Storefront totem pole turns heads
By
Rory Ryan-hcpress@cinci.rr.com
Yes, our front window on Main Street is beginning to resemble a random
totem pole. Thanks for noticing. And, we’re sorry about that. To be honest,
that was not our intent; but as different people make different
contributions in the dark of night, well, you get what you get. We like it,
though.
In the event of another Ice Storm, there are three antiquated manual
typewriters on display. One is an old Underwood and is still in working
condition. My first published newspaper story was written on such a
typewriter and appeared in The Cincinnati Enquirer in 1977. Like another
former Baltimoron, H.L. Mencken, I’ve been hooked on newspapers ever since.
Our front window display also has an old pair of cowboy boots and a pair
of softball cleats. The boots were my dad’s; the cleats, my daughter’s. They
help remind me of more noble and enjoyable pursuits. There are two baseball
gloves. They’re mine. One, a Revelation, was a Christmas present in 1969
(give or take a year).
The other glove is a Rawlings, a Christmas present in 1975 when I
entered high school and started at second base as a freshman and started
every single game for four years and finished all of them (except for the
one I was tossed out of).
If you search online for Revelation baseball gloves today, the word
“vintage” often appears before Revelation. One of the definitions for
vintage is old. And, like me, those ball gloves are old.
My dad always said “It’s the fielder, not the glove.” But I’ll take my
Joe Morgan MacGregor T-web infielder’s glove from 1980 – which will not be
in our window – over either the Revelation or Rawlings. I like to think I
can still “pick it” with any of the gloves. I also like to think I could hit
C.C. Sabathia’s fastball. But I can’t. (But, as Dick Shaffer always told me,
“Rory, you really weren’t very good.”)
There will, most likely, be other contributions to our Main Street totem
pole. Like a vintage 7-iron or maybe a sport coat or two from the Herb
Tarlek or Oscar De La Hoya collections. We’ll see. I’ll be as surprised as
everyone else.
Many readers have commented on last Friday’s theft of all copies of The
Highland County Press at Great Scot in Hillsboro.
Like most of you, I was surprised and dismayed at such a blatant and
deplorable act. I am grateful that Jimmy and Angie Matticks happened to
notice that our papers were missing. They brought this to store manager Ed
Bayless’ attention. Ed was kind enough to allow me to watch the video –
twice. It made me sick to my stomach.
Many states have laws making it a crime to steal free newspapers. I’m
not a lawyer (no one wants that), so I’m not sure where Ohio stands on this
issue. I do know, however, that the aforementioned Mr. Mencken’s home state
of Maryland was the first to make such an act a crime.
As reported in The Daily Pennsylvanian in 1994: “Stealing newspapers –
even as a form of protest and even if the newspapers are free – is now a
crime in the state of Maryland. Maryland Gov. William Donald Shaefer signed
a new law which explicitly prohibits ‘unauthorized control over newspapers
with the intent to prevent other individuals from reading the newspapers.’
“The law, which is the first of its kind in the nation to be
specifically directed at newspaper thefts. ...The law also states
specifically that the rules apply to all periodicals which are ‘distributed
on a complimentary or compensatory basis.’ State lawmakers proposed the
legislation following a number of newspaper thefts.”
In 2004, another publication, the Indiana Statesman wrote in an
editorial: “Newspaper theft is a crime. While students do not have to pay
for the Statesman, it is not ‘free.’ The Statesman is the end product of a
very expensive process.
“{We have} to pay the editorial staff to produce and put the paper
together, an advertising staff, which comes up with 80 percent of our budget
and the cost of circulating the paper. ... Money aside, those behind the
newspaper theft are guilty of knowingly depriving readers of property that
is rightfully theirs.
“Stealing newspapers, in an attempt to keep their contents from readers,
is a violation of the First Amendment on many levels. ... If everyone
behaved the way the perpetrators of this crime behaved, we would live in a
disorderly and chaotic society.”
As posted on our Web site at www.highlandcountypress.com, in 2006,
California Gov. Schwarzenegger signed AB 2612, which would make it a crime
to steal more than 25 copies of a free newspaper.
“The freedom of the press is one of the most precious freedoms that
Americans enjoy,” said Gov. Schwarzenegger. “We must work to ensure that no
one is able to deprive others of their First Amendment rights.”
