Editor Commentary on Today's Media
| Steve Frederick |
I believe part of the reason newspapers are struggling is that we have allowed special interests to take control of the conversation and define us as something we're not; specifically, the baloney about "liberal media." Newspapers have a responsibility to be smart. That sounds egotistical, perhaps, but we are supposedly more engaged, do more research, observe more intently, have greater institutional memory. There's nothing wrong with putting all that hard work into what we do. The worst newspapers, I believe, are those that pander to their readership - all conservative columnists because their audience is conservative, no stories about Hispanics because the community is quietly racist, no stories about the dynamics of farm subsidies or conjunctive water use because the community is hostile to "anti-farm" coverage. We should be biased toward the truth, wherever that takes us. That means respecting people's intelligence and aiming high. It means being courageous. A newspaper that refuses to be intimidated will command respect. There aren't many of them left.
-- Steve Frederick, Editor, Scottsbluff Star-Herald
SDN Projects
Opportunities for Nebraska, Volume Three: Food Scarcity is the third annual publication of Strategic Discussions for Nebraska, exploring the importance of University of Nebraska research on the way we live- and on the way the world lives. Read more>>
Opportunities for Nebraska, Volume Two: Energy, Climate and Sustainability is the second annual publication of Strategic Discussions for Nebraska that explores the impact and relevance of University of Nebraska research.
Watch and listen as experts tell the stories of research and innovation at the University of Nebraska- one of the top research universities in the United States. Read more>>
Opportunities for Nebraska is the first magazine in a series that showcases University of Nebraska-Lincoln research. The world population is expected to grow to nine billion by 2050 and this research will result in producing twice as much food with the same amount of land and water. Watch and listen as UNL experts tell the stories of research and innovation at one of the top research universities in the country!
Read More >>
UNL student researchers along with SDN conducted a major research project to study the ways Ord residents communicate about what is happening in the community.
Read More >>
Published in June 2009, Nebraska's Economic Future includes a summary of findings; stories based on individual interviews; summaries of community conversations; and articles written specifically for this magazine. The articles represent varied geographical perspectives as well as perspectives on various parts of the state's economy.
Read More >>
SDN published research on Immigration in Nebraska for the project's initial study in May 2008. We selected Scottsbluff, Lexington, Crete and Omaha and looked at the impact immigration has had on those communities.
Read More >>