I’ve shot hundreds of fireworks. This image is one of my favorite and demonstrates my ability to use a camera’s advanced settings to capture the shot I intend.
Rockets’ red glare
All posts by lesbowen
Weekly paper changes state policy
Few stories excite me more than document-driven stories stemming from public records requests. Combine that with an angle of advocacy journalism favoring transparency in government and it’s even better. One such instance happened in the spring of 2011, when I exposed and successfully saw the change of a policy in the New York State Comptroller’s Office that forced local governments to violate state law. It took almost three months and close to 3,000 words in print, but transparency prevailed.
This series of stories contains several articles, each on its own page on this site. Please use the navigation controls below.
Speaking out: Way-Co students protest staffing cuts
I received a call from a student participating in a sit-in at a local school, protesting the budget cuts and forced layoffs in their school district. I arrived shortly before the group disbanded. I was the only media official to cover the protest.
Close to 200 high school students gathered at the Wayland-Cohocton field house at 8 a.m. Friday to send a message to local and state education officials.
Senior Eric Martell and a handful of his peers organized the sit-in to specifically protest the elimination of two positions in the high school and more broadly the cuts in education funding across the state. Continue reading Speaking out: Way-Co students protest staffing cuts
Newspaper redesign
Just a few weeks after my arrival as editor of the Genesee Country Express, we determined the newspaper needed a redesign and I worked collaboratively with a team from our office, assisted by a corporate task force. We accomplished the goal of transforming an outdated, cluttered design to a modern, clean look. I showcased the transition and what follows is my weekly column, introducing the new look to our readers.
The 7 forbidden words
By Les Bowen for Genesee Country Express | Dec. 9, 2010 | Original sourceA sign posted above my office desk reads as follows: “‘Because we’ve always done it that way’ are the seven last words of any organization.”
Given the state of traditional media as a whole and newspapers in particular, newspapers must be willing to adapt if we intend to survive in the 21st century. So in the three months since I took over as editor of the Genesee Country Express, we’ve made a lot of changes. This week’s edition marks the most dramatic. Continue reading Newspaper redesign
Starting at age 11 in the newspaper industry
By Les Bowen for Genesee Country Express | Oct. 7, 2010 | Original sourceThis is another one of my weekly musings. Here, I share with my readers how I started in newspapers as an 11-year-old carrier.
It’s only been six years since I took my first job as a news reporter, but my career in the newspaper industry goes back much further.
I grew up in an average middle class family in suburbia. My dad was employed at a Salt Lake City hotel and when after my siblings were all in school, my mom took a job as a school lunch cook. Continue reading Starting at age 11 in the newspaper industry