The California law clarifies that this new offense is a unique crime,
not a form of petty theft.
I’m not sure who swiped almost 100 copies (give or take) of The Highland
County Press from Great Scot at 3:42 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9. But I am
reasonably confident that such an act was recently recommended by one area
newspaper publisher and, evidently, condoned by another publisher.
This is most alarming. The fact that I received multiple communications
that these area newspaper administrators were apparently supportive of the
theft of our publication is of great concern.
On Oct. 8, a communication was made by a newspaper publisher in which
the publisher stated “The Highland County Press has shown up... There was a
stack of them inside the entrance of one of our restaurants. I had the owner
discard them. At {a} sales meeting this morning, I told everyone to be on
the lookout for them and to be sure to take them all if they find them
anywhere here.”
Keep in mind, too, that there are other newspapers already distributed
in these markets. But there was no mention of removing The Cincinnati
Enquirer, the Dayton Daily News or The Columbus Dispatch. Just us. Nice.
This publisher’s direct boss, another publisher, then forwarded his
message to staff members in five counties. How many people ultimately
received this communication is anyone’s guess. And how either of these two
individuals can continue to work in our once-noble industry is beyond
comprehension. How either can publish any newspaper column or editorial as
their respective “community watchdog” is equally mind-boggling. They have
zero credibility at this point. None. Nada. Zilch. They should apologize
and/or resign. We’ll see what happens, but I wouldn’t count on either.
The Highland County Press staff works far too hard to have their efforts
stolen. And although this is a free newspaper (for now), I consider that
woman’s action to be nothing less than theft. I feel the same way about the
removal of our papers from the restaurant. I know many publishers who have
free newspapers and all of them would feel the same way.
Moreover, this deplorable action shows a a rather obvious lack of
confidence in their own publications. What are they afraid of, anyway?
This also is, in my mind, a deceitful act against our advertisers. They
trust us to place a certain amount of newspapers in the public’s hands each
week. We cannot do that if individuals steal our publication or if competing
publishers encourage this practice.
While The Highland County Press is one of the very few independent,
locally owned newspapers in Ohio, that does not for an instant mean we will
sit idly by and have our efforts diminished by any unfair or unjust tactics.
Rory Ryan is publisher and editor of The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]
totem pole. Thanks for noticing. And, we’re sorry about that. To be honest,
that was not our intent; but as different people make different
contributions in the dark of night, well, you get what you get. We like it,
though.
In the event of another Ice Storm, there are three antiquated manual
typewriters on display. One is an old Underwood and is still in working
condition. My first published newspaper story was written on such a
typewriter and appeared in The Cincinnati Enquirer in 1977. Like another
former Baltimoron, H.L. Mencken, I’ve been hooked on newspapers ever since.
Our front window display also has an old pair of cowboy boots and a pair
of softball cleats. The boots were my dad’s; the cleats, my daughter’s. They
help remind me of more noble and enjoyable pursuits. There are two baseball
gloves. They’re mine. One, a Revelation, was a Christmas present in 1969
(give or take a year).
The other glove is a Rawlings, a Christmas present in 1975 when I
entered high school and started at second base as a freshman and started
every single game for four years and finished all of them (except for the
one I was tossed out of).
If you search online for Revelation baseball gloves today, the word
“vintage” often appears before Revelation. One of the definitions for
vintage is old. And, like me, those ball gloves are old.
My dad always said “It’s the fielder, not the glove.” But I’ll take my
Joe Morgan MacGregor T-web infielder’s glove from 1980 – which will not be
in our window – over either the Revelation or Rawlings. I like to think I
can still “pick it” with any of the gloves. I also like to think I could hit
C.C. Sabathia’s fastball. But I can’t. (But, as Dick Shaffer always told me,
“Rory, you really weren’t very good.”)
There will, most likely, be other contributions to our Main Street totem
pole. Like a vintage 7-iron or maybe a sport coat or two from the Herb
Tarlek or Oscar De La Hoya collections. We’ll see. I’ll be as surprised as
everyone else.
Many readers have commented on last Friday’s theft of all copies of The
Highland County Press at Great Scot in Hillsboro.
Like most of you, I was surprised and dismayed at such a blatant and
deplorable act. I am grateful that Jimmy and Angie Matticks happened to
notice that our papers were missing. They brought this to store manager Ed
Bayless’ attention. Ed was kind enough to allow me to watch the video –
twice. It made me sick to my stomach.
