— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs
I started this blog to focus on corporation actions, development and some government moves in the Lehigh Valley.
My goal wasn’t to write about the financial follies of PBS 39 (Lehigh Valley Public Media), and even after reviewing the fiscal mess at the Bethlehem operation, I held back for a few weeks.
I’m retired, and at my age, do I need this aggravation? Do I need anonymous people attacking me online?
No, but somebody has to do it. When an organization is floundering and is supported by donations, grants and an endowment that came from the federal government, people have to know.
So all you anonymous keyboard heroes, have at it.
Love PBS 39, hate PBS 39, or ignore it, people have to know when tax dollars are being burned without any strategy beyond perpetuating the organization’s existence.
When an outfit that is missing revenue forecasts and preparing for more cuts seeks ways to get more tax dollars to burn, I’ll be on that, and I’ve alerted people who hold elected office to what is going on.
I’m happy to say that some have taken notice. I’ll get to that later. When elected officials find out that an organization with $80 million in the bank is going after little grants from government, at least some are concerned. There are better ways to spend public money, or best of all, not spend it.
So I will keep at that. I have some questions for PBS 39. They have ignored me before and probably will again, but I’ll keep trying. I’ll share my questions on this blog.
Another thing I didn’t expect to come across: the Bethlehem Area School District still indulging in interest-rate swaps. These transactions are bets, and no government has any business betting with my tax dollars. I live in the BASD and pay taxes to the district.
I’ve been assured there will be no more swaps under the current administration. Previous gambles cost the district lots of money.
Still, I will mostly be looking at corporate actions, share prices and big business.
Beyond that, I have to decide on my commitment to this. Do I want to go all-in and hire and train a reporter and set up a real website? With age 65 around the corner, probably not, but it’s an option.
Two or three well-trained people could put out more real news daily than some other outlets. When I say “real news,” I mean short stories about things that matter, not 100-inch long so-called “think pieces” that nobody reads.
Maybe I will expand. Or maybe continue as I do, putting in an hour or so per day, and taking some days off.
For many reasons, the outlook for local media is bleak. Some of that reflects national trends, and some of the issues are self-inflicted, such as those long stories nobody reads.
What’s next? Stay tuned!
Lehigh Valley News Briefs 
Good luck with whichever path you choose. The demise of local media and newspapers can be attributed to many causes. Some are definitely self inflicted. I like the fact you keep it short and do not appear to repackage the press release or post by the coomunications department and report it as news. There is no reason to subscribe to that type of publication. I also like the fact I do not know your political persuasion by merely noting your word choice.
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