What would you like to know?

What would you like to know?
That’s what we would like to know.
Every so often those of us in the newspaper industry get the gumption to reinvent our product. A lot of the changes are cosmetic to make the paper look more appealing and easier to read.
That is something we are going through here at the Brand. But we don’t want to make changes for the sake of change. We want our redesign to be driven by content. After all, you didn’t pick up this copy of the paper because of the way it looks. You picked it up because there was something that caught your attention. It may have been a headline or a picture. Maybe there was a story that was of interest to you. Maybe you like the ads in the Sunday paper.
Either way, you picked this paper up for a reason. I would really be interested in knowing what that reason is. We tend to assume a lot of things in the newspaper business.
We assume that people want more local content. We assume you like hearing about what’s going on in Hereford. Do you like to read about your neighbors, local government and the like? We believe you like seeing pictures in the paper of people you know.
Another assumption I tend to make is that you’re already getting a lot of the national news from TV, Internet, radio, etc. It’s my belief that you don’t want to read that here and that you look to us for something different.
I don’t like to assume. I want to know. I want the Brand to deliver the content you want.
Do you want more local features? More local political news? More school news? More business news? More reader-submitted items? More police and fire coverage? More sports? More agriculture news? More comics? More opinions? More state and regional news?
Do you want less of any of the above?
In my 20-plus years in the industry and having gone through many readership surveys and redesigns, I think I have a pretty good feel for what people want to see in their newspaper. But like I said, I don’t want to assume.
Though this newspaper has owners and employees, it really belongs to the community. I feel the Brand should reflect accurately the daily happenings of Hereford and Deaf Smith County. If it isn’t, or if you think we could do it better somehow, I want to know.
The newspaper should give readers not only a recounting of events in the community, but something that is different, fresh and informative.
Here is your chance to take ownership of your community newspaper. Here is where you can provide input and let us know what you want and expect to see each day when you open the paper.
Please e-mail me at editor@herefordbrand.com or send a letter to me at 313 N. Lee, Hereford, TX 79045. Please, no phone calls.

Accountability report: Week 2 has come and gone and still have not returned to the gym. I have, however, begun doing evening walks with my wife. This has been beneficial in many ways. Besides getting some physical exercise, we’re getting some real quality time together. That’s been good for the mind, heart and body.

Taking a stab at Texas pride

Colorado versus Texas, the debate rages on.
My in-laws were in for the first part of a two-part visit last week. Keep in mind that I love them to death. Right now they live in Orlando, Fla., home of Mickey Mouse and Co.
They’re originally from Texas, God bless, ’em. So is their daughter, Sandy, my wife. They left Texas for Oregon in the early 1970s when Sandy was 2. They moved to Colorado in the late ’80s and on to Florida a few years ago.
Sandy’s family lives mostly around the Houston area. She has recently gotten into genealogy and has discovered her family roots are very deep in this state. I’m from Colorado, as are my two youngest sons. That’s as deep as our roots go in the Centennial State. My mother is from Omaha and my dad is (sigh) from California.
Since we moved to Texas two and a half years ago, the Colorado versus Texas debate has raged between me and my wife and her family. It’s essentially me against her, her father and her grandfather.
Every so often I can expect to get one of those “you know you’re a Texan when …” e-mails. They’re bound and determined to make a Texan out of me. Tuesday night we went to Palo Duro Canyon to see “Texas.” It was the second time I’ve seen it, and yes, I liked it very much.
As time passes I’m coming to grips with the fact that Texas is my home. But I’ll always be a Coloradan no matter where I lay my head at night. My heart bleeds Bronco orange and blue. I generally can’t tell what direction I’m headed without mountains to guide me. I doubt those things will ever change.
I grew up loathing Texans in a good-natured sort of way (kind of ironic, isn’t it). Coloradans aren’t as haughty about our state as Texans are. Come to think of it, no one else is either.
Growing up, you could bet that if anyone created a back-up on mountain roads, or drove too slow in the snow that they would have Texas plates.
Texans always boasted how much better Texas was than anyplace else, but they all seemed to vacation in Colorado and plenty of them migrated that way.
I got real tired of hearing how much bigger and better everything was in Texas from people who had abandoned their beloved Lone Star State. And back when the Broncos were the only show in town, it really grated my nerves to have to put up with Cowboy fans.
I always took great pleasure in reminding Texans that if Alaska were divided in half they would be from the third-largest state in the Union. And if you flattened Colorado, Texas would be the fourth-largest state.
I took a degree of pride in knowing that both Texas and California are down river. That one, however, has now come back to haunt me.
People here boast how you can see more stars at night than anyplace else. Those people have obviously never seen the night sky from two miles up in the Rocky Mountains.
Still, as I sat in the theater the other night watching the play unfold before me, I couldn’t help but feel a kinship, perhaps a twinge of that Texas pride.
Coming from Colorado, I have a deep appreciation for the pioneer spirit and the rugged individualist attitude that is beholden to all true Westerners. Texans are a lot more hospitable than Coloradans. I’ve always felt welcome here, especially in Hereford.
No, I’m not from Texas, but I got here as quick as I could. Only thing is, my route came via Glorieta Pass. Oh, wait, I forget, they don’t exactly teach that in the history classes here, do they?

