What's meat got to do with the state Constitution?

A Stockton lawyer has asked me to sign an affadavit that promises that the Tracy Press didn't alter a photograph we ran a month or so ago of a man lifting a large bucket at a cultural event in town. Apparently, there's a workers compensation case and a question of whether the man really did lift that vat of raw red meat.

I've refused to sign the affadavit, because to do so would waive my rights to the California Shield Law — Article 1, Section 2, California Constitution — which provides legal protections to journalists from releasing unpublished information obtained during newsgathering.

If I were to sign the affadavit, the lawyer might be satisfied and ask for nothing else. But it opens the door to be asked to testify in court with an eyewitness account, which would jeopardize the newspaper's status as an independent observer.

The answer to the question of whether we altered the photograph is simple: No. It is against our ethics policies to alter photos. In addition to the guidelines we enacted in 2005, we also follow those set forth by the National Press Photographers Association. I've pasted those guidelines below:

Photojournalists and those who manage visual news productions are accountable for upholding the following standards in their daily work:

Be accurate and comprehensive in the representation of subjects.

Resist being manipulated by staged photo opportunities.

Be complete and provide context when photographing subjects. Avoid stereotyping individuals and groups. Recognize and work to avoid presenting one’s own biases in the work.

Treat all subjects with respect and dignity. Give special consideration to vulnerable subjects and compassion to victims of crime or tragedy. Intrude on private moments of grief only when the public has an overriding and justifiable need to see.

While photographing subjects, do not intentionally contribute to, alter, or seek to alter or influence events.

Editing should maintain the integrity of the photographic images' content and context. Do not manipulate in any way that can mislead viewers or misrepresent subjects.

Do not pay sources or subjects or reward them materially for information or participation.

Do not accept gifts, favors or compensation from those who might seek to influence coverage.

Do not intentionally sabotage the efforts of other journalists.

Ideally, photojournalists should:

Strive to ensure that the public's business is conducted in public. Defend the rights of access for all journalists.

Think proactively, as a student of psychology, sociology, politics and art to develop a unique vision and presentation. Work with a voracious appetite for current events and contemporary visual media.

Strive for total and unrestricted access to subjects, recommend alternatives to shallow or rushed opportunities, seek a diversity of viewpoints, and work to show unpopular or unnoticed points of view.

Avoid political, civic and business involvements or other employment that compromise or give the appearance of compromising one's own journalistic independence.

Strive to be unobtrusive and humble in dealing with subjects.

Respect the integrity of the photographic moment.

Strive by example and influence to maintain the spirit and high standards expressed in this code. When confronted with situations in which the proper action is not clear, seek the counsel of those who exhibit the highest standards of the profession. Photojournalists should continuously study their craft and the ethics that guide it.

Digital file standards: Photographers, editors or graphic artists will not alter or manipulate digital photo files in any way other than to color correct or correct camera-based flaws in the image. All changes to files will be to create the most accurate representation of the image as it appeared as possible. No photos will be digitally altered to add or remove content that was not in the original photo file. Photo illustrations that are clearly identified as such will have some leeway, as they are created by the photographer in an artistic manner and may have digital manipulation to enhance the artistic appeal.

Photographer Glenn Moore

Pretty cool photo of a photographer.

By Alice O'Neil

Call me crazy

Dear Editor:
I am a longtime Tracy resident. Actually, I've lived here my whole life — 32 years. I saw the front cover of the Tracy Press and saw a woman with her breasts out for the whole world to see, and a little girl with her.

I am appalled at the fact that the Tracy Press would assume that this is a good representation of Tracy. As long as I have been here, I have never heard of Playboy being a glorification of Tracy.

I am completely embarrassed by what I saw. I am a mother of five, and I am not fat and stupid, as I saw people messaging on the Internet. I think it was a bad call on the part of the Tracy Press to write this story and will be be cancelling my subscription.

What else is Tracy Press going to put on the front page for my children to look at — porn? Wow is all I can say.

- Saddened in he Suburbs

Dear Saddened,

Thank you for writing. I've gotten phone calls and messages from many women since we ran the story about the Playboy model. Most of them didn't leave their names or didn't want to talk, so I haven't had a chance to write down my thoughts or express them out loud. So bear with me here, if you will.

I welcome the comments and the criticism of the story (and photos), but I am sort of surprised. Maybe I have become more tolerant since I've turned 50, but I thought the story was newsworthy. It's not every day that a Tracy mother of four becomes a Playboy icon.

Please know that I consider myself a feminist. I've worked hard to maintain my independence all my adult life. I majored in journalism and minored in women's studies in college in the '70s; my role models were Gloria Steinem and Betty Friedan. The main reason I didn't go into TV journalism was that I didn't want a career that required good looks; I wanted one where I'd use my brain.

I don't consider the woman we pictured on the front page to be a representation of my hometown, nor do I consider the robbers who have agonized small businesses in north Tracy to be heroes. But sometimes their stories make the front page. And well, they all are part of our community.

News is a lot of things. It's what's happening, and it's what people are talking about. Sometimes news gives us something to talk about; certainly, it's not always serious. If my children were young and read the paper that pictured the woman wearing the low-cut shirt, I'd use the opportunity to talk to them about my values — and how they differ from this woman's. Depending on their age, I might talk to them about the history of magazines like Playboy. I might talk about women's liberation.

