That is as opposed to “‘news of assertion,’ that is mostly on display these days in prime time on cable news channels and blogs.” Others who live in the land of ‘news of assertion’ include editorial writers, stand-up comics and “pseudo-journalists” (my words), whom will remain unnamed.

“Traditional journalists have long believed that this form of fact-based accountability news is the essential food supply of democracy and that without enough of this healthy nourishment, democracy will weaken, sicken, or even fail. … It is the nation’s newspapers that provide the vast majority of iron core news.”

Jones estimates “85 percent professionally reported accountability news comes from newspapers, but I have heard guesses from credible sources that go as high as 95 percent.”

So, it would seem that if newspapers were to cease to exist, as some pundits are fond of predicting, it would seem no one would have anything to assert. Thus, everyone from Rush Limbaugh to Jon Stewart would have nothing to say — well, nothing fact-based to say, anyway.

I’ve only scratched the surface of this book, but it’s already fascinating stuff.

When heading off to work, I sometimes jokingly say, “Well, I’m off to protect democracy.”

If Jones is correct, there’s more truth to that statement than I imagined.

Times are bad. There’s little question about that fact.

Word is the economy is picking up, but we’ll just have to wait and see.

For more than 30 years prior to 2009, the city of Alcoa sponsored a July 4th fireworks celebration, but the economy put out the fuse on what had worked its way up to a $46,000 price tag. As Alcoa City Manager Mark Johnson said at the time, it’s hard to ask employees to find ways to save money while writing that sort of check for FreedomFest.

But do we really have to spend $46,000? Does the city of Alcoa have to be the only folks to write a check?

I hadn’t given a lot of thought to FreedomFest and what it meant to the community, until today when Jill Bentley of Blackwood Insurance Associates forwarded a fax to me announcing Liberty Mutual’s “Bring Back the 4th” promotion. The fax originated with Montgomery Insurance, an underwriter associated with Blackwood. Here’s what it said:

“In recent years, a challenging economy has impacted cities and towns across America that organize local Fourth of July celebrations. Many have been forced to cut or curtail festivities amidst budget struggles. …”

That would be us.

“Liberty Mutual has launched an exciting pilot program to help communities revive their official celebrations. From now until June 14th, the company is hosting a web-based contest allowing U.S. cities and towns to compete for ten $10,000 ‘Bring Back the 4th’ grants. …” The grants can be used to bankroll local fireworks celebrations, ceremonies honoring veterans, neighborhood parades and town-organized cookouts.

So, here’s how it works:

• Go to BringBackthe4th.com
• Take a brief quiz on “Responsible Moments in U.S. History.”
• When inputting your identifying information, please be sure and put “37701″ as the ZIP and “Alcoa, Tennessee” as the town. You could, of course, put Maryville, Townsend, or any of our other municipalities; however, if we’re trying to revive FreedomFest, it would seem the Alcoa identifier is the best.

Each completed quiz counts as one credit toward the prize and the 10 U.S. municipalities with the most completed quizzes will win the grants. The grants will be awarded in three size categories: four to small communities; three to medium communities; and three to large communities.

You can only take the quiz once, but you can use all of the social networking you want to spread the word.

So, take the quiz and spread the word!

It’s not $46,000, but you can buy an awful lot of firecrackers, bottle rockets and the like with $10,000.

He then went on to prove his point by announcing that enrollment in the state’s health program for uninsured children, CoverKids, will be reopened next month. Budget restraints forced the state to close enrollment in November, but Bredesen wants to spend an additional $13 million during the upcoming budget year, pulling in another $41.5 million in federal funds. The budget year begins July 1, but the governor says four months is far too long to wait. “When it comes to our children, that’s simply not good enough,” he said, adding that he has “every confidence” lawmakers will agree.

“Providing children health coverage needs to remain a priority for us,” Bredesen said. “And though we are in a tough budget year, that is still no excuse not to move forward on key priorities.”

The state’s medicaid program, TennCare, provides medical coverage for the poorest children in our midst. CoverKids targets families who make too much money to qualify for TennCare. They either can not afford private health insurance, or their employers do not offer insurance.

Some folks call these the “working poor,” but the working poor are probably more common among us than many know: The CoverKids benchmark is household income below 250 percent of the federal poverty level. According to the eligibility chart, a family of four earning about $55,000 a year or less can qualify for the program with no monthly premiums. A “buy-in” is available for children in households with higher incomes.