Accountability report: Well, I’m off to a slow start. I keep forgetting to bring my gym clothes, so I haven’t been able to work out. I have been taking walks at lunch, but that’s about it. The only response I got to my invitation to join me in my weight loss venture was an invite to join Weight Watchers. Since that’s not in my budget, I’ll have to continue a slow and steady course.

Accountability can help end long weight

The word I have the biggest love/hate relationship with is “accountability.”
Most guys, like me, have this part in our ego that says “I can do this myself. I don’t need anyone else.” Guys don’t like accountability because it means doing something you don’t want to do, or not doing something you want to do.
I really didn’t think much about accountability until I got involved in Promise Keepers in 1996. It was through Promise Keepers that I first became aware of my need to have other men in my life to hold me accountable in my walk with the Lord, my marriage, my business dealings, basically every aspect of my life.
Accountability is one aspect I forgot to mention in my column last week about pornography. A key element to help someone break a sexual addiction – or any addiction -- is to have other people of the same gender who will ask them tough questions and hold them accountable for their actions.
I used to have a small accountability group that I met with in Colorado. There were three of us and we were very close. Our group lasted almost eight years until one guy moved back to California and I moved to Texas. Since then I haven’t had anyone to serve in an accountability role besides my wife. No offense intended toward her, but it’s not the same as having another guy I can confide in and talk about deep spiritual and marital issues. I hope to find a few guys like that once I move here, which I hope is very soon.
In the meantime, I’m hoping that my readers will help serve as accountability partners for a problem I have been struggling with for a long time. I am, according to government guidelines, morbidly obese. According to the scale at the Hereford YMCA, I have 268 pounds packed onto my 5-10 frame.
I was 145 pounds when I graduated high school 25 years ago. Granted, I was coming off a three-sport year and was in the best shape of my life. When I left college in 1987, I was bouncing between 170-180 pounds.
Here I am, three sympathetic pregnancies and a sedentary lifestyle later, and I have gained nearly 100 pounds. I can’t blame anyone other than myself. I hate the way I look and feel. I’m a compulsive eater. It’s my greatest addiction. I often eat without knowing I’m doing it. I’m also bad at making time to exercise.
Here is where you, the reader, come in. I want you to hold me accountable for my weight loss. I want you to ask me about it on the street. I want you to send me encouraging e-mails (please, no phone calls). I am going to include a brief accountability notice at the end of each column to let you know how I’m doing. If I slip up, I want to hear about it.
My goal is to lose at least 80 pounds. If there are any other people out there who wants to take on this challenge with me, let me know. Likewise, if there are guys who would like to form a Christian men’s group, I’d be all for that.
I may be a big fan of the Lone Ranger, but I know I can’t do this as a lone ranger. I need help. In the process, I hope I can encourage and help others with the same struggle. Obesity is a national epidemic. It is certainly rampant in this community, so I know there are others who can benefit from what I’m about to go through.
On a side note, as long as we’re talking about accountability, I owe a huge apology to Becky Reinart, David Tiemann and Bud Jowell. I inadvertently made them look bad in a story last week about roofers. Reinart told me that most local roofers did get permits to do their job. But my story made it sound like Tiemann’s roofing company didn’t do it. It put Jowell in a bad light because he didn’t know he needed a permit. He had one. He hired Tiemann to repair his roof and Tiemann included the permit in his bid.
I am truly sorry for any problems my reporting may have caused these fine people. I promise that I will try to be more thorough in my writing. And you can hold me accountable for that.
Joe Southern writes the weekly Editor’s Note column. He can be contacted at editor@herefordbrand.com. Past columns can be read online at www.joesouthern.blogspot.com.

