OP_041819

OPPrairie.com sound off
the orland park prairie | April 18, 2019 | 13
Social snapshot
Top Web Stories
From opprairie.com as of Friday, April 12
From the Editor
Everyone’s an editor (redux)
1. D135 superintendent quitting in June
but still on leave
2. 10 Questions with Luka Vukanic,
Sandburg boys volleyball
3. Curbside Spring Clean Up returns to
Orland Park
4. Mayor splits with trustees on ethics
ordinance revisions
5. Election 2019: Low voter turnout
in Cook and Will but Orland, Tinley
outpace averages
Become a Prairie Plus member: opprairie.com/plus
Donna McCormack, of Orland Park, posted
the accompanying photo Thursday, April
11, with the note, “Happy spring from Henry
McCormack and Happy National Pet Day to
the almost 9-month-old terror who is lucky
he’s so cute.”
Like The Orland Park Prairie: facebook.com/opprairie
“Great win tonight #CreatingACulture”
@SandburgLax — Sandburg girls
lacrosse, on Thursday, April 11
Like The Orland Park Prairie: facebook.com/opprairie
BILL JONES
bill@opprairie.com
There is an expression
used to deflect
negativity that says,
“Everyone’s a critic.”
The idea is that everyone
loves to comment on what
someone else is doing,
and it’s a lot easier to
make those critiques than
the actual doing of those
things.
Except, not everyone
is a “good critic.” There
are reasons Roger Ebert’s
name stood above the rest
in the world of film criticism.
And it wasn’t just
the television exposure.
He had an unparalleled
knowledge of film he
could apply to his commentary.
His personality
was evident in the work.
And he actually had the
experience of trying to
make a film of his own,
offering him an insider’s
understanding of the
process.
I didn’t always agree
with his reviews, but I
remember many of them
well. And I find myself,
to this day, unable to
separate Ebert’s insights
on certain films from the
films themselves. That’s
more than I can say for
your buddy’s hot take on
“The Last Jedi.”
I’ve said in the past that
everyone’s an editor, too.
But similarly, not everyone
is equipped to be a
“good editor,” and there
are a lot of bad takes out
there on what we do. Here
are a few.
• I got a voicemail late
on a Thursday that I came
in to hear Friday morning.
(The most passionate
in their commentary
love to call after hours
or on weekends to leave
courageously anonymous
voicemails.)
This one demanded we
hire a better proofreader,
because our cover story
on the Sandburg Senior
Seminar made a grave error.
It featured an author
visit from a “very famous
author” by the name of
Harlan Coben, as per
this caller, and we must
be idiots to think his last
name was spelled Cohen.
This was, she said, inexcusable.
We make mistakes, and
it never feels great to have
them called out. At least
on our side. Some readers
take a sick pleasure in
trying to prove us wrong,
apparently secure in the
infallibility of their own
job performances.
Except, we did doublecheck
our information.
And we had a photo to
help verify. And it was
not “very famous author”
Harlan Coben, but
(strange as it may sound)
author and columnist Harlan
Cohen who spoke to
the students. And I would
have (politely, despite the
venom in her assertion) let
this caller know personally,
but she neglected to
leave a name or number.
So, I’ll do it here instead.
• Another common
thing we see are people
who do not pay close
attention to the paper
reaching out to tell us
we failed to report on
something we definitely
wrote about a few weeks
back. Generally, that’s just
fine. I usually don’t read
newspapers (beyond ones
I manage) cover to cover.
I skip through to articles
that hold an interest, and
I’m bound to miss some
stuff in between. I don’t
expect folks to have an
encyclopedic knowledge
of our product.
But a few months back,
I got a call from someone
suggesting we explain to
readers how roundabouts
work because of the one
Orland Park got at 147th
Street and Ravinia Avenue.
She called later and
left a message to scold me
for daring to ask readers
to share their feedback
with the paper if I’m not
going to listen to them.
She recounted her idea.
The very idea I acknowledged
as a good
one and dedicated a whole
column space and photo to
shortly after she suggested
it, giving her extra-credit
for a suggestion that
wasn’t completely selfserving.
So, now I’m dedicating
some more column
space to her.
• Finally, if you don’t
want to subscribe for
our Plus program online,
cool. I get it. Everyone
has to make choices with
their money, and I’m not
arrogant enough to think
we’re the most important
thing to each and every
one of you. Maybe you
don’t need it. Maybe you
think you have better options
elsewhere. So, you
don’t buy it. Fine.
Why so many of you
feel the need to complain
and comment on it,
though, is beyond me. Do
you also walk into stores
feeling the need to declare
what you’re not going to
buy and tell employees
there it should be free?
A few of you, maybe,
but I’m going to guess
in general the answer to
that is no. More of you
are probably the type who
loudly declare in a movie
theater which trailers do
it for you and which ones
you’re definitely not going
to see. (No one cares).
And I get that news
readers have been conditioned,
in the age of
the internet, to expect
free content. But while
everyone thinks they’re
an editor, it’s a bit harder
to actually do the job than
you think. And it often
costs money to do good
journalism. Those who
do it well take the time
to learn about reporting,
work to acquire experience
in the business, come
to it with a particular
personality, and have an
ability to drop the type of
biases and personal interests
that drive most of the
comments we receive.
The results will never
be perfect. A particular
story might not be for you.
But so far this season,
your commentary track
on our work is flawed, at
best. I give it two thumbs
down.
Sound Off Policy
Editorials and columns are the
opinions of the author. Pieces
from 22nd Century Media are
the thoughts of the company
as a whole. The Orland Park
Prairie encourages readers to
write letters to Sound Off. All
letters must be signed, and
names and hometowns will be
published. We also ask that
writers include their address
and phone number for verification,
not publication. Letters
should be limited to 400
words. The Orland Park Prairie
reserves the right to edit letters.
Letters become property
of The Orland Park Prairie.
Letters that are published do
not reflect the thoughts and
views of The Orland Park Prairie.
Letters can be mailed to:
The Orland Park Prairie, 11516
West 183rd Street, Unit SW
Office Condo #3, Orland Park,
Illinois, 60467. Fax letters to
(708) 326-9179 or e-mail to
bill@opprairie.com.