Crowley Star (Crowley, Tex.), Vol. 25, No. 2, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 21, 2011 Page: 4 of 16
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Page4A ★ Crowley Star ★ Thursday, April 21, 2011 WWW.CrOwleystcir.Iiet
Volunteer writers journalisms future?
Jason
Salzman
I’m a volunteer blogger for the Huff-
ington Post.
I have a job writing for other enti-
I I ties, but I submit my
R work to the popular
I website for free to
' rf -i push my writing fur-
' 'jd ther into the blogo-
3, sphere-
\ JH HuffPo relies on
!SH . g||. QB volunteers. It has a
core staff of about
I_ 150 paid journalists,
but much of the site’s
content comes from
volunteers like me,
Commentary for free.
Last month, a
group of Huffington Post volunteer
bloggers told Arianna Huffington that
they want to be paid, or at least talk
about being paid.
Their demand came after AOL
purchased the Huffington Post for $315
million.
These bloggers called on the rest
of HuffPo’s volunteer bloggers to stop
submitting their work.
They asked bloggers like me not to
cross their “virtual picket line.” In other
words, they asked me to stop volunteering.
The virtual picket-line organizers
didn’t ask volunteer writers who submit
content to other media blogs and publi-
cations to stop submitting their writing
to those outlets too.
One way “new media” entities are
surviving, whether they make money
or not, is to solicit content like articles,
photos, and columns from the public.
Sometimes this work is edited and
sometimes it’s not, as you can see on
many blogs that happily accept some of
the worst and most vitriolic commentar-
ies you can imagine. (A bad combination,
I know, but it works for some blogs.)
The question is, if an online entity
makes money, should it share some of
that revenue with its freelancers?
The question is complicated by the
fact that many volunteers would love to
be paid. Look at all the volunteers for
the United Way, whose staff makes de-
cent money. Or for political campaigns.
You might think it’s crazy for vol-
unteers to demand payment and call
a strike, especially if the volunteers
didn’t first organize their fellow volun-
teers, take a vote, and then collectively
demand wages.
I certainly thought so. Then I found
out that the virtual picket line at the
Huffington Post was endorsed by the
Newspaper Guild, the union that repre-
sents journalists nationwide.
Why would it support a “strike” like
this?
“We think we’re in a critical phase of
reinvention in journalism,” Guild presi-
dent Bernie Lunzer told me. “We want
to tackle the question of the value of
our work before there’s an assumption
that writers take a vow of poverty to do
their craft. It really has more to do with
a critical moment than anything. That’s
really the point of this.”
It’s a desperate time for journal-
ism, as big-city newspapers bleed jobs
and revenue, serious news outlets offer
more mayhem and fluff, and a model to
support journalism on the web has not
materialized.
Journalism is dying and few people
seem to care. Even fewer are doing
anything about it.
So, yes, you can make a case that the
Huffington Post, with its influx of AOL
money, should hire more journalists
and pay more of its contributors.
And you can also make a really good
case that Arianna Huffington herself
should meet with the organizers of the vir-
tual picket line. That’s one of their central
goals. But she has refused, Lunzer told me.
All this made me want to join the
bloggers and support their cause. I
thought about not posting anything for
a month as a symbolic show of support
for the Newspaper Guild and for paid
journalism.
But I couldn’t convince myself that
my volunteerism was in fact hurting
journalism.
The Huffington Post isn’t the prob-
lem. In fact, a hybrid of professional
journalists and volunteer writers may
be part of the solution.
Still, it’s true that writers need not
only a platform — but cash as well.
I hope Arianna Huffington gets the
message. I hope Republicans attacking
National Public Radio and the Corpo-
ration for Public Broadcasting get the
message. I hope anyone who hires a
freelance writer gets the message.
But lashing out at the Huffington
Post doesn’t seem like the way to go.
A former media critic for the Rocky7
Mountain News, Jason Salzman is board
chair of Rocky Mountain Media Watch and
author of “Making the News: A Guide for
Activists and Nonprofits.”
