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Erik Eisele: Through another lens
What is news?
What makes a story, a quote, a photo worth printing? There has been a lot of discussion on that topic in The Conway Daily Sun office this week, stemming from our decision to put an injured moose on the cover of Tuesday's paper.
The moose, which had been struck by a passing vehicle, lay next to the brick sidewalks of North Conway Village, its hind legs in disarray. A fire engine idles in the background, captured in soft focus as it blocks traffic.
The photo captured a heartbreaking moment. It is, without a doubt, uncomfortable to look at. And the caption does nothing to ease that discomfort: "The occupants of the car were not injured, but the moose was euthanized by a Conway police officer at the scene."
The photo ran in full color on the front page, prompting many responses on Facebook as well as through letters. Readers called the photo unnecessary, tasteless and disgusting. They expressed disappointment and frustration with the Sun for choosing to publishing it, particularly considering there was a festival dedicated to kindness the same day.
The photo struck a nerve, which, considering the content, is understandable. So is the criticism. I am not writing to defend our decision to print the photo — I have no idea if printing it was right or wrong — but I would like to explain why I believe that picture is one of the most beautiful, powerful, extraordinary photos to grace the cover of the Sun in the three years I've worked here.
I didn't start out feeling that way. I came into work Tuesday without having seen the picture, and when I first looked at it I, like many readers, was uncomfortable. What was the value of this? I thought. Was this really necessary for the first paper to hit newsstands following the Be Kind Festival?
I am, of course, intimately familiar with a host of journalistic reasons to run the photo — anything closing Main Street will always be news, as is a moose in the downtown (face it, we're a small town) — but that isn't where my thoughts went when I first saw it. My first thought was, "Why?"
Most readers, it seems, shared my reaction. Unlike most readers, however, I work next to the man who shot the photo, Conway Daily Sun photo editor Jamie Gemmiti. When the question popped into my head, I had someone right there to ask, and his answers turned what had seemed a photo full of ugliness into a moment of immense beauty.
Jamie heard about the moose over the police scanner. At that point it was walking around the village, causing a scene, but otherwise alive and healthy. Jamie grabbed his camera and hopped into the car, excited to capture a shot of this beautiful, majestic animal as it lumbered its way through downtown North Conway.
It was on his drive to the scene that the assignment suddenly changed, Jamie said. He heard over the scanner that the moose was hit, and instantly his heart sank. Instead of a breathtaking shot of nature's intersection with modern life, this was going to be akin to shooting a funeral.
I have a hard time imagining what I would have done in that moment. I might have stopped the car. I might have turned around. I might have decided I didn't want to see what was about to happen. But it wasn't me in that car, it was Jamie. He took a deep breath, and kept driving. That's how documenting life works — you record what transpires, without judgement. He has years of experience, so that's what he did.
Jamie cried when he saw the moose, he told me. He cried more as the Conway officer pulled the trigger. And through it all he kept taking pictures, kept capturing the moment. The power of what was unfolding in front of him was not lost on him, he said, even as he peered through his lens.
After it was all over Jamie went up to the police officer to thank him. That officer had taken on the ultimate responsibility, Jamie said, a task no one wanted, and selflessly released the moose from its suffering. He took on that burden without malice or greed, and he acted out of compassion and love. There was immense beauty in that moment, Jamie said, as well as tremendous weight.
Saturday was part of the Be Kind Festival, and Jamie was there throughout. He spent the weekend peering through his Nikon, shooting photos of butterflies and concerts, free hugs and smiles. Through it all, however, he saw nothing that exemplified uncompromising selflessness on a scale comparable to what that Conway police officer offered to that injured moose. That moment, Jamie said, was the most pure embodiment of kindness he could imagine. He was just thankful he had the strength not to turn his camera away.
That is what Jamie sees when he looks at that photo, and now that's what I see too. Instead of ugliness, I see a man willing to accept a great burden to free a fellow creature from fear and suffering. I think of the responsibility the officer assumed as he pulling the trigger, and I am overwhelmed by his selflessness.
I look at that photo now and see beauty, grace, kindness and compassion. I see the very consciousness the Be Kind Festival was created to nurture.
I didn't see that beauty on my own, however. I needed someone to show me.
First I needed to ask, "Why?"
