Direct answers from Jim Fredricks

1. Why did you go into journalism?It was after I saw the movie "The Year of Living Dangerously" featuring Sigourney Weaver and Mel Gibson as a foreign correspondent. Sigourney was hot! Seriously, it was because I had an intense interest in current events, and good writing skills, and therefore seemed a natural fit. I wanted to make a difference, and journalism certainly has given me that opportunity.

2. How did your break in the field?I started by offering pieces for freelance at my local newspaper. They liked what they saw, and eventually hired me when a reporting slot opened up.

3. How do you define "good" journalism?Good journalism is about the community and our readers -- their needs, wants, and aspirations. We should serve our communities with strong, compelling stories and content that accurately depict life in our communities, celebrate the good, and expose light on the bad.

4. Do you feel like your news organization practices "good" journalism?I think we do a fair job. I think limited resources are a hindrance, but not an obstacle. I think we can tackle the really important stories, and I think we do a good job celebrating the good in our community.

5. How would you define the type of journalism you do?Community advocacy -- we're here for our community.

6. Does your organization allow you to do the type of journalism you wantto do?Absolutely.

7. How does the journalism you practice serve your community?Our stories have highlighted (and corrected) wasteful spending and poor management that lead to changes in management and in elected officials for our biggest city and our main local school district. They have also helped unite the community on important projects, like the much-needed renovation of a long-forgotten veterans memorial. They have educated readers about their community, and helped them get involved.

8. What is your opinion about recent movements such as community,citizen, civic, and public journalism?Citizen journalism is a worthy experiment but has its limits. It cannot and must not replace the role of newspapers and other media in providing balance and context and applying journalistic values to the work we produce.I treat community, civic, and public journalism as somewhat synonymous terms that deal with engaging our communities and serving their needs through aggressive journalism and utilizing events, policies and procedures that help make our communities part of our newsgathering and production process.

9. Have you ever had an experience in which you felt your work as ajournalist really made a difference?Numerous times, whether it was a column that touched someone's heart or brought a smile to their face, or the stories our newspaper has done that have corrected wrong or pinpointed problems.

10. How have your views about journalism changed over the years?I've come to believe the very best journalism -- in terms of its accountability and responsibility to the community -- occurs in the smaller newspapers, who by their very size must be responsive to the voices in their community. I think some media organizations have grown too big to hear and respond to their audiences.

11. Have you been affected by dropping circulations, ratings, layoffs, andgrowth of citizen journalism?I believe we -- and other community newspapers -- are in the "sweet spot" in journalism, as audiences fracture into smaller, more local units.

12. What advice would you give students wanting to go into journalism?Don't get into journalism thinking you are the one who is going to enlighten the masses. Go into it to serve, respect your readers, understand what's going on in their lives, and make sure you show that respect and understanding in your stories.