“You act like you’re editing the New York Times,” I was told. The suggestion, of course, was that The Chronicle, while perhaps a nice local publication, is hardly a beacon of fine journalism. “Just relax; it’s not so important,” was the implication.
With fitting over-earnestness, I then explained how The Chronicle is absolutely distinct from the New York Times. As a Jewish publication, I said, The Chronicle has a particular and deep ethic that emanates from Jewish values. It is not only a vehicle for news but also a medium for the ultimate goal of building and strengthening Jewish community.
In the years since that short conversation, my perspectives on Jewish journalism and the importance of Jewish publications have deepened and shifted.
Last month, I was reminded of one of Jewish journalism’s great truths. At Jewish Family Services’ Luncheon of Champions, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Editor Martin Kaiser shared one of his defining principles. “Get caught loving the community,” he said.
I wrote down the phrase and only afterward understood why. Kaiser figured out what journalists in the Jewish press have always known and struggled with: To cover our communities well, we cannot separate ourselves from them.
As we shape our coverage — from hard-hitting news reports to softer features, from community must-dos to more adventurous stories — we are guided by a foundation of profound caring for the fate of the communities that we cover. Though we always strive for fairness, we are not detached observers.
That loving entanglement sets an ethical course for our publications that is led by a set of Jewish values, including areyvut, responsibility for other Jews; klal Yisrael, an appreciation for the shared fate of all Jews; the pursuit of tzedek, justice; and a continual wrestling with the precepts of lashon ha’rah, ethical speech.
While those values can be used as misplaced justification for too much gentleness in our reporting and publishing, when applied properly they provide a solid foundation for good and consequential community journalism.
Indeed, the role of a Jewish newspaper in its various media — in print, online and through mobile media — is to not only advocate for Jewish interests and work on behalf of the community, but also to ask the questions that insiders don’t want asked, to follow-up on rumors and confirm facts, and to provide information that allows self-reflection: Is this the best we can do?
At its finest, Jewish journalism allows the community to look at itself, said Rabbi David Wolpe in a speech at the American Jewish Press Association’s annual conference last month in Scottsdale, Ariz.
“When the community sees itself in that mirror, there may be something it may not like about what it sees. You’re the ones who hold up the mirror, and that takes guts,” said the famed pulpit rabbi, author and lecturer.
Jewish community publications provide voice to those who don’t sit at the center of their communities or assume leading roles in their organizations. Our publications include opinions that lie outside the majority, making real the Jewish American commitment to creating a vibrant and diverse community.
At their most literal, Jewish news publications remind community members of the issues that affect them and create an outlet for civil discourse that is not replicated anywhere else in the community.
When Jewish communities lose their news publications, as some have during the economic crises of the last few years, those communities are weakened.
I am honored and humbled to have worked at The Chronicle for nearly eight years. On June 30, I leave the editor’s desk to become director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation. Yes, I’m moving down the hall, but I will take with me the lessons and relationships I have developed here since 2002.
Being Chronicle editor has made me a better person and a smarter, more engaged professional. I have learned something from each rabbi who counseled me, each reader who challenged me and each community member who schooled me about how to edit their Chronicle. I am indebted to each of you.
I am grateful to all the staff members throughout the years, who have given far more than their job descriptions demanded and spoiled me with their diligence, creativity and good partnership.
I have always felt like the caretaker of a venerable and priceless publication — not the New York Times, but a newspaper that, since 1921, has passionately loved the community that it covers. The community, in turn, needs to continue to care about its Chronicle.
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