It’s been easy to get caught up in Honda hysteria lately with all of the happenings in Decatur County. There’s a buzz around this area which hasn’t been felt in some time.
However, that buzz seems to be lost on outsiders who are penning stories about the proposed deal.
I realize the media does not need to be the champion of an economic development project but, in the same light; it should not be a detractor either.
When word of the project first emerged, papers outside of Greensburg began prognosticating as to who was the corporate suitor. Like the guys who write tip sheets at the racetrack, they were wrong when they put all of their eggs in the Toyota basket. Those close to the project, whom I speak with often, chuckled at the speculation.
Next, the “outside” media combed Decatur County to find one person who was not amenable to selling his land, out of hundreds of possible sellers, and ran that as a front page story. It did not then, nor does it now, capture the positive sentiment Decatur County has for bringing a major international company into its fold.
This week, reporters were again in Decatur County. Not to tout the great economic windfall the project could bring but to put a negative slant on the entire deal. I spoke with people the reporter interviewed and consistently they were asked "Tell me the downside. What is the negative?" It was clear then, as it is now; the intent was to give readers throughout the state the impression Greensburg and Decatur County are not ready for something so big to happen to them. This portrayal of our county is not only inaccurate but disappointing. It is unfortunate they have chosen to take this route.
A reporter spent 45 minutes with school officials and was told time and time again the schools would do everything in their power to make this project a reality. After the interview, two sentences were used in a Wednesday story and one of them was regarding higher taxes. This didn't capture the overwhelming support offered to Honda by school administrators.
“This topic was never mentioned,” said Greensburg Schools superintendent Tom Hunter. “The impact on the tax rate would be quite the opposite. The addition of a major corporation would increase in the county's assessed value and, in the long run, reduce taxes as well as provide funding for even more educational resources.”
As late as Wednesday, “outside” reporters were still touting a figure of 50 percent for and 50 percent against the project as an indication of where the citizens of Decatur County fall. A month ago, they said eight of 10 citizens, who had an opportunity to sell land at a premium, were against the deal. Both of those statistics could not be further from the truth.
That brings to mind an age-old adage dealing with numbers, “There are lies, damn lies and statistics.”
Editor William Story cabled his Civil War correspondents with this message. "A newspaper’s duty is to print the news and raise hell,” he said. “Telegraph fully all the news – and when there is no news send rumors.”
It appears some things never change, for some.
The momentum this project will give the community is appreciated by most. It would be fair to say a vast majority of the people are for the project. A vast majority.
Let’s do an experiment. Stop what you’re doing and look to you left and right and ask the person next to you if they are in favor of Honda calling Greensburg home. See if half of them are against it.
Even better, we will put a poll starting today, on greensburgdailynews.com asking the very same question. Let’s see what the numbers show for real.
I can only ask, if this project were happening in or right outside of Indianapolis, what would the stories look like? My guess is, eight of 10 “big media” reporters would be heralding it.
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