Again showing he still has political breath, Bredesen stepped out further, saying he is a proponent of universal health care, calling it “long overdue.”

Whatever side of the political aisle you sit on, you have to admire a governor who refuses to be a lame duck when it comes to caring to some of the most vulnerable among us.

That was obviously the case, if the seven candidates’ answers are any indication.

To Mike McWherter, who harkened back to the time when his father Ned McWherter had an “open-door” policy as governor, it was, “I will do everything in my power to develop a budget openly.”

To Zach Wamp and Bill Gibbons, it meant the door was open to lob some campaign disclosure bombs in Bill Haslam’s direction, each calling upon the Knoxville mayor who is also part owner of Pilot Oil to disclose his income tax returns. Wamp shot this in Haslam’s direction: “If you’re for transparency, where is this money coming from?”

To Ron Ramsey, it seemed to be mostly about streaming state legislature sessions over the Internet.

Bill Haslam got a little closer to the question when he said some on the panel confused public government records with individual records.

But it was Kim McMillan and Jim Kyle who appeared to get the closest to what was on many minds when it came to that question.

McMillan, who said her record speaks for itself when it comes to open government, talked of having sponsored legislation to open records, while consistently voting against closing records.

Kyle’s answer, in part: “Open records are under constant attack. There’s always a group wanting to close the records of government. I would suggest to you that citizens are protected when the records of the government are open.”

Some people just get it.

Bill Gibbons: I know what it’s like to struggle. I’ve been there.

Bill Haslam: I have loved being a mayor of Knoxville.

Jim Kyle: I’m a University of Memphis basketball fan.

Kim McMillan: I was adopted as an infant by two wonderful school teachers who raised me with the notion that you can do whatever you want to do, even if you are adopted.

Mike McWherter: I serve on the Jackson Energy Authority Board. … That has given me a really unique insight into how to bring energy to an area and how to improve energy in an area.

Ron Ramsey: The fact that I try to be a good husband and a good father.

Zach Wamp: I’m motivated by impact: Not money. Not power.

• Bill Gibbons, Shelby County district attorney general, who has served in that post since November 1996. Gibbons, who served on the staff of former Gov. Lamar Alexander, has also served on Memphis City Council and the Shelby County Commission.
• Businessman and current Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam. In his bio, Haslam notes that he worked “‘for a couple of years’ managing his family’s small chain of gas stations.” He has served as mayor since 2003.
• Jim Kyle, been the Democratic leader of the state Senate since 2005.
• Kim McMillan, first woman in Tennessee history elected Majority Leader of the state House.
• Mike McWherter, a small businessman from Jackson who worked on the 1986 gubernatorial campaign of his father, Ned McWherter.
• Ron Ramsey, Tennessee Lieutenant Governor and the first Republican Senate Speaker in 140 years.
• Zach Wamp, who has served 15 years in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Tom Griscom, Chattanooga Times Free Press publisher and executive editor, looks like he’s having a lot of fun getting ready for this event. He promises some hardball questions and very little wiggle room for the candidates.

Looking forward to it.

• The economy is the nation’s No. 1 problem.
• Majority report being personally hurt by the recession.
• Most believe health care reform is an important issue.
• Ambivalent about proposals in Congress. (Poll conducted prior to proposals being fully unveiled.)
• Less approval of President Obama in fall 2009 than in spring 2009.
• Confidence rating concerning Obama’s performance on economy, foreign policy, health reform, ethics mixed between spring and fall.
• More Tennesseans say Obama is doing enough to work with Republicans (although not a majority in fall 2009).
• More believe Obama is doing well with bipartisanship than say the same about Republicans.
• Most approve of Gov. Phil Bredesen’s job performance.
• Tennesseans are ambivalent about this year’s election.
• Tennesseans’ opinion on state legislature are mixed, as well as who should control (Republicans or Democrats) the General Assembly.
• Spending priorities: Education tops the list.
• Wine in groceries: 62 percent support.
• State income tax ban: Ambivalent, depending upon the framing of the question.
• Handgun carry in parks, restaurants, bars: For all three venues, most disapprove.
• Bottle deposit bill: 83 percent support
• Illegal immigration: Ambivalent on how to state should deal with this,  depending upon framing of the question.

Jason B. Reineke, associate director of MTSU Poll, reviewed the results today during Tennessee Press Association’s Winter Convention and Press Institute. You can find the details at mtsusurveygroup.org.

Reineke noted that MTSU has correctly predicted every major election since 2002, except Corker-Ford in 2006.

