Lakewood Informer

Resident generated news about Lakewood, Colorado

Lakewood Informer

Resident generated news about Lakewood, Colorado

Misinformation

Residents Accused of Spreading “Misinformation”

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on Posted in Entrenched Bureaucracy, Sustainability, Transparency, Word GamesTagged , , , , ,

Word games and a lack of trust have led city staff to accuse residents of “misinformation.” This time, the issue involves the plans to eliminate or reduce physical printed editions of the Lakewood newspaper, Looking@Lakewood. The plans for this switch are still being formed and testing is currently underway — starting with the July edition, which is digital only. Although Lakewood says this is only a test, the city will only commit to one future, printed edition, which substantiates concerns for a permanent elimination. Full elimination may only be conjecture, but according to a response from Lakewood, some city staff believes that mistake is purposeful “misinformation.” This situation is a good example of the word games Lakewood plays and demonstrates the reason that residents continually struggle to make sense of changing policy.

The May edition of Looking@Lakewood (below) announced that the July edition would be digital only.

Coming in July: A digital-only edition of Looking@Lakewood For the first time, Looking@ Lakewood will be available exclusively online for the July edition. While digital versions have always been available on the city’s website, we’re excited to try a fully digital delivery to help the city reduce paper waste and become a little more “green.” Looking@Lakewood is the city’s printed newsletter that has been mailed to all addresses in the city several times a year for more than 30 years. We want to test having one digital-only version this year to see what you think about it, and we’ll have a short poll in July for you to take, so stay tuned. The digital version in July will be available on the city’s website at Lakewood.org. You will be able to read it as an accessible PDF document by scrolling down through the newsletter or as a fullscreen flip version that allows you to turn the pages as if it were a printed document. Sign up now to receive an alert for when the July edition is available at Lakewood.org/JulyEdition.

When asked about future plans for printed editions, the city responded that the October election edition will be printed and distributed to everyone. This edition is important not only to voters, but to the City Council members campaigning. However, the city response shows no commitment to future printed editions. Rather, they reiterate the cost and sustainability issues the city is concerned about.

The plan for Looking@Lakewood remains that there will be editions mailed to all addresses in the city, which occurred with the January, March, and May editions this year. The October edition that will include the voters guide for the City Council elections will also be mailed. There is no current plan to fully stop mailing Looking@Lakewood. Because the average edition of Looking@Lakewood requires more than 3 tons of paper, not to mention the fuel required to transport and distribute 94,000 copies, and the expense of more than $25,000 for each edition, we have opted to have one edition this year be only available digitally. That is the July edition that will be published later this month on Lakewood.org. Please sign up to be notified of when the July digital edition is available online at Lakewood.org/JulyEdition. Any information you've seen or shared that Looking@Lakewood is going completely digital and won't be mailed ever again is misinformation. We do understand that some resident s prefer to receive a physical copy in the mail every time, but we are simply working to balance costs, sustainability and transparency. For even more timely news and information, sign up to receive the city’s weekly electronic newsletter, the Friday Report, which provides summaries of the City Council meetings, at Lakewood.org/Newsletters.

As the response shows, not even Lakewood can say that printed editions will stay; they can only say they “understand that some residents prefer” a physical copy. They have also said there is no CURRENT plan to FULLY stop mailing. Both of those statements are political word games that make no commitments.

Given that evidence, it is easy to see why some residents may mistakenly believe Lakewood has already decided to stop printing completely. Sharing that belief is not “misinformation” but rather “speculation” or, at worst, an honest error. It may also be based on actual experience dealing with Lakewood because historically, the first step Lakewood takes when making a change has been to form a tentative plan, then take a resident survey, and very often to then proceed with the original plan.

As long as a printed version is possible in the future, the city can rightly say “Any information you’ve seen or shared that Looking@Lakewood is going completely digital and won’t be mailed ever again is misinformation,” (bold added).

Meanwhile, if you are interested in receiving news from the city, you should sign up for the electronic version because, for good or bad, you may not receive a printed version. Resident input is still being taken through the signup below.

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