Erik Eisele is news editor for The Conway Daily Sun.
What makes a story, a quote, a photo worth printing? There has been a lot of discussion on that topic in The Conway Daily Sun office this week, stemming from our decision to put an injured moose on the cover of Tuesday's paper.
The moose, which had been struck by a passing vehicle, lay next to the brick sidewalks of North Conway Village, its hind legs in disarray. A fire engine idles in the background, captured in soft focus as it blocks traffic.
The photo captured a heartbreaking moment. It is, without a doubt, uncomfortable to look at. And the caption does nothing to ease that discomfort: "The occupants of the car were not injured, but the moose was euthanized by a Conway police officer at the scene."
The photo ran in full color on the front page, prompting many responses on Facebook as well as through letters. Readers called the photo unnecessary, tasteless and disgusting. They expressed disappointment and frustration with the Sun for choosing to publishing it, particularly considering there was a festival dedicated to kindness the same day.
The photo struck a nerve, which, considering the content, is understandable. So is the criticism. I am not writing to defend our decision to print the photo — I have no idea if printing it was right or wrong — but I would like to explain why I believe that picture is one of the most beautiful, powerful, extraordinary photos to grace the cover of the Sun in the three years I've worked here.
I didn't start out feeling that way. I came into work Tuesday without having seen the picture, and when I first looked at it I, like many readers, was uncomfortable. What was the value of this? I thought. Was this really necessary for the first paper to hit newsstands following the Be Kind Festival?
I am, of course, intimately familiar with a host of journalistic reasons to run the photo — anything closing Main Street will always be news, as is a moose in the downtown (face it, we're a small town) — but that isn't where my thoughts went when I first saw it. My first thought was, "Why?"
Most readers, it seems, shared my reaction. Unlike most readers, however, I work next to the man who shot the photo, Conway Daily Sun photo editor Jamie Gemmiti. When the question popped into my head, I had someone right there to ask, and his answers turned what had seemed a photo full of ugliness into a moment of immense beauty.
Jamie heard about the moose over the police scanner. At that point it was walking around the village, causing a scene, but otherwise alive and healthy. Jamie grabbed his camera and hopped into the car, excited to capture a shot of this beautiful, majestic animal as it lumbered its way through downtown North Conway.
It was on his drive to the scene that the assignment suddenly changed, Jamie said. He heard over the scanner that the moose was hit, and instantly his heart sank. Instead of a breathtaking shot of nature's intersection with modern life, this was going to be akin to shooting a funeral.
I have a hard time imagining what I would have done in that moment. I might have stopped the car. I might have turned around. I might have decided I didn't want to see what was about to happen. But it wasn't me in that car, it was Jamie. He took a deep breath, and kept driving. That's how documenting life works — you record what transpires, without judgement. He has years of experience, so that's what he did.
Jamie cried when he saw the moose, he told me. He cried more as the Conway officer pulled the trigger. And through it all he kept taking pictures, kept capturing the moment. The power of what was unfolding in front of him was not lost on him, he said, even as he peered through his lens.
After it was all over Jamie went up to the police officer to thank him. That officer had taken on the ultimate responsibility, Jamie said, a task no one wanted, and selflessly released the moose from its suffering. He took on that burden without malice or greed, and he acted out of compassion and love. There was immense beauty in that moment, Jamie said, as well as tremendous weight.
Saturday was part of the Be Kind Festival, and Jamie was there throughout. He spent the weekend peering through his Nikon, shooting photos of butterflies and concerts, free hugs and smiles. Through it all, however, he saw nothing that exemplified uncompromising selflessness on a scale comparable to what that Conway police officer offered to that injured moose. That moment, Jamie said, was the most pure embodiment of kindness he could imagine. He was just thankful he had the strength not to turn his camera away.
That is what Jamie sees when he looks at that photo, and now that's what I see too. Instead of ugliness, I see a man willing to accept a great burden to free a fellow creature from fear and suffering. I think of the responsibility the officer assumed as he pulling the trigger, and I am overwhelmed by his selflessness.
I look at that photo now and see beauty, grace, kindness and compassion. I see the very consciousness the Be Kind Festival was created to nurture.
I didn't see that beauty on my own, however. I needed someone to show me.
First I needed to ask, "Why?"
