To Fix Local Issues, Hagerstown Needs More than Potential (Opinion)

Believe it or not, I actually saw criticism online yesterday of local news for reporting on the shooting and standoff yesterday in Hagerstown. The criticism forwarded to me, which was written by the editor of another local publication which I’m not going to name at this time, calls into question why local and network news are reporting on the incident when they “don’t care to report the great potential we have to do better.” Simply put – potential, the hope that things will get better, is not a plan. Hagerstown, Washington County, and the whole country for that matter, all have great potential. But before we can realize that potential, we need to identify the problems that need fixed. Jeff Daniels’ clip on The Newsroom is a real punch in the gut, and a wakeup call we need to view now and then as a reminder that “the first step in solving any problem is recognizing there is one.”

I’ve written before that the best way to measure success as a news organization is when people make outlandish criticisms. We’re frequently attacked by both the right and the left because our news is as unbiased as possible, resulting in the news failing to meet the confirmation bias of those leaning far right or far left. And every time we come under attack, I’m grateful because it shows we are remaining true to our core values of unbiased coverage. It’s a bit backwards if you think about it, but I’m proud to do it.

Ironically, I’ve seen comments that we would “make a lot more money” and “get a lot more subscriptions” if we would lean a certain political direction favoring whoever is making the comments. And they’re not wrong, we certainly could. I could easily shift RFHC left or right, and take advantage of all the people with confirmation bias happily giving us their money. I won’t do it. I want RFHC to remain first and always committed to the facts of the matters, not to the biased perceptions of those facts. If that means less revenue, so be it, at least I’ll sleep at night knowing I’m staying true to our mission.

Fortunately, yesterday’s incident came to a peaceful conclusion, even though a Hagerstown Police Officer was significantly injured by a shotgun blast. The peaceful conclusion was as a result of eight hours of hard work by the Crisis Negotiation Team. For those not familiar, the mission of that team is “peacefully resolve emergency situations through the use of specialized communications.”

June is men’s mental health month. As highlighted in an article we previously published, men are least likely to seek help for mental health issues. This can and will result in a crisis situation if issues are not properly addressed. Unfortunately, all the “great potential” in the world won’t fix that. But you know what will? Recognizing that there is a problem. And maybe it’s not your problem, maybe it’s a friend or family member’s problem. I know it’s an uncomfortable topic, but it’s alright to reach out and just ask “hey, are you okay? You need somebody to talk to?” and that might change someone’s whole life, and prevent the next tragedy like yesterday’s unfortunate events.

You want to see great potential, look at the brave officers who blindly charged in yesterday, risking their own lives to try and resolve this terrible situation. Look at our community’s firefighters, EMS, prison guards, security guards, nurses, doctors, social workers, the list goes on and on. Now stop for a moment and realize, they’ve seen a lot of traumatizing stuff. They’ve been through some traumatizing stuff. Hell, I’ve been through some traumatizing stuff. You know what helps? Being friendly. Being kind. Just smiling, saying hello, and wishing that random person to have a great day, might take them just a little bit out of the internal darkness they’re currently struggling with. And let me tell you something, all of us have some sort of internal struggle we’re currently facing.

So of all the important things in life, remember to be kind.

And for all the haters out there who continue to attack us and make outlandish claims that we’re biased, outlandish claims that we have some hidden agenda in reporting about negative events such as the terrible incident yesterday, or outlandish claims that we are “never fair” because of what you perceive as our political views… I truly hope that whatever internal struggle you are facing, that you find the strength to overcome it, so that you can find the internal peace to be kind to others.

Opinion article by Ken Buckler, President of Radio Free Hub City. All opinions are his own, and do not reflect those of our clients or sponsors.

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