The Heron’s Nest: Putting the ‘Spotlight’ on journalism biz

By Phil Heron
Daily Times
November 30, 2015

http://www.delcotimes.com/opinion/20151130/the-herons-nest-putting-the-spotlight-on-journalism-biz

I saw the movie ‘Spotlight’ Saturday night.

If you’re not familiar with it, it’s a journalism movie. More specifically, a newspaper movie. It tells the story of how a team of reporters at the Boston Globe tackled the massive issue of abuse by priests in the Boston Archdiocese.

The movie made me proud of what I do. It also made me incredibly sad.

This is not a easy movie to watch, especially if you are Catholic. That would include me, a former altar boy. It does not paint the church - in particular the leaders of the Boston Archdiocese, in an especially good light.

I know a little bit about that. I have written at length about the same situation here in the Philadelphia archdiocese. In fact, Monsignor William Lynn, the highest church official ever charged and convicted in the church handling (some would say blatant cover-up) of church abuse. He was my pastor at St. Joe’s in Downingtown. Suffice it to say much of what I wrote was not especially well-received by my fellow parishioners.

One woman made her feelings pretty clear, sending me an email and urging me to “stay up in Delaware County where you belong.” Nice Christian sentiment there, no?

There were times in the movie that I was near tears, knowing what the church did for years. Yes, I can admit it has caused me to question my faith, and the people who lead it. No, I have not stopped going to Mass. I do that for myself, not for any edict that tells me I must attend the celebration every week.

The movie also did a very good job of capturing something every person who has worked in the newspaper racket knows all too well. It’s not always the most pleasant job. You deal with a lot of depressing topics. You’re never really off work. Especially now as we toil in an online world, it’s a 24-hour, 365-day-a-year gig.

It also takes a huge toll on your personal life. You’d better have a partner who understands what that really means. Marriages - and relationships - are actually a threesome. There is you, your friend or spouse, and your significant other. That would be your job. I was reminded of that just a few minutes before I went into the movie Saturday night. I checked my email. It’s a bad habit, one that also takes a toll of its own.

That’s when I learned that a volunteer firefighter from Delaware County had been killed in a crash. It was a big story. We jumped on it on Saturday, getting the details of the crash that claimed the life of Aston firefighter Scott Jones. Then today we followed with full reaction from his devastated colleagues and family.

Like I said, a lot of what we report every day is not what you would call positive news.

But it is important news.

Just ask any of the victims of priest abuse.

Or anybody who worked with or knew Scott Jones.

That is the other lesson of ‘Spotlight.’ It reminds us, in these perilous days for the journalism business, of what we are in danger of losing.

I don’t think it’s a secret that these are tough days for newspapers. We are undergoing seismic changes in how we deliver news. Layoffs are now seemingly part of the daily headlines we deliver. There are a lot fewer people at the Boston Globe today than at the time depicted in this movie, circa 2001. The same goes for this newspaper.

I hope we did Scott Jones proud. I assure you it was not an easy story to report. Emotions are raw. People are grieving. It’s a different kind of story than church abuse, obviously. That’s the thing about news, you never really know on any given day what you will have to tackle.

I really only know one thing that’s pretty much a sure thing when it comes to my daily work. I know that every day I will very likely make a lot of people unhappy.

There is something else that is often said about journalists. We should afflict the comfortable, and comfort the afflicted. As I walked out of the movie, I reached for my phone to check on the status of the story on the crash that took the life of Scott Jones. At the same time, I was again dealing with the fallout of so much about what I, among so many others, had written about the Catholic church.

Afflict the comfortable, and comfort the afflicted.

Seems about right.

• CHESTER PANTHERS CONTINUE TO CHASE THEIR DREAM

There’s nothing I like doing more than presenting positive stories about Chester.

Part of it is purely selfish. This newspaper is always attacked for the way we often portray the city. Let’s face it, Chester has its issues, violence being one of the biggest.

But there is a part of the complaints that ring true. It is very easy to get a skewed vision of Chester, in particular young people in Chester, if all you do is report the police log.

That’s one of the reasons we’ve been paying a lot of attention to the Chester Panthers.

The 8-Under Youth Football team completed an undefeated season. Now they have one more goal. They want to travel to Florida to take part in a national tournament. That costs money.

We’re glad to be able to use the paper to help their efforts.

You can read about them here.

There are good stories in Chester.

You just have to look for them.

• ‘A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS’ HITS THE BIG 5-0

Want to feel old?

This holiday season marks the 50th anniversary of the Christmas classic “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”

The show, with sad sack Charlie’s search for the true meaning of Christmas, first aired on Dec. 9, 1965.

I think I have seen it most every year since.

My daughter is the resident holiday expert in our household. She always reminds me when our favorites shows are set to air. She was home this weekend and I was the one who alerted her to the special aspect of her boy Charlie Brown this year.

My daughter and I have a word we share for the spirit of the holidays. We call it getting ‘imbued.’

For me that means Charlie Brown, the Grinch and the George C. Scott version of ‘Scrooge.’ No, I don’t play the title role, although that has been suggested many times over the years.

My wife decorated the house this weekend, of course with as little help as possible from me, who spent most of the time sitting on the couch watching football.

She has a certain way she likes to decorate, and I ceded that battle long ago. It’s her show. I try to stay out of the way. Sunday, we did the outdoor decorations, and I pretty much just shut up and followed directions.

As usual I will likely struggle again this year to understand the Christmas spirit.

No show better represents that dilemma better than “A Charlie Brown Christmas.’

ABC will air a special before tonight’s show, hosted by Kristen Bell. Then, at 9, ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ will air for the 50th year.

Joy to the world!

• GOOD NEWS FOR EAGLES FANS

There is good news and bad news for Eagles fans this morning.

Incredibly, the Birds find themselves just one game out of first place in the NFC Least this morning after the Redskins knocked off the Giants yesterday. And the Eagles still have games against both the New Yorkers and the D.C. gang. My, how the mighty NFC East has fallen.

So what’s the bad news. Well, the Birds now face a date with the New England Patriots next Sunday. Then again, the Pats were knocked from the ranks of the unbeaten by the Broncos last night. And they may be without stud tight end, Rob Gronkowski, who was last seen riding a cart being taken off the field after being injured last night.

I promised myself I wasn’t going to do this.

It was actually nice this weekend not to have to deal with the aggravation of wasting three hours watching the Eagles.

But I will be back in front of the tube next weekend.

Could the Eagles make the playoffs. Not likely. I don’t expect them to beat Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and the Patriots, with or without Gronkowski.

But weirder things have happened. In the meantime, the Patriots might be the least of Chip Kelly’s worries. Beat writer Bob Grotz reports this morning the Eagles coach finds himself on the hot seat.