Porn a cancer in the community

Warning: If there are little eyes peering through this paper, please stop them from reading this column this week. I want to talk about an adult topic.
This past week I had a painful, gut-wrenching decision to make. I’m still new to Hereford and my list of friends here is rather small. But I had to write about one of them being indicted on a charge of taking indecent liberties with a child.
My heart wanted to keep it out of the paper. My head knew it had to be there. I couldn’t show my friend favoritism and keep my integrity in tact the next time a situation like this arose. I had to treat him like I would anyone else in that situation.
I don’t know the particulars of the case. But it brings to mind a much larger problem that has infected our culture like an incurable plague. It’s called porn.
You may be asking yourself why on earth the editor of a small town family newspaper wants to talk about something so reprehensible. The answer is simple. It’s the proverbial elephant in the middle of the room that no one wants to talk about. It’s the cancer that you know you have but won’t treat because you hope it will just go away.
Guys, when was the last time you saw a picture of a naked woman? How many days or even hours ago was it? If I looked at the history on your Internet browser, what would I see? Would your wife, mother or daughter be embarrassed to see what photos or movies you’ve downloaded or rented lately? When was the last time you engaged in a little self-gratification?
Whoa, hold on there partner. Am I hitting a little too close to home? Are you feeling uncomfortable? If so, read on, because I’m going after the ladies next.
Let me ask you ladies, have you ever caught your husband, father or son looking at porn on the Internet? Maybe it’s a magazine hidden in a drawer or an image hiding on his cell phone. Better yet, when was the last time you asked the man in your life about porn and his access to it.
And ladies, if you think I’m picking on the men here, I’m not. Statistics show that a rising number of women are getting into porn. But it’s not just porn. Women today are showing more skin in certain areas of their bodies than ever before. If you don’t think a little flash of cleavage is harmful, think again. Women do as much or more to crank up the sex drive in men than they think they do.
Now, at this point you’re probably thinking I’m either some kind of prude or a pervert or both. My point here is porn is deadly to marriages, families and our society. The average man or woman can’t hope to measure up to the things that the porn industry is putting out.
Guys, ask your wife sometime if she’d mind if you put a picture of Miss January on your computer desktop. Better yet, ask her if she’d like to try and do some of the things in bed that you saw another couple do on your computer.
What’s the matter, chicken?
Ladies, how do you think your husband would react if he found out that you had a membership on a Web site for swingers? Do you suppose he’d mind if you put a racy photo of yourself on your blog or MySpace page?
It’s the digital age now and technology makes photographing and video recording sexy images or acts easy and as private or public as you want it to be. That makes it dangerous in many ways.
I bring this subject up because it has been something I’ve been researching for a while. In my last few weeks at the Amarillo newspaper, I wrote a huge package of stories about sexual addictions. I talked to sex addicts, therapists and even the wife of a sex addict. I saw how powerful the addiction is and how devastating it is to the families.
The story never made it to print. One of my biggest hurdles was not getting guys to talk openly about their problem, but in convincing the powers that be that the story was important and needed to be told.
I have recently listened to a book on CD called “The Dirty Little Secret” by Craig Gross, founder of XXX Church (www.xxxchurch.com). I can’t recommend this book enough to guys, say in their late teens on up to great-grandparenthood.
It gives you not only a Christian perspective on porn, but it also takes you deep inside the porn industry and reveals the dark, destructive side of pornography.
If I have your attention, please think about how this four-letter word, this dirty little secret, is impacting your life and your family. Remember this, there are only two kinds of sex addicts: those who have been caught and those who are about to get caught.
If you think you need help, get it. A good place to start is www.xxxchurch.com. Locally, I strongly recommend New Hope Resources and Counseling in Amarillo (www.newhoperesources.com) or talking with your pastor. Keep in mind, however, that a third to a half of all pastors have or have had a problem with sexual addiction. They are, after all, just guys like you and me. The only difference is they’re trained to help. They understand.
The worst thing you can do is nothing at all. You can’t break the addiction by yourself. Don’t delay. Don’t let the dirty little secret ruin your life or the lives of your loved ones. It’s not worth it.