dad why he wore that button because St. Patrick’s Day isn’t a Jewish holiday. His dad replied, “It was the best day of my life. It was the day I found my freedom.”

Noelle Olson is editor of the Shoreview Press.

Movers & Shakers

Jim Pumarlo

The names are fictitious, but the news – birth announcements – is regularly recorded in community newspapers. We expect to see more of Sandy and Ben in the coming years. Likewise, we hope the local newspapers become a part of their daily routines. Newspapers pride themselves as recorders of local history. I encourage all Minnesotans to join in celebrating their local newspapers during Sunshine Week, March 12-18. At its foundation, the week underscores the importance of the free flow of information for an open, effective and accountable government. The press invests immense resources to ensure the public has a close-up view.

Strike up a conversation about press rights, and many individuals likely conjure editors and reporters demanding access to top-secret data from government officials.

Shedding light on information, however, is much broader than probing into government workings. Readers may view many

• Limited to 350 words.

• Submissions must Include a full name, address and daytime phone number for verification.

• Letter writers must live, work or have another connection to Press Publications coverage area.

• Letter writers are limited to six

Sandy and Ben’s births will remain part of local history. Newspapers take pride in helping families spread news of special events in their lives.

I predict Sandy and Ben will make names for themselves in a variety of youth clubs and leagues – maybe a pinewood derby or a YMCA sports championship. Accomplishments will likely continue through high school extracurricular activities. They will understand the importance of academics and wind up on the honor roll, too. The benchmarks will be shared with their names in the newspaper.

That covers the first 18 years of their lives. The relationship with their hometown papers is likely to continue including announcements of where they decide to continue their education and accompanying scholarships.

I expect Sandy and Ben may someday decide to start their own families. Where their newspapers once proclaimed the birth announcements, the news pages will announce engagements and acknowledge weddings. The photos will be wonderful additions to family scrapbooks.

An active citizenry is the life - blood of so many communities. Their names will be in the news some more – an officer in a civic organization, a youth leader at church, a volunteer at school. They might even start their own businesses, which will be recognized as well.

Then the families will be planning a special anniversary celebration for their parents. Once again, the event will make the paper.

Individuals are the essence of community newspapers. After all, people make the news.

Today’s media landscape is more fractured than ever, underscoring the value of community newspapers in providing a living history of our hometowns. Many stories are easily gathered; others are more challenging. They all represent the expense of time and resources by newspaper staffs.

During Sunshine Week, we pay tribute to the millions of readers who invite newspapers into their homes each day. I speak firsthand from many years sitting behind the editor’s desk. We enjoy the relationships we’ve made, and we hope our readers do, too.

Jim Pumarlo is a member of the Minnesota Newspaper Association. He is a former editor of the Red Wing Republican Eagle and former board member of the Minnesota News Media Institute. He can be reached at jim@pumarlo.com

SHOREVIEW PRESS | LETTER GUIDELINES

letters per year and at least four weeks must lapse between publication. Exceptions may be made for rebuttal letters.

• Due to space limitations, letters that don’t address local issues are not guaranteed publication.

• Repeat letters by the same writer about the same subject matter will not be published.

• Submissions containing libelous or derogatory statements will not be published.

• Submissions containing facts not previously published in the Press must be accompanied by factual verification.

• All letters are subject to editing.

• Deadline is 5 p. m. , Wednesday of the week prior to publication.

• To submit a letter, e-mail it to shoreviewnews@presspubs. com, fax it to 651-429-1242 or mail or deliver it to Press Publications, 4779 Bloom Ave., White Bear Lake, MN 55110.