I believe it was on Dec. 20 that I met Paul Bales, who came into my office with what looked like a homemade pad of newsprint with numbers on it, asking, “How many columns do you need?”

Having worked at a metro newspaper where someone else made those decisions, I didn’t have a clue what he was talking about, and he knew it.

Paul, who is retiring from The Daily Times at the end of this year, was likely thinking, “This boy’s still wet behind the ears.” Still, he was kind enough not to say it to my face.

I learned a lot about Paul over the years, but nothing more important than his willingness to serve. On Thursday night, I was privileged to get a glimpse of the fruits of five decades of service to Blount County’s needy through his work with The Daily Times’ Empty Pantry Fund — and I was filled with awe and wonder.

For two decades, this editor has viewed the chronicles of that annual — let’s call it what it is — mission and ministry to, and by, this community. This year, I was determined to join other Alcoa Kiwanians at the Junior Service League’s packing of toys this past Monday and the packing of food on Thursday night for the Empty Pantry Fund. However, I got tied up at the office on Monday and could not be a part of the toy packing. Still, I was determined to make the Empty Pantry Fund event.

On Thursday, I ran across Paul in the composing room.

“I’m going to be there tonight,” I said.

“You are?” he said with big smile. “I sure am glad.”

He then went on to give me some volunteer advice.

“Now, you need to get there around 6:15 or 6:30, or you might not have a place to stand,” he warned. “Plus, you might not have a place to park if you wait until 7.”

I decided to take him at his word but, as newsroom events often dictate, I found myself leaving The Daily Times at about 6:45 p.m. As I approached the National Guard Armory on U.S. 321, there were cars turning in the same direction … and cars lining the entrance to the armory … and cars parked in the field.

“Oh, my gosh,” I thought. “This is serious. I’m not going to have a place to park.”

I slowly made my way through the traffic and turned around, thinking, “I don’t think they need my help.”

Driving back toward the highway, the thought came to me: “It’s been a long day. They don’t need my help. Just go on home.”

I passed volunteer after volunteer, young and old, walking in the dark toward the armory. The most impressive, fairly emotional, sight: A man on crutches who had lost a leg to some misfortune.

It was apparent: “There’s something special going on in this place. I’ve got to experience this thing.”

I spied First Tennessee’s nearly empty parking lot across the highway and sped across, parking under a street light.

“Great,” I thought as I checked the traffic before sprinting across U.S. 321. “I can see the headline now: ‘Foolish editor tries to cross parkway in dark.’” Not only did I have to face highway traffic, but the slightly winding road offered its own challenge.

Finally entering the armory, I was met with people lining up to serve.

What an incredible sight to see in what we sometimes believe is an age of selfishness: Here, in Blount County, people line up to serve. Of course, it was, as one volunteer analyzed, “Organized chaos.”

Volunteers pushing baskets along a route where others dropped in hams, yams, green beans, sweet peas and 43 other ingredients into huge, white sacks. There were Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts, parents, grandparents and probably not a few great-grandparents working together.

For two hours, I found places here and there to serve. It was obvious I wasn’t needed, nor had my presence been missed for nearly two decades. Still, having experienced a fraction of what Paul Bales and tens of thousands of other volunteers have for more than five decades, I found myself in envy: Here were those who came year, after year, after year, to serve the least of these; in fact, from what I have gleaned, some of those serving had, in fact, been served themselves by the Empty Pantry Fund.

All of Blount County, it seemed, was on hand Thursday night to fill 1,424 baskets with 63 tons of food. By the time the servants gathered again and drove 70 routes, about 1,500 people will have been involved.

Chatting with Paul and some of his “partners in crime” when leaving, one servant put it this way: “I don’t think there’s another thing like it in the nation,” he said, with a touch of pride. “This is Blount County.”

A place where people line up to serve.

Ed and Fred were twin brothers and I’m certain they got a lot of laughs over folks’ first impressions.

It was with great sadness that I learned Monday that Ed, 72, had gone to be with his Lord.

Ed was a longtime Daily Times employee, having worked at this company for 45 years. He was also a former pastor, having served East Walland Baptist Church. And one more job: Ed also owned Dude’s Grocery Store for 18 years. In the preaching business, we’d say Ed was a “tent-maker extraordinaire.” But that was his and Fred’s generation: You worked, sometimes two or three jobs.