Many states have laws making it a crime to steal free newspapers. I’m
not a lawyer (no one wants that), so I’m not sure where Ohio stands on this
issue. I do know, however, that the aforementioned Mr. Mencken’s home state
of Maryland was the first to make such an act a crime.
As reported in The Daily Pennsylvanian in 1994: “Stealing newspapers –
even as a form of protest and even if the newspapers are free – is now a
crime in the state of Maryland. Maryland Gov. William Donald Shaefer signed
a new law which explicitly prohibits ‘unauthorized control over newspapers
with the intent to prevent other individuals from reading the newspapers.’
“The law, which is the first of its kind in the nation to be
specifically directed at newspaper thefts. ...The law also states
specifically that the rules apply to all periodicals which are ‘distributed
on a complimentary or compensatory basis.’ State lawmakers proposed the
legislation following a number of newspaper thefts.”
In 2004, another publication, the Indiana Statesman wrote in an
editorial: “Newspaper theft is a crime. While students do not have to pay
for the Statesman, it is not ‘free.’ The Statesman is the end product of a
very expensive process.
“{We have} to pay the editorial staff to produce and put the paper
together, an advertising staff, which comes up with 80 percent of our budget
and the cost of circulating the paper. ... Money aside, those behind the
newspaper theft are guilty of knowingly depriving readers of property that
is rightfully theirs.
“Stealing newspapers, in an attempt to keep their contents from readers,
is a violation of the First Amendment on many levels. ... If everyone
behaved the way the perpetrators of this crime behaved, we would live in a
disorderly and chaotic society.”
As posted on our Web site at www.highlandcountypress.com, in 2006,
California Gov. Schwarzenegger signed AB 2612, which would make it a crime
to steal more than 25 copies of a free newspaper.
“The freedom of the press is one of the most precious freedoms that
Americans enjoy,” said Gov. Schwarzenegger. “We must work to ensure that no
one is able to deprive others of their First Amendment rights.”
The California law clarifies that this new offense is a unique crime,
not a form of petty theft.
I’m not sure who swiped almost 100 copies (give or take) of The Highland
County Press from Great Scot at 3:42 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9. But I am
reasonably confident that such an act was recently recommended by one area
newspaper publisher and, evidently, condoned by another publisher.
This is most alarming. The fact that I received multiple communications
that these area newspaper administrators were apparently supportive of the
theft of our publication is of great concern.
On Oct. 8, a communication was made by a newspaper publisher in which
the publisher stated “The Highland County Press has shown up... There was a
stack of them inside the entrance of one of our restaurants. I had the owner
discard them. At {a} sales meeting this morning, I told everyone to be on
the lookout for them and to be sure to take them all if they find them
anywhere here.”
Keep in mind, too, that there are other newspapers already distributed
in these markets. But there was no mention of removing The Cincinnati
Enquirer, the Dayton Daily News or The Columbus Dispatch. Just us. Nice.
This publisher’s direct boss, another publisher, then forwarded his
message to staff members in five counties. How many people ultimately
received this communication is anyone’s guess. And how either of these two
individuals can continue to work in our once-noble industry is beyond
comprehension. How either can publish any newspaper column or editorial as
their respective “community watchdog” is equally mind-boggling. They have
zero credibility at this point. None. Nada. Zilch. They should apologize
and/or resign. We’ll see what happens, but I wouldn’t count on either.
The Highland County Press staff works far too hard to have their efforts
stolen. And although this is a free newspaper (for now), I consider that
woman’s action to be nothing less than theft. I feel the same way about the
removal of our papers from the restaurant. I know many publishers who have
free newspapers and all of them would feel the same way.
Moreover, this deplorable action shows a a rather obvious lack of
confidence in their own publications. What are they afraid of, anyway?
This also is, in my mind, a deceitful act against our advertisers. They
trust us to place a certain amount of newspapers in the public’s hands each
week. We cannot do that if individuals steal our publication or if competing
publishers encourage this practice.
While The Highland County Press is one of the very few independent,
locally owned newspapers in Ohio, that does not for an instant mean we will
sit idly by and have our efforts diminished by any unfair or unjust tactics.
Rory Ryan is publisher and editor of The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]