Erik Eisele is news editor for The Conway Daily Sun.
Last Updated on Friday, 24 May 2013 10:30
Hits: 375
National Perspective: Patience is a virtue, and a political strategy
By David Shribman
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — Don't be spooked by the dateline. Nothing going on here. Presidential race hasn't started. No cause for worry about debates, delegate counts, stump speeches. Not for a long time, maybe a very long time. Read on without peril.
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — Don't be spooked by the dateline. Nothing going on here. Presidential race hasn't started. No cause for worry about debates, delegate counts, stump speeches. Not for a long time, maybe a very long time. Read on without peril.
Erik Eisele: Through another lens
What is news?
What makes a story, a quote, a photo worth printing? There has been a lot of discussion on that topic in The Conway Daily Sun office this week, stemming from our decision to put an injured moose on the cover of Tuesday's paper.
The moose, which had been struck by a passing vehicle, lay next to the brick sidewalks of North Conway Village, its hind legs in disarray. A fire engine idles in the background, captured in soft focus as it blocks traffic.
The photo captured a heartbreaking moment. It is, without a doubt, uncomfortable to look at. And the caption does nothing to ease that discomfort: "The occupants of the car were not injured, but the moose was euthanized by a Conway police officer at the scene."
The photo ran in full color on the front page, prompting many responses on Facebook as well as through letters. Readers called the photo unnecessary, tasteless and disgusting. They expressed disappointment and frustration with the Sun for choosing to publishing it, particularly considering there was a festival dedicated to kindness the same day.
The photo struck a nerve, which, considering the content, is understandable. So is the criticism. I am not writing to defend our decision to print the photo — I have no idea if printing it was right or wrong — but I would like to explain why I believe that picture is one of the most beautiful, powerful, extraordinary photos to grace the cover of the Sun in the three years I've worked here.
I didn't start out feeling that way. I came into work Tuesday without having seen the picture, and when I first looked at it I, like many readers, was uncomfortable. What was the value of this? I thought. Was this really necessary for the first paper to hit newsstands following the Be Kind Festival?
I am, of course, intimately familiar with a host of journalistic reasons to run the photo — anything closing Main Street will always be news, as is a moose in the downtown (face it, we're a small town) — but that isn't where my thoughts went when I first saw it. My first thought was, "Why?"
Most readers, it seems, shared my reaction. Unlike most readers, however, I work next to the man who shot the photo, Conway Daily Sun photo editor Jamie Gemmiti. When the question popped into my head, I had someone right there to ask, and his answers turned what had seemed a photo full of ugliness into a moment of immense beauty.
Jamie heard about the moose over the police scanner. At that point it was walking around the village, causing a scene, but otherwise alive and healthy. Jamie grabbed his camera and hopped into the car, excited to capture a shot of this beautiful, majestic animal as it lumbered its way through downtown North Conway.
It was on his drive to the scene that the assignment suddenly changed, Jamie said. He heard over the scanner that the moose was hit, and instantly his heart sank. Instead of a breathtaking shot of nature's intersection with modern life, this was going to be akin to shooting a funeral.
I have a hard time imagining what I would have done in that moment. I might have stopped the car. I might have turned around. I might have decided I didn't want to see what was about to happen. But it wasn't me in that car, it was Jamie. He took a deep breath, and kept driving. That's how documenting life works — you record what transpires, without judgement. He has years of experience, so that's what he did.
Jamie cried when he saw the moose, he told me. He cried more as the Conway officer pulled the trigger. And through it all he kept taking pictures, kept capturing the moment. The power of what was unfolding in front of him was not lost on him, he said, even as he peered through his lens.
After it was all over Jamie went up to the police officer to thank him. That officer had taken on the ultimate responsibility, Jamie said, a task no one wanted, and selflessly released the moose from its suffering. He took on that burden without malice or greed, and he acted out of compassion and love. There was immense beauty in that moment, Jamie said, as well as tremendous weight.
Saturday was part of the Be Kind Festival, and Jamie was there throughout. He spent the weekend peering through his Nikon, shooting photos of butterflies and concerts, free hugs and smiles. Through it all, however, he saw nothing that exemplified uncompromising selflessness on a scale comparable to what that Conway police officer offered to that injured moose. That moment, Jamie said, was the most pure embodiment of kindness he could imagine. He was just thankful he had the strength not to turn his camera away.
