The rest of the story

Most of our readers probably remember the radio show “The Rest of the Story,” with Paul Harvey. Each episode would detail little-known facts about stories encompassing a wide range of topics, and would end with Harvey and his iconic voice stating “and now you know … the rest of the story.”

That phrase has been on my mind lately.

The news industry has a long history of fighting amongst ourselves to be the first with the story.

And in this digital age, it’s easier than ever. With a few swipes on a device which nearly everyone carries in their pockets a story is published.

A printed newspaper cannot compete with digital. Even the smallest of newspapers take hours, or days, worth of work to produce.

We cannot compete with that and we will not.

I’ve been asked why someone should subscribe to the newspaper when they can get all their news on Facebook. Have you noticed though that much of what gets passed off as news on Facebook is just official press releases?

Last year, when the officer-involved shooting occurred, I posted a very brief piece based on the press release on our website since it was one of the days we didn’t publish and posted the link on Facebook.

One of the comments left shortly thereafter was something along the lines of “posting press releases isn’t journalism.”

I couldn’t have agreed more. But the purpose of that piece on Facebook was simply to let folks know the event had occurred. Then the journalism began.

And that was a tough one, the authorities simply refused to speak. It was several weeks later when they released all the details. But we were there all along, calling our contacts at the sheriff’s office and the Missouri State Highway Patrol every couple of days and we got “the rest of the story.”

Another great example is the more recent jailbreak.

The press release issued by the sheriff’s office was posted on the internet late that morning. But it contained few details; they escaped, their names, they were caught and that was about it.

But we were able to speak to the sheriff, and we got the probable cause affidavits which contained a great deal more detail; the time they escaped, the fact they might have been spotted at a gas station, and — the big one in my mind — that someone had been sheltering them and was also arrested in connection with the incident.

Folks had to wait until the next day to see our story, but wasn’t it worth the wait to get “the rest of the story?”

So as I responded to the commenter on Facebook, good journalism takes time. Grab a paper, sit back with your favorite beverage and relax. We’re working hard to bring you articles which are accurate, thorough and which bring you the rest of the story. And we appreciate your support.