By James Lomuscio
The bottom line and the public good was the prevailing theme at tonight’s Westport-Weston Chamber of Commerce (WWCC) First Citizen Awards gala that drew 100 to the Westport Inn.
Ton Appleby, veteran news director of News-12 Connecticut, lamented the rise of social media as the primary source of news for Americans at tonight’s dinner. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Helen Klisser During for WestportNow.com
Honorees were Earthplace Executive Director Tony McDowell and WestportNow editor and publisher Gordon Joseloff, plus four young entrepreneurs from Staples High School and Weston High School.
WWCC Executive Director Matthew Mandell and WWCC Chairman Jonathan Baron hosted the event where keynote speaker Tom Appleby, veteran News-12 Connecticut news director, set the tone for the evening.
Appleby stressed his adherence to time-honored journalistic principles in an era of technological change and competition that has not only compromised journalistic ethics, but relinquished them to bias, advocacy, entertainment and the bottom line.
“Social media has become the main source of news,” he said, pointing to a Pew Research Center survey showing 62 percent of the population gets their information from social media.
Conversely, only 15 percent say they still read a newspaper, in print or online.
But in an age of citizen journalism and immediate postings, Appleby underscored the need for professional gatekeepers. For example, he said that today he received a graphic video of the Orlando, Fla. mass shooting that claimed 49 lives at injured 53 at the Pulse nightclub.
Westport First Selectman Jim Marpe (l) gets together with his predecessor, Gordon Joseloff, editor and publisher of WestportNow.com, at tonight’s dinner. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Helen Klisser During for WestportNow.com
“Is it something you want to know, or is it something you need to know,” he said, still agonizing about the decision, which he did not disclose.
He also bemoaned how technology and fingertip access to research attempts to rewrite history. A case in point, he said, is when people arrested for a crime and who are later cleared, call and put pressure on media outlets to expunge any mention of the arrest, saying the past mistake hinders his or her job prospects.
“That’s rewriting history,” he said, adding that it is antithetical to the objective reporting example set by the late broadcaster Walter Cronkite.
“I was trained to be an ethical deliverer of the news,” he said.
His talk dovetailed to the honoring of Joseloff, an award-winning journalist and former first selectman of Westport.
Tony McDowell, executive director of Westport’s Earthplace, said, “This job, Earthplace, is a dream job for me,” (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Helen Klisser During for WestportNow.com
Joseloff worked with Cronkite in New York and as a foreign correspondent in London, Moscow and Tokyo for United Press International and CBS News. After leaving CBS News, he invested in the Westport Minuteman, and in 2003 founded WestportNow.com.
In presenting Joseloff with the First Citizen Award, Mandell pointed out how Joseloff’s creation exemplifies his high standards.
“As one of the nation’s first community news websites, it has often been cited as a model for hyperlocal online journalism,” Mandell said.
“Since then, WestportNow has become Westport’s only locally owned and edited news source, attracting thousands of readers daily in Westport and around the world,” he added.
Joseloff took the opportunity to thank his staff, saying his team shared in the site’s success.
“I’m deeply honored by this award,” he said. “I really set out to create a digital history of Westport.”
Mira Jeffrey-Craft, a senior at Weston High School, was among four high school seniors honored at tonight’s dinner. She posed with Jonathan Baron (l), chairman of the Westport-Weston Chamber of Commerce, and Matthew Mandell, Chamber executive director and president. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Helen Klisser During for WestportNow.com
Honoree McDowell of Earthplace also expressed passion for the job he assumed in 2013. He took the helm following a 30-year career in marketing for Champion International, International Paper and the Finnish company Stora Eso.
Environmental sustainability was a key component of McDowell’s marketing approach, Mandell said.
Mandell, who served on the Earthplace board, said that under McDowell’s leadership Earthplace turned a corner exacerbated by the recession, seeing a 36 percent jump in revenues, greater attendance and growing programs for children and adults.
“This job, Earthplace, is a dream job for me,” McDowell said. “It’s also a team effort; I have a wonderful board. I have been commuting for 30 years out of Westport, and now I can say I’m finally home.”
The WWCC’s young entrepreneurs honored—Staples seniors Haley Burns and Ben Goldstein and Weston High’s Mira Jeffrey-Craft and Lucan Lee-Tyson—also exemplified business strategies guided by a social conscience.
A large crowd attended tonight’s Westport-Weston Chamber of Commerce First Citizen Award Gala at the Westport Inn. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Helen Klisser During for WestportNow.com
Haley is the founder of Gown Around, a consignment prom dress business run in collaboration with the shop Dress Code. She started the business to help high school girls who could not afford high-priced gowns.
Ben is the creator of Choice Water, a bottled water company that directs a portion of its sales to charities, including Autism Speaks and Child Advocates of Southwest Connecticut. His product, all natural spring water from the Catskill Mountains, is now in eight stores including Garelick and Herbs, Oscar’s Deli and Gold’s Deli.
Mira, an adoptee from China, started the Golden Moon Foundation, which raises money to help Chinese orphanages train older children with disabilities, so they can develop job skills.
Since freshman year, Lucas has been creating business products including eBooks and online courses related to web design, copywriting and marketing. According to Mandell, gross profits from Lucas’ ventures have been more than $20,000.
