The List: Lessons learned from Carson King situation; Advice from an Old Farmer

First of all, thank you to those who remember that not all journalists can be lumped in with Aaron Calvin, former reporter for the Des Moines Register.

I’m sure we’ve all heard the story by now, but Carson King is being called an Iowa hero, for good reason, for his sign on College GameDay and the result of it. He asked for “beer money” on the sign. Turns out, he received lots of donations, and he, an Iowa State fan, has decided to donate all of his earnings to the Stead Family Children’s Hospital at the University of Iowa. That’s the hospital that football fans wave to at the end of the first quarter of all games at Kinnick Stadium.

In the process of all of this, Calvin wrote an article that uncovered dirt on King by revealing racist tweets King had put out when he was 16 years old, or seven years ago.

All of this created quite a little bit of a stir, mostly with people who were angered that the newspaper would report such a thing that they felt had no bearing on the overall story.

I’ll just share my take.

When I write a story — any story, no matter the type or subject matter — what it comes down to is that I try and ask those three questions your mom may have taught you to ask when you were a kid before you opened your mouth: Is it kind? Is it true? Is it necessary?

Now, I’ll concede that the first one doesn’t apply as much. We have to be responsible and report the truth, no matter what happens. That isn’t always sunshine and roses. The second and third questions, however, do apply.

My personal take has always been that I have a responsibility to report the truth but I will never knowingly and unnecessarily rial up the public through what I write. That goes back to whether something’s necessary or not.

As a side note, Calvin was actually held accountable for his own social media habits as he was found guilty of violating his company’s social media code of conduct and was let go.

I don’t at all want to excuse what was tweeted, but I’m not proud of everything I’ve posted online either. We all grow, so let’s forgive and move on, I suppose.

All this leads me to consider really carefully what I’m letting out on social media. I have both Facebook and Twitter. We’re living in a time today where we’ve almost got an alter-ego by what we post on social media. It’s like the Brad Paisley song that says we’re so much better looking online. I try — try being the key word — to make sure I’m the same person online and in person and that nothing I post will come back and bite me later.

But lastly, with all this behind us, can’t we just applaud for a minute the work King is doing? Isn’t it amazing the power that one human has to help others if they want to?

King — an Iowa State fan helping Hawkeyes, you could say — came out Tuesday with a statement saying the last few weeks, since he appeared on College GameDay, have been a “whirlwind.” He expressed his gratitude to the many who have donated to the hospital.

King gave a two-word message of encouragement to the children who will be benefited by the large donation he’s facilitated: “keep fighting.”

I think that’s a message we can all take to heart, right?

Homecoming

Homecoming was a fun week, wasn’t it? The parade was great, the pep rally, too, and the football team gave a great fight they can’t be ashamed of. There were lots of fun activities to be enjoyed by students and the community alike. Great job to all involved.

Now, it’s Orient-Macksburg’s turn. If you have a chance, get out and enjoy O-M’s coronation, which is Saturday night at 7 p.m. in the school’s gym.

The List

To go back to my opening thoughts, we’re ironically going to go into the vault of my social media posts for this week’s list. This is “Advice from an Old Farmer.” So, here’s the list:

1. Forgive your enemies, it messes up their heads.

2. The best sermons are lived, not preached.

3. Silence is sometimes the best answer.

4. Don’t judge folks by their relatives.

5. If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin.’

6. Lettin’ the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin’ it back in.

Thought for the week: “Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.” - Jimmy Valvano