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Finally: Fairer tax reporting on the way
SCHOOL NOTES
Employers have reported
the income all Americans
earn from regular jobs to the
Internal
Revenue
Service
since
World War
II. Starting
this year,
U.S. tax-
payers and
their bro-
Gerald kers finally
Scorse have to do
~~~ the same
Commentary thingwith
the income
earned from capital gains.
This smart move closes
a loophole that had cost the
Treasury billions every year. It
takes a big burden off taxpay-
ers. And it never would have
happened without a man the
left loved to hate.
Evan Bayh is a conserva-
tive Indiana Democrat who
retired from the Senate last
year. His Blue Dog politics
rankled liberals, and he was
trashed for giving up a seat
that would flip to the GOP.
All the same, Bayh made tax
reporting fairer than it’s ever
been in America.
He did it with a bill that re-
quires brokers to report basis
prices to the IRS. Basis prices
are the initial costs of invest-
ments, and brokers previously
didn’t have to turn over these
numbers. They had to report
proceeds, but not basis prices.
The only way to figure
capital gains is to have both
numbers and do the arith-
metic. Since the beginning of
income taxes in 1916, capital
gains income has been report-
ed on the honor system. Now
the IRS will get basis prices
along with proceeds. Lobby-
ists for brokers won a gradual
phasing in of the new require-
ments: new stock purchases
will be reported this year,
mutual funds in 2012, bonds
and options in 2013. The law
doesn’t affect pre-2011 hold-
ings.
National Taxpayer Advo-
cate Nina Olson recommend-
ed basis reporting to Con-
gress, and it was her proposal
that prompted Bayh to draft
his bill. The Treasury was
losing up to $25 billion a year
through capital gains misre-
porting, and states were being
stiffed additional billions. The
reasons were no mystery. As
Olson told The Wall Street
Journal, “It seemed that
people who wanted to comply
with the law were finding it
too hard, while those who
wanted to skirt the law were
finding it too easy.”
Faking numbers on tax
returns was easy. Keeping
records year after year, adjust-
ing them for distributions and
stock splits, even remember-
ing where they were, that was
hard. Computers erased the
problems. Brokers are now
required to maintain basis
records and forward the final
results.
Tax compliance for income
that’s reported to the IRS
far exceeds compliance for
self-reported income, because
wage earners essentially
report all their wages. The
reason is written on the W-2
forms they get every year:
“THIS INFORMATION IS
BEING FURNISHED TO
THE INTERNAL REVENUE
SERVICE.” But compliance
figures slump for every kind of
self-reported income, includ-
ing stock market capital gains.
When Bayh re-introduced
his bill in 2007, he cited a
study that found misreport-
ing by more than a third of
taxpayers with capital gains
or losses. The Congressional
Record for that day shows one
other senator making the case
for basis reporting. He said:
“It is estimated that $345
billion of federal taxes goes
uncollected each year. This
bill doesn’t solve that full
problem, but it is a step in the
right direction. It reduces the
federal deficit without raising
taxes or cutting spending. It
simplifies the tax filing pro-
cess and reduces the chance of
error or fraud. It applies what
we know about the clear ben-
efits of automatic reporting to
the IRS — which is required
now for wage income — to
capital gains income as well.
“This bill makes sense.
It’s good policy. And I urge
my colleagues to join me in
supporting it and in helping to
improve our tax code.”
That was the junior
senator from Illinois, Barack
Obama. Now, as president, his
budgets (and U.S. taxpayers)
will benefit from the extra bil-
lions that fairer tax reporting
of capital gains will add to the
Treasury every year.
Gerald E. Scorse lives in
New York City.
CHS, HFS bands
shine at UIL meet
The Crowley High School
wind ensemble earned
straight First Divisions “Su-
perior Ratings” on both its
stage and sight-reading per-
formances in the 4A varsity
classification and earned
a Sweepstakes Award, the
highest award earned at this
competition, at the Univer-
sity Interscholastic League
concert/sight-reading com-
petition April 6 at Burleson
High School.
The ensemble is directed
by Rudy Salazar, assisted by
Ken Danforth and Kenneth
Iyescas.