That is what Jamie sees when he looks at that photo, and now that's what I see too. Instead of ugliness, I see a man willing to accept a great burden to free a fellow creature from fear and suffering. I think of the responsibility the officer assumed as he pulling the trigger, and I am overwhelmed by his selflessness.
I look at that photo now and see beauty, grace, kindness and compassion. I see the very consciousness the Be Kind Festival was created to nurture.
I didn't see that beauty on my own, however. I needed someone to show me.
First I needed to ask, "Why?"
Last Updated on Thursday, 23 May 2013 22:37
Hits: 22
Tom McLaughlin: Left Wing Tyranny
It’s chilling. As the curtain lifts, a little here, a little there, we see the tyrannical left cementing itself in big government — and it gives me shivers. The most leftist administration in American history has been using the Internal Revenue Service to harass conservatives. It’s been lying about radical Muslim terrorism, and spying on the press. What else is it doing? Based just on what we know already, there are bound to be serious consequences. As more is learned, we may be looking at a sea change.
What kinds of consequences? Drastically-increasing polarization of left and right at all levels is a given, and that could take many forms. In government, Republicans will push for a special prosecutor to investigate the IRS and that has the most serious implications for the Obama Administration. Nixon talked about it using the IRS to harass enemies, but didn’t do it. The Obama Administration has been actually doing it for at least two years, but there’s no evidence yet that he talked about it. It’s too early to speculate about impeachment, but if evidence of White House involvement pops up, it’s not unthinkable. What’s concerning now is reaction at the grass roots. Americans are rapidly losing faith in government.
Gun and ammunition purchases rose when Obama was elected and have been absolutely skyrocketing with his renewed gun control push. Legislation has been stopped so far, but there aren’t enough guns or ammunition anymore for people who want them. That raises suspicion for Americans who increasingly fear government. They see a president who slandered them as “bitterly clinging to their guns and religion,” then rammed Obamacare down their throats. Obamacare spawned the Tea Party which elected a group of representatives to Congress in 2010 to block Obama’s left-wing agenda. And now they’ve been singled out for harassment by the by the enormous powers of the IRS? This is serious — very serious. They’re convinced Obama violated their rights to get himself reelected.
Labeled “racist” and “bigoted” by Democrats, the Tea Party staged peaceful, law-abiding demonstrations and even cleaned up after themselves, unlike their “Occupy” counterparts on the left which trashed cities around the country, conspired to blow up a bridge in Ohio, then rioted in Seattle, San Francisco and elsewhere on May 1st of 2012 and 2013. Obama officials and their allies in Congress have made clear which side they support — and it’s not the Tea Party. Now we’re expected to believe that nobody in the White House knew anything about IRS harassment. How stupid do they think we are?
When Bloomberg News’ Juliana Goldman asked him last Thursday afternoon: “Can you assure the American people that nobody in the White House knew about the [IRS] agency’s actions before your White House’s counsel’s office found out on April 22?”
“Let me make sure I answer your specific question,” Obama said - and then he dodged it: “I can assure you that I certainly did not know anything about the IG report before the IG report had been leaked through the press,” he answered, saying nothing about any White House knowledge about which is what she asked.
He thinks we’re all fools out here.
At Thanksgiving dinners and Fourth of July picnics, have you heard relatives say they distrust government so much that they stock up on guns and ammunition? Maybe you thought they were over-reacting. Did they complain that the Department of Homeland Security was buying up more than a billion rounds of ammunition and thousands of light-armored tanks? Maybe you thought they were paranoid, but they were your relatives and so you tried to change the subject or you turned on a football game.
After the admission by the IRS about Tea Party groups, after accusations that they harassed pro-life Catholics, harassed groups opposing homosexual “marriage” or teaching the Constitution, harassed pro-Israel Jews, harassed Evangelical Protestants, harassed journalists who ask Obama tough questions, searched phone records and emails of other journalists and harassed many other conservatives with audits and intrusive, voluminous questionnaires — do you still think they’re over-reacting? Maybe you’re starting to wonder: Did the IRS really ask conservatives what candidates they support? What books they read? What they said in their prayers? Did they actually require pro-life groups to promote abortion? Yes, they did.
