Paper Trail Podcast

So the Mineral King Publishing marketing manager was working on a project for us and asked Reggie, Ryan and myself to have a conversation about editorial ethics on camera. And we had no idea what we were going to say, we were just happy to talk shop. And after a little while Sarah asked if I was interested in publishing our conversation and so I listened to the audio.

We talk about differences between news and journalism; the good and bad of for-profit and non-profit news outlets; how social media has turned everyone into a publisher; and how consumers of social media are misled and targeted for their attention.

Ultimately we end on how we can bring funding back to local journalism after decades of newsroom closures and journalists leaving the industry.

Paul and Ryan talk about Kevin McCarthy's decision to step down from his position in Congress leaving an open void for local representation; Then they talk about Freedom Elementary school's lockdown last week when 25 students fell ill following lunch, and the district's unwillingness to answer questions from The Sun-Gazette and the community.

Paul and Ryan talk about the Tulare County Board of Supervisors decision to review adding "In God We Trust" to their dais, after board members struggled whether to add "e pluribus unum" underneith it; Then they talk about the state's push to incorporate media literacy as a part of public school curriculum.

Paul and Ryan deliver their Thanksgiving episode by catching up the congressional report that pointed to an ineffective CDC and Chinese Community Party ties after investigating the lab in Reedley; then they talk about Fresno's hopes of reviving their tech sector after the fall of BitWise earlier this year.

Paul and Ryan take look at Fresno County Board Supervisor Steve Brandau's "Parents Matter Act" that seeks to move books with sexually explicit material within county libraries; and set up a 15 person committee to review books that community members might find concerning.

Then they take a swing at the most recent updates to the city of Visalia and Rawhide lawsuit over stadium renovations.

Paul and Ryan recount the comments from an Oct. 17 VUSD Board meeting that revealed the challenger of all 13 books, and those who advised that she do it. They expressed their deep disappointment that the books remained in high school libraries and bemoaned the lack of transparency in the review policy (2:05); then they recount the sting operation that took down the CEO of Universal Meditech Inc. in Reedley.

!!! DISCLAIMER: Due to some technical difficulties this week's audio leaves a lot to be desired, however the conversation is well worth the listen!!!

Paul sits down with The Sun-Gazette/Mid Valley Times editor, Danielle Gutierrez. They talk about her time spent as a reporter, what she learned from that job that led her to this leadership role and what her stamp on the coverage is now that she is editing her reporter's work.

Paul and Ryan follow up on the final decision the 13 challenged books in VUSD libraries and how their book ban policy leaves the door shut to public input (4:55); Then they discuss the fight between the city of Visalia and Rawhide over stadium improvements as the argument heads to court (19:00)

Paul and Ryan take a local dive on Kevin McCarthy's recent ousting as speaker (2:40); Then they pick up the Ever Well Mental Health Facility saga in Terra Bella as they had their special use permit permanent revoked by the Tulare County Planning Commission (14:20).

Reedley City Manager Nicole Zeiba joins Paul for a bonus episode of the Paper Trail Podcast to go through her role of shutting down Universal Meditech who famously operated an illegal lab in Reedley. Zeiba was first made aware through the famous garden hose discovery, but realized that only a small city would have been able to detect something so benign.