thedrifter
06-17-07, 07:25 AM
Pride belongs on front line, and front page
By Otis Sanford
Contact
June 17, 2007
Beverly Reeves, a longtime subscriber to this newspaper, called me last week and she was not happy.
Actually, she was downright livid about our selection of front-page stories for the Tuesday morning paper.
An upset newspaper reader is not news. We do have an uncanny habit of rubbing some of our faithful customers the wrong way from time to time.
But the more I listened to Reeves' voicemail and to her in person later that day, the more I became convinced she had a point. Perhaps we had underplayed the story of a native Memphian who is playing a significant and dangerous leadership role for the U.S. military in Iraq. The story, written by Washington correspondent Bartholomew Sullivan, was about Command Sgt. Maj. Marvin L. Hill, a Mitchell High School graduate and the highest-ranking non-commissioned soldier in the U.S. Army.
Hill's job these days is to visit with U.S. soldiers and Marines throughout Iraq to assess their morale, listen to their concerns and report his findings directly to commanding Gen. David Petraeus.
Reeves was captivated by the vivid portrayal of Hill's leadership, bravery and devotion to duty. To her, we had callously buried his uplifting story inside the newspaper.
She was particularly perturbed that golfer John Daly's never-ending domestic soap opera appeared on Page 1 Tuesday and the Hill story, in her edition, was on Page B6.
"This is a wonderful, positive story of leadership and should have been on the front page of the paper," Reeves said with more than a hint of indignation. "John Daly and his wife! Give me a break."
The fact that Hill is African-American was all the more reason his story deserved front-page treatment, said Reeves, a white conservative Republican from Olive Branch. She's grown weary of reading about self-serving, crooked Memphis politicians and knuckle-headed criminals.
"Give me some stories of positive leadership. This is what we are all hungry for."
To be fair, our editors had planned to play the Hill story on Page 1. It was moved to the Local News front page in all editions, except DeSoto, in favor of a late-breaking story on the sale of Memphis Networx. The sale means ratepayers of Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division will lose nearly $29 million.
Honestly, there was nothing sinister about the decision of where to place the Hill story. It was not a commentary on how editors feel about the war. And it was not part of a grand conspiracy to downplay the success of African-American men.
It was, plainly and simply, one of the many journalism decisions editors make on the fly every day.
But I understand Reeves' frustration. In our cynical and selfish culture, Hill represents a refreshing change. His story resonates because his primary job is to win the trust of troops on the ground in Iraq and to actually listen to them.
Imagine that.
Here's a guy from inner-city Memphis riding 13 hours at a stretch in a Humvee from Baghdad to Mosul. He's dodging roadside bombs and sniper attacks just to listen to our soldiers and Marines.
It was a heartening departure from recent news stories about public figures -- led by Daly, Judge W. Fred Axley, state Sen. Ophelia Ford and City Councilmen Edmund Ford -- who are sources of embarrassment rather than models of pride.
So at Reeves' urging, I set out to learn more about Command Sgt. Maj. Hill. And I discovered a man who was president of his senior class at Mitchell in 1976 and was voted most popular.
His high school nickname was Toe Toe and he played wide receiver and tailback on the Mitchell Tigers football team.
Henry Baskin, athletic director at Mitchell, grew up in the same neighborhood with Hill and remembers his days on the football field. "He could really excite the crowd," said Baskin, who's also pastor of New Galilee Baptist Church.
Former Mitchell basketball stars Andre Turner and Thaddeus Young are no doubt better known. But for Baskin's money, they don't come any tougher or more committed than Hill.
No matter what you think about this protracted war and the folks who got us into it, you can't help but feel proud that someone like Hill is there showing genuine concern for the troops and -- at considerable risk -- trying to make a difference.
"The first thing I have to do is create an environment of trust," Hill is quoted in the story.
Creating an environment of trust is job one. Memphis politicians, are you taking notes?
Otis L. Sanford is editor/opinion and editorials for The Commercial Appeal. Contact him at 529-2447 or by e-mail.
