Muncie Watch

I’ve been teaching at Ball State University for 15 years, the first 12 in the Department of Journalism, the last three in the English Department.  I’ve also written a column for The Star Press newspaper in Muncie going on 12 years now: social-political commentary, sometimes humor (that may fall flat), sometimes just something off the wall.

I want to expand my coverage of Muncie beyond a once-a-week column.  Hence, this Web site.  I want to provoke more thinking among those in the community interested in public affairs and the institutions that influence society.  What I envision would involve digging deeper through public records often overlooked, seeking out public policy debated in less-publicized government meetings, looking for more meaning from under-utilized sources that can shed light on the community.

In some ways, I hope to bench-mark public services or sometimes just explain in plain language just how various community institutions work.  This often isn’t breaking news.  Our society is increasingly driven by a knowledge-based engine, and information fuels that engine.  The more information interested citizens have about the institutions influencing the community, the more likely should come better resolutions to local problems.

This isn’t a replacement for the local newspaper, which is a critical factor in the health of a commuity.  But local political and social commentary has all but disappeared from newspapers outside big markets.   This drift is long standing, though not the worst challenge to newspapers.

Worse is dwindling penetration and readership loss, especially in highly prized demographics such as 18-34 year olds.  In the last 10 years, The Star Press has lost 9 percent of its circulation.  The trend is nationwide.  Accordingly, newspapers seek change in news coverage – even in defining “news” — to attract more readers. The industry has no choice but to stem the tide, and if it can’t we’ll all suffer. The local newspaper is the community’s most significant common experience for bonding.  Some of what newspapers feel they can no longer do involves public issues that interest *some* citizens — yet not enough to routinely warrant newspaper coverage.  If you live in Muncie and are tuned in at all to public life, you’re a newspaper reader, and I’m sure you’ve noticed changes here.

This MuncieWatch experiment should be participatory, but not a forum for postings.  I’m open to suggestions, feedback, certainly ideas about what interested parties want to know more about.

Email me at lriley@munciewatch.com.