Now consider this: Sarah Ingram, the IRS lady who oversaw the harassment of conservatives got over $100,000 in bonuses, and now she’s been promoted and charged with implementing Obamacare. Who will she put in charge of determining how much medical care conservatives get? Michael Moore? Bill Ayers? Will they be on her death panels?
This trio of scandals offers an ugly view of left-wing tyranny perpetrated by the Democrats running our federal government. It’s the biggest threat to freedom Americans have faced since I can’t remember when. It must be stopped.
As Peggy Noonan put it: “If it’s not stopped now, it will never stop.”
Tom McLaughlin lives in Lovell, Maine. He can be reached on his website at tommclaughlin.blogspot.com.
Last Updated on Wednesday, 31 December 1969 02:00
Hits: 131
Mark Hounsell: The Idiocracy
It seems more and more party politics, first in Washington and now increasingly in Concord, congressmen and legislators are bent on rendering our Democracy into an Idiocracy. A government where nonsense reigns supreme and good laws and proper initiatives are cast aside in order to capture the blessings of the connected few at the expense of the struggling mass.
Case in point. The state, through the Department of Insurance, has been awarded a $5.4 million grant to fund a program which would provide information and direction that is essential to thousands of New Hampshire citizens seeking to access health care benefits.
You may not be aware of it, but important changes are coming in the way we in New Hampshire will shop for health coverage. These changes will be especially beneficial for the 130,000 people in New Hampshire who are not already covered by Medicare, Medicaid, or employer-provided health plans; but we all will benefit when many of those who are currently uninsured can finally get affordable access to health insurance.
In just a matter of months, New Hampshire will have a new “Health Benefit Marketplace” where Granite Staters can more easily shop for health insurance through a “one-stop shop” through which they can make apples-to-apples comparisons of insurance plans. And many will be able to buy insurance using premium tax credits if they are eligible.
But this important opportunity may be a missed opportunity if our state leaders continue to block information about these new opportunities from getting to the people who need it. Few people in New Hampshire know about the changes coming or have the information they need to make the best choice about what plan to buy and how to access financial assistance. Fortunately, New Hampshire has been awarded a $5.4 million grant to fully fund an effort designed to provide crucial information to residents and their families to help them learn of and understand their new options for coverage and financial assistance. With time ticking, it’s time that our state leaders take advantage of this opportunity.
This will allow our state to give everyone in New Hampshire the information they need to make informed decisions. We will be able to make sure that those uninsured residents who have never had health coverage before and who may need extra help navigating the new system can get help from trained “guides”. This effort would be designed in New Hampshire for New Hampshire residents. In other words: local control of local information.
Why wouldn’t any leader what to do this? Yet members of our legislature are sitting on this money as time is ticking. The very serious consequence could be that the very residents who can for the first time purchase affordable health insurance on the Marketplace — the people who will benefit the most — won’t have the information they need to make the best choice for their needs. Why would the Legislature want our residents not to have the information they need? It makes no sense. It is idiotic.
The unfortunate reason for the refusal of some legislators to act in a supportive manner is partisan politics. Unfortunately, there are too many politicians who are bound and determined to undermine the affordable health act wherever and whenever they can — regardless of how many people get hurt by their political tomfoolery. They are harbingers of gloom and doom as they plot to undermine health care for those among us who suffer because of inabilities to access health-care.
Nearly 80 percent of Granite Staters without insurance have a full-time worker in their family — we’re talking about hard-working but lower-income people and families that just cannot afford health insurance. The good news is that 90 percent of New Hampshire’s uninsured population will qualify for financial assistance to help pay for health coverage. But in order to get that financial assistance, they will first need information.
So let’s give it to them — let’s provide the information everyone needs to use the Marketplace effectively. A locally controlled Consumer Assistance program is just the way to do it, and it’s ready and waiting for our state to accept. This is the kind of leadership we all should expect from our elected officials. It is the epitome of an emerging political idiocracy and cold-blooded meanness to stand in the way of this good program that will simply provide information that the people are legally entitled to.
Mark Hounsell lives in Conway, he served in the NH State Senate from 1985-1988.
Last Updated on Wednesday, 31 December 1969 02:00
Hits: 129
