We capture many of you in our photos
Monday, May 25, was a holiday for most people, including many employees at The Enterprise. But much as other people might work in spite of the holiday, so did some of our staff members. If they hadn't, you wouldn't have a newspaper right now.
We aren't alone. Nurses, doctors, police officers and firefighters, as well as most retail store employees, spent their holiday working as well, so this isn't whining.
What we hope it to be is a reminder that we are part of the daily landscape of the community. Rain or shine, 365 days a year, seven days a week, we produce a local daily newspaper.
In the event of major disasters and subsequent power outages (such as with Hurricanes Rita and Ike) we still produce the news and make it available to our readers.
When the majority of the population, including most of our newspaper carriers, has evacuated, the electronic paper can make more sense than a printed one.
After Rita, we were flooded (pun intended) with positive comments from readers who had evacuated to the hinterlands but still were able to keep up with what was going on in Southeast Texas because of our online efforts.
So as you are returning to work this morning, contemplate the Memorial Day holiday and its message and give pause to ponder next Monday when we enter another uncertain hurricane season.
Regardless of what happens, know we will be here as we always have been, offering our readers images and words that tell the stories of whatever challenges -- or victories --come our way.
*
One reader called last week, surprised and upset to see her photo in The Enterprise.
She was one of a group of people photographed in a public place for illustrations to go with a story about a program that provides jobs for older adults. Although she knew the photographer was at the location and took several photos, she didn't know her photo would be used and called to say she didn't give us permission to use it.
I told her we don't need permission.
That doesn't mean that if she had spoken up and said she didn't want her photo taken, that our photographer wouldn't have allowed her to step out of the photo.
The story was about the older adults, not the facility where the photo was taken.
Photographers have the right to photograph people in public places, or even people on their own private property as long as the photographer isn't on that private property when the photo is taken.
That means you could be mowing your front yard and our photographer could take your photo and we could put it in the paper and we don't have to have your permission. However, that doesn't mean we would do it.
In reality, our photographer would probably take the photo and stop to identify him or herself and get your name for the photo caption.
If you expressed an objection, we probably wouldn't run the photo, at least not in this instance. If, instead, you were under house arrest for something, or suspended from your job as a public employee for some reason, we might choose to run your photo over any objections.
Our photographers do take photos of people in public places and when they do, they are just doing their jobs.
*
Last week's column with information on our expanded delivery efforts to consolidate delivery of multiple print products spurred a hailstorm of telephone calls.
Readers in Orange and Jasper counties, whose delivery of the Houston Chronicle was eliminated last fall, want their Chronicle back.
Similarly, some USA Today subscribers who receive the publication by mail would like it tossed in their front yard with their Enterprise.
But the Chronicle and USA Today are not our products and only those companies can make the decision about distributing additional copies of their publications.
We are only responsible for delivering them to the people we are told to deliver them to. So, readers hoping to win the argument for reinstated delivery need to call the Chronicle at (888) 220- 7211; and USA Today at (800) 872-0001.
We aren't alone. Nurses, doctors, police officers and firefighters, as well as most retail store employees, spent their holiday working as well, so this isn't whining.
What we hope it to be is a reminder that we are part of the daily landscape of the community. Rain or shine, 365 days a year, seven days a week, we produce a local daily newspaper.
In the event of major disasters and subsequent power outages (such as with Hurricanes Rita and Ike) we still produce the news and make it available to our readers.
When the majority of the population, including most of our newspaper carriers, has evacuated, the electronic paper can make more sense than a printed one.
After Rita, we were flooded (pun intended) with positive comments from readers who had evacuated to the hinterlands but still were able to keep up with what was going on in Southeast Texas because of our online efforts.
So as you are returning to work this morning, contemplate the Memorial Day holiday and its message and give pause to ponder next Monday when we enter another uncertain hurricane season.
Regardless of what happens, know we will be here as we always have been, offering our readers images and words that tell the stories of whatever challenges -- or victories --come our way.
*
One reader called last week, surprised and upset to see her photo in The Enterprise.
She was one of a group of people photographed in a public place for illustrations to go with a story about a program that provides jobs for older adults. Although she knew the photographer was at the location and took several photos, she didn't know her photo would be used and called to say she didn't give us permission to use it.
I told her we don't need permission.
That doesn't mean that if she had spoken up and said she didn't want her photo taken, that our photographer wouldn't have allowed her to step out of the photo.
The story was about the older adults, not the facility where the photo was taken.
Photographers have the right to photograph people in public places, or even people on their own private property as long as the photographer isn't on that private property when the photo is taken.
That means you could be mowing your front yard and our photographer could take your photo and we could put it in the paper and we don't have to have your permission. However, that doesn't mean we would do it.
In reality, our photographer would probably take the photo and stop to identify him or herself and get your name for the photo caption.
If you expressed an objection, we probably wouldn't run the photo, at least not in this instance. If, instead, you were under house arrest for something, or suspended from your job as a public employee for some reason, we might choose to run your photo over any objections.
Our photographers do take photos of people in public places and when they do, they are just doing their jobs.
*
Last week's column with information on our expanded delivery efforts to consolidate delivery of multiple print products spurred a hailstorm of telephone calls.
Readers in Orange and Jasper counties, whose delivery of the Houston Chronicle was eliminated last fall, want their Chronicle back.
Similarly, some USA Today subscribers who receive the publication by mail would like it tossed in their front yard with their Enterprise.
But the Chronicle and USA Today are not our products and only those companies can make the decision about distributing additional copies of their publications.
We are only responsible for delivering them to the people we are told to deliver them to. So, readers hoping to win the argument for reinstated delivery need to call the Chronicle at (888) 220- 7211; and USA Today at (800) 872-0001.
posted by Sheila Friedeck at 3:56 PM
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