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Printed in Lena Village Voices on November 20, 2024
by Dan Stevens
So, be honest, what does National Newspaper Week mean to you?
If you are like most people, the answer is simple, "Not a damn thing."
And I won't lie, when I got all of the emails and downloadable columns, cartoons and ads from the Illinois Press Association, I ignored them for more than a few days.
Part of the reason was that it's a lot easier telling other people's stories than your own. And along that same line of thinking — you, the person reading this column right now — are a subscriber to Village Voices, or at least picked it up at one of our rack boxes. So, you appreciate what we try to do and "support" us.
And, if all of that is true, then why am I bringing the topic up now?
Part of it is to vent (and I'm sure you'll be able to tell when that takes place). But part of it is also to let you in on something few people know.
If you had the chance to make roughly $25,000 or more by pursuing legal action, at no cost to yourself... would you do it?
What if it was $100,000?
And what if it would also include a prestigious award at the annual convention held each summer in front of your peers?
To the vast majority of people in our region, I am just Dan. You'll find me at sporting events and theater productions with a camera strung around my neck as I shoot the event in question and then write up a story about it for the upcoming newspaper.
"Heck, if we're lucky, our kid will be the spotlight!"
While newspapers across the country have declined as they battle against the internet and social medias, Village Voices has plugged right along within our own little niche ? a niche we openly admit ...
"We build scrapbooks.
" It is in that "scrapbook" role that I am welcomed. Parents and athletes alike often take one of three different roles when addressing me. Either they suck up, hoping to inspire coverage for their son or daughter; or they will completely avoid me so nobody ever accuses them of sucking up to me in order to get their son or daughter into print; or — the ones I enjoy the most ? they will be open, ask questions to pick my brain about teams I've seen, and take the time to become a friend.
I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate the last group.
But no matter what scenario they take, one thing is always the same — I am the "scrapbook guy."
The problems arise when I am forced to put on another hat.
A different hat.
A hat that carries a ton of weight behind it, and can also be incredibly intimidating to those in positions of power.
There is a line in the movie "National Treasure" that always hit home with me, "Those who have the 'ability' to do something about a wrong, have the 'responsibility' to take action against it."
What the vast majority of people throughout the region either forget, or never realized, is that when push comes to shove — I am not the scrapbook guy. I am a member of the media, a newspaper reporter, and an active member of the Illinois Press Association.
I am a member of the fourth estate — the free press — with protections written into the first amendment of our Constitution. Part of my job description is to be a watchdog over local government — whether that be a village board, county board, or school board — it doesn't matter.
As many of you know — that role has been thrust upon me several times. And it is when that hat is placed upon my head, that the ridicule I always receive is personal — never professional.
"That's just Stevens, he's an idiot, and everybody knows it."
After all, how can the 'scrapbook guy' have the authority to tell us how to run our town, park district or school system?
The story I end up writing is never refuted. They can't attack what is in print because I do know what I'm doing, and the stories I write are true. So, instead, all of the attacks are directed at the writer — me.
Now, many of those stories you know about because they made it into print — with my all-time favorite being the series we did on the Stupid County Board, but it is now being edged out by the moronic stupidity of the Freeport City Council.
But there were several others — that never got into print.
Three different School Districts and one Village Board were to the point where I could have made some serious money off of them. In one case, the letter from the team of attorneys from the Illinois Press Association basically said, "How much money do you want to get from them for doing this?"
But I never took that route.
In each case, the letter was used to remind those in "power" that the "scrapbook guy" actually had the law on his side. It was used to "convince" them to make changes, without ever having to go to court.
Those stories never made it into print, and won't — so don't ask.
Why didn't I try and burn those who were ripping me, and make a financial windfall at the same time? (At times I've wondered that myself)
The truth is because I live here. My kids grew up here. My wife teaches here. And while I know that each Village and School in our area has its' own personal baggage, this is home — and I love it.
All of it.
(Yes, even Freeport)
The point being — I don't want to see it get hurt just so I could make a financial gain. I want to see it run right. If people knew just how many times I stayed behind the scenes and brought about a change without any fanfare ... they'd be stunned.
The depressing part is that to this day ... there has never been a thank you. In fact, many of the people who I spared — still curse me the most — although admittedly some don't realize I spared them.
What I will — on occasion, daydream about is - what might have taken place if I never stepped in? Would there have been people openly carrying machine guns on the streets of Freeport? Would the wind farm have sued all of the Schools and Communities who thought they could back out on an agreement the County had committed them to? Were the resignations and retirements we've seen over the years really all on their own schedule? And how much money would have been wasted at various School Districts if nobody had asked about the cuts they were — or were not - making?
Right now, ever since I began suffering through Freeport City Council meetings, I've been asked to wear my "newspaper man Dan" hat far more than I want to.
But that's not the point.
What is the point is that now, after my profession recently celebrated National Newspaper Week ... looking back on what I do has given me pause.
Papers — real newspapers — are dying out as more and more people don't want to see both sides of a story. Board members get misguided into thinking that they — individually — are important, when the truth is that only the board they sit on has any real authority. And, even then, no matter what Council or Board it might be, my profession still holds authority over it.
But what will happen when I hang up my hat and retire? Who will step up to fill the shoes of the fourth estate in our region? I mean, it has been pointed out to me that I'm the only one left ... and I'm getting tired.
Bottom line, the days of my profession are numbered.
And, to me, that's a very scary thought.
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