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Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009

Tom Frazier: It's Saturday's fault, right?

When I started writing the Sun Dog column back in April, I began to hear that readers didn't see enough coverage of local events. Folks with that opinion have been very outspoken during the past few weeks.

That's because there have been three huge events that went nearly unnoticed by the Sun-Star.

First, there was the 10th annual Mercy Hospital Foundation Gala, held on a Saturday, Sept. 26. There were over 650 benefactors there who coughed up nearly $220,000 in support of the Foundation.

The Sun-Star had a table for 10 at the event.

The only coverage was a mention in the Around Town column.

Then there was the 16th annual Big Valley Arts Festival on Oct. 3.

It, too, was well attended -- and also received only a 50-some-word mention in the Around Town column.

Alan Schoff, a volunteer at the Merced County Art's Council's Big Valley event, said he thinks, "There needs to be something more than a calendar mention of major community events. That's all well and good for service organization pancake breakfasts and such, but the lack of preview coverage for a 16th annual arts and culture festival in the city's downtown? Thats inexcusable."

The plot thickens.

Just two weeks after the Big Valley Arts and Cultural Festival, there was a very similar event, held in the same general area, downtown Merced.

It was also held on a Saturday.

It was the Merced ArtHop -- in its second year as an organization, but fifth year overall.

It received a token mention in the Around Town column, but also was highlighted twice, not just once, in major stories.

"Fifth Merced Art Hop is this weekend"

By CORINNE REILLY

http://www.mercedsunstar.com/491/story/1112407.html (October 14, 2009)

"Art scene gets youthful help at tonight's Merced Art Hop"

By DANIELLE E. GAINES

http://www.mercedsunstar.com/167/story/1118503.html (October 17, 2009)

So what's the difference?

Maybe the ArtHop folks made more phone calls? Have more friends? Did the fact that Sun-Star photographers participated in the ArtHop have any bearing? Were the press releases more compelling?

Whatever the reason(s), the fifth ArtHop got more attention than the 16th annual Big Valley.

The third big event was just last Saturday at Bob Hart Square. It was a fundraiser for the Greater Merced Kiwanis' Kiddieland called "Wine and Beer Tasting at Bob Hart Square." Fernando's Bistro was a co-sponsor.

This one was a bit smaller with attendance of "over 200." But there were at least five wineries participating and a lot of the "right people" were there: Superior Court Judge Donald Proietti, supervisors Hub Walsh and John Pedrozo, School Superintendent Lee Andersen and of course "Mr. Merced" -- volunteer chef Jim Cunningham.

Sun Dog was alerted to the missing coverage by "just plain folks" -- not the high-up big guns in the affected agencies.

I tried to get comments from the Hospital Foundation, but instead of the expected complaints, I got raves about the paper's support. The spokesman said, "I'm incredibly thankful for the Sun-Star for its continued financial support."

I fully agree. All in all, the Sun-Star has done a fantastic job of promoting each of these agencies over the years.

But not on Saturdays.

Some would say that pre-event coverage is nothing more than free advertising for events.

Others say the Sun-Star should publish events as a public service.

Here's an out-of-the-box idea from the Sun Dog. If an event isn't selected to be covered, send the specifics to the sales department to see if the event sponsors would like to buy advertising. It may result in a win-win, instead of unhappy folks waiting to see if an article will pop up.

And it's not just pre-event coverage that is being shortchanged. Many would like to know what happened at the event.

Stephanie Raymond, who encourages the Sun Dog to burn more calories during pool therapy, said it very well: "When I attend a fundraiser, I'd like to find out how much money they made -- and what it will be used for." (Raymond is a physical therapist.)

Saturday may be the culprit. Reporter Carol Reiter summed it up this way, "The event was on a Saturday night, when we have no photographer or reporter scheduled. We are on a strict no-overtime policy."

Aren't there other options?

Joey Essig, operations director of the Merced Multicultural Arts Center, volunteered to write a story for the Big Valley Arts and Cultural Festival. That way, he thought, the paper wouldn't be spending additional money for overtime on Saturday.

No one responded to his offer.

Essig didn't have grand expectations for event coverage. When I asked him what would be good reporting of the event, he replied, "A nice large color picture with a caption recapping the festival."

Of course, there are other exceptions to the rule. One that comes to mind is Michelle Obama's Saturday visit.

Now that was coverage. There was even a special edition, a Sunday edition, of the Merced Sun-Star.

I'm not saying that any of these three community events reach the level of a first lady's visit. Not even close.

I am saying that all three should have been treated about the same as the Merced ArtHop.

It's not really Saturday's fault; it's just a need to take a fresh look at how things are done.

Tom Frazier writes Sun Dog and can be reached at sundog@promessage.com.