European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 28, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday june 28, 1994 commentary a the stars and stripes Page 13journalists shirk duty in reprinting rumours among the millions of americans who watched the , Simpson Story play out on to and read about it in the papers were every reporter commentator editor and publisher in the country. Since the first Day a sizable number of them have been raising and answering questions about the meaning of the Case a what we Learned about our social sexual and moral manners beliefs and customs. One part of the follow up has been truly important. Maybe wife beaters will never again feel quite so secure. Maybe judges will not be As Quick to give them a a a sentence that amounts to a knowing Wink. Most of the rest has been the usual Sci blather a journalists interviewing other journalists Ora a reaching out for a specialist to say something anything preferably about the discovery that not All athletes May be heroes. Popcorn a no harm done unless you mistake it for real food for the mind. But As we while away out time waiting for the trial the press might ask what questions the Case raises about ourselves. Are we journalists or garbage collectors if some other journal or broadcast distributes unverified rumours a the equivalent of journalistic garbage a do we just pick it up and peddle it ourselves do we care anymore about sourcing a m Rosenthal and double checking and that stuff if so Why was so much of the material aired and printed simply picked up from some other station or paper which itself had shown no proof is it excuse enough that somebody else did it first and Competition is Competition is that All we believe or were taught or remember about journalism or is Competition raised to a religion simply As excuse for our own lust or advancement do we still recognize any ethical press obligation not to imply guilt before the accused is convicted in the courtroom during a trial that becomes a Legal mandate for judge and Juty. Outside anybody else has a right to make up his own mind. But journalists a As people who have a protected nationwide megaphone put into our hands by the Constitution Arentt we obliged to exercise some restraint a forgive the word a before printing damaging information that we say we know but really done to done to we realize that police and prosecutors often use the press to make a Case against the accused they would not bother if they did not believe that it would have Impact in the courtroom in 1971, new York state police gave a wildly exaggerated account of killings by rioting prisoners at Attica. The new York times bought it and i was an editor involved. A remember Attica became my annoying slogan around the newsroom and is still tattooed on my mind. This is written after hearing the 911 tapes of , Simpsons rage and Nicole Simpsons terror. Those tapes Are fact not Rumor. A jury will decide whether this wife beater became that killer. A c new York time stars and stripes a Basic or a luxury in a shrinking changing military world this May be a Good time to talk about the Uncertain future of stars and stripes a and about the future Access of today a stripes readers to this or some other kind of daily paper. Stripes has been published continuously since 1942 in Europe and since 1945 in the Pacific. Its purpose is to provide a a Hometown paper for troops overseas. It serves the whole Soldier Sailor or airman the one in uniform and the one in civvies a the citizen and voter. As an Independent first amendment oriented paper it reflects the democratic conviction of americans military leaders that the rank and file deserve the unvarnished news Good and bad. But with the downsizing of military units abroad and consequent loss of readers it costs More to produce each copy of the paper than it did a few years ago. So a discussion has begun in Washington about whether stripes continues to justify the Cost of publication. If the eventual answer is that today a stripes costs too much could the paper somehow be downsized and made More efficient or to save Money could it drop part of its traditional package of newspaper fare that package now includes wire service reports of . And world news staff coverage of military Community news sports coverage including local military team letters opinion columns advice columns comics and other features. Or a worst Case scenario should stripes be Given a military burial and be replaced by a civilian paper As ombudsman i am beginning today a series of occasional reports to stripes readers examining these issues. The Reader in fact As the customer Central to the whole discussion May want to have a say in it a for example by writing letters to the editor or to the ombudsman. For the editors address Sec the letter Page. My address is american forces information service or afis 601 n. Fairfax st., Alexandria a 22314. F to skim Over the basics stripes now consists of two seven Day a week editions one published in Darmstadt for the european theater and the other published in Tokyo for the Pacific theater. Both Are tabloid size papers of 32 or More pages with no More than 25 percent of their space on average devoted to advertising. Circulation in round numbers is 57,000 in Europe and 28,000 in the Pacific. As of july 1, when the Price of the Tokyo paper rises by 15 cents both european and Pacific readers will be buying stripes at 50 cents a copy. Each edition of stripes has a military commander Bill Monroe ombudsman publisher and a civilian editor. The commanders air Force Solon Esteve Hoffman in Darmstadt and army colonel Mary Rupert in Tokyo manage the papers. Like commercial publishers they arc considered to be a on the business Side of the paper. They work to maximize circulation and advertising Revenue and thus minimize the taxpayer subsidy. The civilian editors run the a editorial Side a Bern Zovistoski formerly of the Albany times Union in Europe and Bob Trounson formerly of the los Angeles times in Japan. They have the sole authority to decide what news the papers print. As ombudsman in a directed by the Congress to keep an Eye on the editorial process to guard against censorship and look out for the interests of the Reader. Civilian and military reporters work Side by Side in the two newsrooms and the outlying bureaus. Both papers however face economic troubles stemming from two causes. First the draw Down of overseas troops has Cut into the papers circulation and advertising Revenue. The european stripes particularly hard hit expects to bring its 1993 loss of s7 million Down to less than s4 million this year second the Congress critical of some aspects of stripes management look away from the papers the bookstores that had subsidized them. To replace Bookstore Revenue the House of representatives has authorized a s12 million appropriation for the two newspapers to keep them going Over the next year. The Senate is expected to follow suit at the same Lime the House armed services committee has asked for preparation of a a standby plan for the possible consolidation of the Darmstadt and Tokyo newsrooms into a single newsroom located in the United states. When that plan is drawn up it should provide a factual background against which to judge whether such a restructuring can or cannot provide a at lower Cost a substantially the same kind of newspaper service stripes Nuvy offers. If the answer is yes it can then consolidation would be hard to resist even if it sacrificed some of the papers local Quality. But if a singe combined newsroom canno t pro Duce Good european and Pacific newspapers on a tighter budget the argument Over the future of stripes May then focus on three other alternatives 1. Continue stripes As is. A close examination of alternatives could Lead to the conclusion that the Quality of life value of stripes to its 85,000. Readers seven Days a week is too Basic an asset to be tampered with regardless of a somewhat higher Cost per copy. 2. Provide a military newspaper for overseas troops limited in its news Content to wire service reports of . And world news. This would provide a daily Agenda of the news from Home As edited for a military audience. But it would achieve Cost reduction by eliminating stripes own reporters ending the Core tradition of Independent journalists covering military life for the rank and file. The resulting paper while providing a useful service might appropriately be called something other Titan Slars and stripes. 3. Eliminate the whole idea of a military sponsored paper for troops overseas As too costly and substitute distribution of Usa today. Usa today is a non partisan Well written Well edited nationally popular paper. But it has no staff coverage of overseas military units or military sports no Jimecia selection of . News of specific interest to a military audience no comics or advice columns common to Hometown papers. Servic Niem bars in their newsstand purchases favor stripes 3fmo one Over the thin International edition of Usa today which costs 75 cents. It is estimated that every buyer of stripes passes it on to two or three others. So the stakes in the upcoming debate Are substantial for the roughly 200,000 service members and dependents who rely on stripes As their daily window on the world As Well As for the legislators and military leaders concerned about their morale in a Dollar Short climate. There arc Complex questions to be answered about newsroom costs printing costs delivery costs deadlines alternatives and quamily of life factors. I Hope to keep readers informed about their prospects of continuing to receive stripes a or a news package of similar Quality. Monroe As ombudsman is an Independent observer of the editorial process involving this newspaper and the military Community it serves. His personal views on issues of interest to our readers will appear Here from time to time unedited by the newspaper