The H. F. Stevens Middle
School eighth-grade band
earned a First Division “Su-
perior Rating” for its stage
performance and an “Excel-
lent Rating” on its sightread-
ing performance in the 3C
varsity classification, earning
a “First Division, Superior
Award,” overall at the UIL
middle school contest April
14 in Burleson.
The HFS band is directed
by Leticia Ledesma and Car-
los Espinosa Jr.
Princeton Review
SAT class offered
The Crowley ISD will
have a Princeton Review SAT
“boot camp” from 9 a.m.-
3 p.m. April 30 at Crowley
High School, 1005 W. Main
St.
The program is designed
for students who will take the
SAT May 7.
The course includes class
time with a Princeton Review
instructor who breaks down
the test into manageable
pieces, works with students
to understand different ques-
tion types, and teaches stu-
dents strategies to approach
the test, according to CISD
officials.
The SAT 101 curriculum,
The Princeton Review’s SAT
Bootcamp student workbook,
includes a detailed summary
of test structure, content re-
view, and specific strategies
to maximize effectiveness on
The Crowley Fire Depart-
ment responded to the follow-
ing calls for service from April
11-17:
April 11
1:27 a.m.: 1000 block of June-
grass Lane no incident found on
arrival
1:55 a.m.: 900 block of Crowder
Drive, building fire.
7:30 a.m.: 900 block of Crowder
Drive, building fire.
1:23 p.m.: 100 block of Mat-
thew Drive, EMS call, excluding
vehicle accident.
3:50 p.m.: 600 block of E. FM
1187, medical assist with EMS call.
5:55 p.m.: 600 block of Race
Street, medical assist with EMS call.
9:12 p.m.: 300 block of E. Bovell
Street, EMS call, excluding vehicle
accident.
10:07 p.m.: 900 block of E. FM
1187, medical assist with EMS call.
April 12
11:58 a.m.: 200 block of Rock
Hill Drive, medical assist with EMS
call.
12:31 p.m.: 300 block of S.
Magnolia Street, EMS call, exclud-
ing vehicle accident.
1:05 p.m.: 400 block of Mc-
Curdy Street, medical assist with
EMS call.
5:13 p.m.: 1400 block of Long-
horn Trail, EMS call, excluding ve-
hicle accident.
April 13
5:40 a.m.: 600 block of Busi-
ness 1187, EMS call, excluding ve-
hicle accident.
8:42 a.m.: 1200 block of Celeste
Street, EMS call, excluding vehicle
accident.
12:47 p.m.: 500 block of E.
Mustang Street, smoke detector
activation.
1:47 p.m.: 300 block of E. Main
Street, passenger vehicle fire.
3:29 p.m.: 900 block of N.
Crowley Road, lock-out.
10:28 p.m.: 300 block of Swiss
Court, EMS call, excluding vehicle
accident.
April 14
11:20 a.m.: 300 block of Swiss
Court, assist invalid.
9:29 p.m.: Mutual aid-MedStar,
EMS call, excluding vehicle acci-
dent.
the actual test.
Students will also receive
one practice SAT test, includ-
ing answer key and explana-
tions.
Cost is $45, and the regis-
tration deadline is Friday. A
registration form is available
through the CISD website —
available through a link at
www.crowleystar.net — or at
high school counselors’ offices.
CISD night at
Rangers Ballpark
Andrew Barker got more
than a $2,500 college schol-
arship when he wrote about
Texas Rangers star Josh
Hamilton as his role model
in the Bobby Bragan Founda-
tion scholarship competition.
The Rangers found out
about the Summer Creek
Middle School eighth-grad-
er’s essay and invited him
to throw out the first pitch
before the Tuesday, May 24,
game against the Chicago
White Sox at Rangers Ball-
park in Arlington.
It’s also Crowley ISD
Character Connections all-
star recognition night, and
one student from each cam-
pus will be selected for on-
field recognition.
CISD staff, students, fam-
ily and friends can pre-order
discounted tickets to the
game. An order form is on
the CISD website, available
through a link at www.crow-
leystar.net.
High schools offer
athletic physicals
Physical exams are re-
quired each year for students
in grades 7-12 who partici-
pate in athletics, and both
high schools will provide the
exams.