Ed and Fred both retired within about a year of each other here at The Daily Times, and I miss them greatly. In my end of the business, you count on men like them to share the wealth of knowledge they amassed over the years. As managing editor, one of my primary roles is to ensure the paper hits the street. Fred and I worked through a lot of issues together over the past years to make sure that happened — and it was not unusual to see Ed at his side.

I still have my only sibling, so it’s difficult to imagine Fred’s sorrow. He and the rest of the family are in my thoughts and prayers, as well as those of others here at The Times.

Several years ago, Alcoa Kiwanians were gracious enough to let me into their fellowship to break bread and serve, but the invitation came during a time when I was also moving into ministry, and it made it difficult to serve. So, I had to bow out after about a year or so.

Recently, they extended an act of grace by letting me return — just in time for the civic club’s 55th anniversary.

On Monday, as they were celebrating 55 years of service, I watched and listened as charter members told stories of how the club came into being and how much they enjoyed serving their community. It reminded me of why nearly 20 years ago I felt drawn to join this community as managing editor of The Daily Times.

Vera Watson, who led the effort to recap the club’s 55-year history, told the group, “We’ve had a number of firsts: first in community, first in service, and I don’t know how much money we have given to the community.” Watson chided T.O. Hester, who joined the club in 1956, for being at the international convention in 1961 when delegates discussed allowing women to join, but voted the measure down. Women were allowed to join in 1987 and Watson, who joined Alcoa Kiwanis in 1989, noted she was the sixth female member at the time.

Bart Peak, who was a charter member in 1954, told the group, “I was recruited by two of my friends who I worked with at ALCOA,” recalling that of the 29 charter members, 18 of them were from the Aluminum Company of America. Peak explained that club rules prohibited more than two members from a single occupation, apparently seeking a diverse group. “So, we had to come up with creative occupations,” given the great number of metallurgists and engineers working at the plant.

Peak said that in the early days the lunchtime club met at Spike’s Restaurant, which was located at the current site of Shoney’s on Alcoa Highway at Wright Road. He recalled that another civic club decided that it, too, wanted to meet at Spike’s on the same day and time. The restaurant manager sought to accommodate both groups by putting up a partition. Peak recalled that the noise level from the other club was so high that Kiwanians couldn’t hear the speaker. Not long afterward, the Kiwanis program was a demonstration of what was then new audio technology known as stereophonic sound. The recording: A train roaring along the railroad tracks. The other club moved.

Ken Paxton, also a charter member, recalled that the birth of Alcoa Kiwanis was somewhat seeded by the Maryville club. “Maryville Kiwanis thought it was important to get people from ALCOA involved in Kiwanis,” Paxton recalled. “I don’t know of anything I would have rather been involved in, in terms of civic clubs.”

Some of the civic service actions recalled by Hestor included doing janitorial work at the Ronald McDonald House in Knoxville and recycling aluminum, the latter of which was alternated with Maryville Kiwanis.

And then there are the pancakes.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed the pancake breakfast through all the years,” Hester said.

Alcoa Kiwanis is known for its annual pancake breakfast where hundreds are served in a fairly systematic fashion, to say the least. Paxton recalled the early days of cooking for the community.

“Our first pancake system was at Alcoa First Methodist,” he said. “We cooked the pancakes on a stove in their kitchen, which had four burners.” At some point, Alcoa ingenuity apparently kicked in and an aluminum plate was fashioned to fit over the four burners and served as a full griddle.

Pancakes haven’t been the only fundraising ventures, Paxton said. The club has held video auctions, sold fire extinguishers and even brooms. Club members would ride down the road with brooms sticking out of car windows. The longtime member related one broom-selling visit where a man answered the door and a woman could be seen in the background. It was an easy sell, Paxton said. “I need a broom,” the man said. “That’s my mother-in-law and she needs a new one to ride on.”

The service, humor and somewhat self-deprecating attitude of club members — the single clap given to recognize a fellow club speaker or achievement — makes me feel quite at home, as does the club’s mission: “Serving Children of Blount County and the world … one child at a time.”

And so many who have served the club and the community for so long provide an example of humility in service, as was evidenced by Bill Proffitt, who on Monday was presented with the George F. Hixson Fellowship award. In announcing the award, Bruce Watt noted that Proffitt has not only been a longtime member of Alcoa Kiwanis, but also has a history of civic involvement.

“Talk about being shocked,” Proffitt said following the presentation. “I was looking around to see who would’ve deserved such an honor.”

And with that, I’ll give a “CLAP!”