I never meant to glorify this woman — or to condemn her. I truly believe that, like everyone, she has a story worth telling.

One more thought. In 2007, we have all sorts of women to learn from and look to — for all sorts of things. We make choices about our lives. We can have children, or not. We can have careers, or not. We can show our cleavage, or not. We have a woman as speaker of the House of Representatives; soon we might even be able to vote for a woman for president. Or not.

Anyway, I'm sure you get my drift, and you may be shaking your head and thinking I'm truly the crazy one.

But I'd like to talk more about this — if you want.

Cheri

In another part of the world

I was shocked to see an account of Roger Strunk's death on Philippine news sites as the top news and also under Entertainment News on Friday.

Here in Tracy, many of those of us who knew Strunk were saddened by his unexpected death. We didn't realize that in the country where he'd lived with his late wife, the beloved actress Nida Blanca, he's still considered a prime suspect in her 2001 murder.

GMA News asked if they could use our stories and photos in coverage to be used on their television stations. I was happy to oblige, but I had to ask: Why was this big news in the Philippines?

"Mr. Rod Strunk is still big news here in the Philippines because the hearing for the Nida Blanca case is still ongoing," Hannah Petrache politely replied.

While several sites used parts of our stories, some did their own reporting, even quoting Matt Robinson, the city of Tracy's spokesman.

A woman who has a blog called "Midlife Mysteries" posted "Rod Strunk is Dead," and wrote, "Finally, the wheels of justice have turned. Or has it?" The woman, Cathy, said her mother was Nida Blanca's oldest friend in the Philippines, and she had written the front-page story in the Philippine Daily Inquirer after Blanca was killed.

Asian Journal also had this, which I found interesting:

“Everything will go with him to the grave,” Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said, reacting to news of Strunk’s death.

"I only heard it from the news. We have not received any official communication from the US government," Gonzalez said, adding that the government had a filed a second extradition case against Strunk. "Now that he's dead, his extradition [and] murder case are already moot and academic."

RIP, Roger.

Word of the Day

triskaidekaphobia \tris-ky-dek-uh-FOH-bee-uh\, noun: A morbid fear of the number 13 or the date Friday the 13th.

What a news day

1 a.m.: A Tracy police officer stopped me on my way home tonight after work but didn't ticket me. He didn't lecture me about speeding or going through a red light. He just told me to take it easy, and then he followed me for the next eight miles.

Did he know what a long day I'd had? This had to be one of our biggest news days of the year: Another Tracy soldier was killed in Iraq. Homeland Security crossed Tracy off its list of locations for a bio-lab. Severed gas line at Valpico Road and MacArthur Drive shuts down traffic for hours. Body found behind the Tracy Inn. Man in county tests positive for West Nile virus. Skeletal remains found in Amador County may be a murder victim from SJ County.

But the best story of all: Gladys Schmolck turns 104 in Tracy this week. If you read nothing else, read this story.

Finally, if you're reading this blog, you've likely noticed our Web site looks a little different. We are using new software, and we're able to post stories and photos much faster. Stay tuned for lots more changes in the next few weeks!

Damsel in distress

I'm not sure how I stumbled on this site, but apparently there's a film in the works about the American newspaper in peril. Check it out.
http://stopthepressesdoc.com

Editor's Notes

From the Tracy Press/ Friday, 06 July 2007

Everywhere I look these days, the news looks bad. Stock values in newspapers have dropped. Ad revenues are down. Paid newspaper circulation is in the tank.

Sitting here in Tracy, I know better than to be smug about the massive newspaper mergers and layoffs in the Bay Area and beyond. While I’d like to rest on the laurels of delivering 19,000 hand-folded newspapers five mornings a week in my hometown, I know I can’t.

Why?

The message is clear: Newspapers need to adapt to the new media.

I feel like I’ve been adapting to some sort of new media my entire life, beginning with television.
At my first real job, just as I was cutting my teeth writing headlines, we got the word that all smoking in the newsroom was to be banned, because — clear the throat here — the computers would arrive by the end of summer.

I can’t remember whether it was the smoking part or the computers that got people more riled in 1979. But grumbling about change has been the rule at every newspaper job I’ve had in the past 25 years.

And now it’s this newest of the new media, brought to us by our friendly computer technology, that appears to be threatening the old newspaper game.

But wait. The Tracy Press knows something about the game. And if we need to adapt, or even reinvent ourselves, we can.

Remember when we went from being a three-days-a-week paper to five, six, seven and back to five days When we added color When we threw out our film, closed the darkroom and got digital cameras When we changed the size of our paper from broadsheet to tabloid When we stopped billing for subscriptions

Now we blog. We allow online comments and forums. We have a MySpace account. We’re putting breaking news on our Web site. And we’re talking about video.

All of that has nothing to do with newsprint and everything to do with some pretty exciting new media.

Things are changing, sure. But the good thing is that people are still reading — even more than before — and they care about what’s going on, especially in their own corner of the world.

We have amazing customer loyalty and bright, committed people who work for us as employees and as volunteers. We also know how to hold government accountable and, in my not-so-humble opinion, how to gather news and information better than anybody in town.

If nothing else, the Tracy Press has generations of committed readers and 109 years of brand recognition.

I think we’ll be able to keep the community engaged going into the future — if not with daily deadlines on paper and ink, then continuously, with pixels on screens.

Maybe the news — and new media — isn’t so bad.