Ellie
By Otis Sanford
Contact
June 17, 2007
Beverly Reeves, a longtime subscriber to this newspaper, called me last week and she was not happy.
Actually, she was downright livid about our selection of front-page stories for the Tuesday morning paper.
An upset newspaper reader is not news. We do have an uncanny habit of rubbing some of our faithful customers the wrong way from time to time.
But the more I listened to Reeves' voicemail and to her in person later that day, the more I became convinced she had a point. Perhaps we had underplayed the story of a native Memphian who is playing a significant and dangerous leadership role for the U.S. military in Iraq. The story, written by Washington correspondent Bartholomew Sullivan, was about Command Sgt. Maj. Marvin L. Hill, a Mitchell High School graduate and the highest-ranking non-commissioned soldier in the U.S. Army.
Hill's job these days is to visit with U.S. soldiers and Marines throughout Iraq to assess their morale, listen to their concerns and report his findings directly to commanding Gen. David Petraeus.
Reeves was captivated by the vivid portrayal of Hill's leadership, bravery and devotion to duty. To her, we had callously buried his uplifting story inside the newspaper.
She was particularly perturbed that golfer John Daly's never-ending domestic soap opera appeared on Page 1 Tuesday and the Hill story, in her edition, was on Page B6.
"This is a wonderful, positive story of leadership and should have been on the front page of the paper," Reeves said with more than a hint of indignation. "John Daly and his wife! Give me a break."
The fact that Hill is African-American was all the more reason his story deserved front-page treatment, said Reeves, a white conservative Republican from Olive Branch. She's grown weary of reading about self-serving, crooked Memphis politicians and knuckle-headed criminals.
"Give me some stories of positive leadership. This is what we are all hungry for."
To be fair, our editors had planned to play the Hill story on Page 1. It was moved to the Local News front page in all editions, except DeSoto, in favor of a late-breaking story on the sale of Memphis Networx. The sale means ratepayers of Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division will lose nearly $29 million.
Honestly, there was nothing sinister about the decision of where to place the Hill story. It was not a commentary on how editors feel about the war. And it was not part of a grand conspiracy to downplay the success of African-American men.
It was, plainly and simply, one of the many journalism decisions editors make on the fly every day.
But I understand Reeves' frustration. In our cynical and selfish culture, Hill represents a refreshing change. His story resonates because his primary job is to win the trust of troops on the ground in Iraq and to actually listen to them.
Imagine that.
Here's a guy from inner-city Memphis riding 13 hours at a stretch in a Humvee from Baghdad to Mosul. He's dodging roadside bombs and sniper attacks just to listen to our soldiers and Marines.
It was a heartening departure from recent news stories about public figures -- led by Daly, Judge W. Fred Axley, state Sen. Ophelia Ford and City Councilmen Edmund Ford -- who are sources of embarrassment rather than models of pride.
So at Reeves' urging, I set out to learn more about Command Sgt. Maj. Hill. And I discovered a man who was president of his senior class at Mitchell in 1976 and was voted most popular.
His high school nickname was Toe Toe and he played wide receiver and tailback on the Mitchell Tigers football team.
Henry Baskin, athletic director at Mitchell, grew up in the same neighborhood with Hill and remembers his days on the football field. "He could really excite the crowd," said Baskin, who's also pastor of New Galilee Baptist Church.
Former Mitchell basketball stars Andre Turner and Thaddeus Young are no doubt better known. But for Baskin's money, they don't come any tougher or more committed than Hill.
No matter what you think about this protracted war and the folks who got us into it, you can't help but feel proud that someone like Hill is there showing genuine concern for the troops and -- at considerable risk -- trying to make a difference.
"The first thing I have to do is create an environment of trust," Hill is quoted in the story.
Creating an environment of trust is job one. Memphis politicians, are you taking notes?
Otis L. Sanford is editor/opinion and editorials for The Commercial Appeal. Contact him at 529-2447 or by e-mail.
Ellie