Physicals will be offered
from 3-6 p.m. Monday, May
9, at the Crowley High School
gymnasium, and 9 a.m.-noon
Saturday, May 28, at the
North Crowley High School
gym.
Cost is $15. Physical pack-
ets can be picked up at either
high school or downloaded
from the CISD website.
10:25 p.m.: 10300 block of Car-
son Ranch Road, EMS call, exclud-
ing vehicle accident.
11:35 p.m.: 1000 block of Mc-
Cart Street, alarm system activa-
tion.
April 15
9:21 a.m.: 10600 block of Old
Cleburne Crowley Road, extrica-
tion/rescue.
10:01 a.m.: 700 block of E. FM
1187, alarm system sounded.
12:20 p.m.: 800 block of Tim-
berwolf Court, gas leak (natural
gas or LPG).
1:17 p.m.: 3400 block of Cama-
ro Drive, brush or brush-and-grass
mix.
1:47 p.m.: Mutual aid-Ben-
brook, grass fire
2:21 p.m.: 10400 block of W.
Cleburne Road, brush or brush-
and-grass mix.
2:31 p.m.: 6300 block of W. FM
1187, motor vehicle accident with
injuries.
April 16
12:58 a.m.: 900 block of E. FM
1187, medical assist with EMS call.
11:49 a.m.: 700 block of
Hutchins Drive, EMS call, excluding
vehicle accident.
5:13 p.m.: 1100 block of W.
Cleburne Road, off-road vehicle or
heavy equipment vehicle.
9:24 p.m.: Mutual aid-MedStar,
EMS call, excluding vehicle acci-
dent.
10:40 p.m.: 500 block of Prairie
View Court, unauthorized burning.
April 17
7:38 a.m.: 20 block of St. Louis
Drive, EMS call, excluding vehicle
accident.
1:50 p.m.: 700 block of Race
Street, arcing, shorted electrical
circuit.
2:31 p.m.: 100 block of N.
Crowley Road, EMS call, excluding
vehicle accident.
7:19 p.m.: 900 block of N.
Crowley Road, smoke detector ac-
tivation.
8:21 p.m.: 800 block of S. Crow-
ley Road, false alarm or false call.
10:38 p.m.: 10300 block of Car-
son Ranch Road, medical assist
with EMS call.
11:52 p.m.: 800 block of S.
Crowley Road, false alarm or false
call.
Crowley$cStar
Volume 25, Number 1
20 Pages in 2 Sections
(ISSN-1092-4965)
Periodicals Postage Paid at
Fort Worth, Texas 76161 and
additional mailing offices
www.crowleystar.net
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Advertising
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News Staff
Dave Sorter....................................Editor
Ricky Moore..................................Sports
Composing Staff
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letters policy
The Crowley Star welcomes letters to the editor for consideration for pub-
lication. Letters to the editor are offered by the newspaper to the community
for expression of personal views on matters of concern.
Residents are encouraged to use the column in a constructive manner,
sharing their views on subjects of interest with the newspaper's readers. Let-
ters are individual opinions and not those of this newspaper.
Each letter must be original, limited to 300 words or fewer, signed by the
writer and bear the address and phone number of the writer. Only the writer's
name and the city will be published with the letter. The Crowley Star does not
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by an unidentifiable pseudonym will not be published. The phone number and
address are necessary for verification of authenticity or clarification of content.
Letters which cannot be verified will not be published.
The Crowley Star reserves the right to edit all letters. Letters deemed
libelous, slanderous, unclear or otherwise unacceptable will not be published.
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published. Poetry is unacceptable as a letter to the editor.
During election campaigns, the Crowley Star will accept letters to the
editor discussing issues or offering endorsements. The deadline for election-
related letters is two weeks prior to Election Day.
Address letters to: Editor, Crowley Star, P.O. Box 909, Burleson, TX 76097-
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Sorter, David. Crowley Star (Crowley, Tex.), Vol. 25, No. 2, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 21, 2011, newspaper, April 21, 2011; Burleson, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth807658/m1/4/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Burleson Public Library.