desperately need more people with skills. and we're working hand in hand with them to train people so we have more iowans with those jobs. those are good careers. and we want to have more of them in iowa. >> senator hatch, 45 seconds. >> thank you. we're talking about the possibility over the next four to six years of an economic opportunity explosion in jobs. but we don't do it if we're going to put all of our eggs in the basket of large corporations and large projects. then you will have an inability to attract the workers to do the job in the construction. what we're going to focus on is on small business. on small business, i want to vilsacksoutheast iowa's return to tom vilsack's southeast iowa's vision, when tom brought in seamens and anheuser-busch, when he widened highway 34 and he

created and developed the avenue of the saints. that's what's going to create the opportunities in southeast iowa and all over the state, by our ability to focus on developing job opportunities for small businesses in this state. >> let's move now on to the topic of minimum wage. danielle has a question for senator hatch. >> senator hatch, in your campaign, you talk about growing small businesses and also increasing the minimum wage. now, many of the small business owners we've heard from say they're worried about how an increase in the minimum wage would affect their business. how can you be in favor of both? >> well, you know, good question. [laughter] but you're assuming that all small businesses pay below the minimum wage, which is wrong. right now, there are 216,000 iowans that get less than the $10.10 that we are proposing. that's not a high wage. that allows an individual working 40 hours a week, works by the rules, works hard, works every day, to get just above the

level of poverty. no iowan should be able to work 40 hours and not get the wages necessary to lift their lives above the level of poverty. that's my value. and that's what i believe in so much that we have had no problem recommending that wage of a minimum wage. and it would lift 216,000 iowans, possibly 20% of them, off of general assistance. small businesses are not the type of businesses that pay cheap. small businesses, like my wife and i, pay very well. and they're all over the state. we can't be afraid of that kind of wage. we know that from other types of proposals and when we raised the minimum wage before, and which the governor signed, there was no outcry from the small businesses that they were losing jobs and losing opportunities. just the opposite. people got that money.

they spent it in their communities. they were able to get off of general welfare. and they were no longer part of that anti-poverty program. >> governor, 45 seconds. >> well, if the minimum wage was so important, why, when the minimum wage bill was assigned to the committee that senator hatch was on, was it killed by the democrats who controlled that committee? they didn't even bring the bill out of committee. so it shouldn't -- it couldn't have been that big a priority. as governor, i reserve judgment until i see where a bill ends up. it's got to pass the house and the senate in the same form. in this case, the minimum wage bill did -- was not even approved by the democratic-controlled senate, let alone the republican house. my focus is on trying to bring good jobs to iowans and to help people get the skills so they can have a living wage and be able to support themselves and their families. we work at that every day. we're focusing on workforce

development and economic development and coordinating them. >> senator hatch, if that is the case with the blockage in the legislature, how do we fix this? >> well, you know, harry truman said republicans believe in the minimum wage -- as minimum as possible. [laughter] so when we saw that bill come through, senator courtney, your senator here, was the chair of that subcommittee. there were negotiations all year. and during the legislative session, whether or not the house would pick it up. the house said no. we went to the governor's office. could you help us, governor, dislodge the disagreements in your own caucus? no, he wouldn't. that's not leadership. they had no intention. so our majority leader said, you know what, this is a political year. we're not going to put our members in the way of being criticized in a political year and then have workers who are

trying to lift themselves out of poverty become the political ping-pong balls during an election process. we were very sensitive about that. we could have passed it without a problem. the fact is, it would have been stopped. and it was stopped by the republicans and by the governor. >> governor, we'll continue that with this from social media. cody cooper asks, i work 40-plus hours a week in construction with three kids and a wife that's a cna. and we still live paycheck to paycheck. is that right and is there any way that will change? >> that's the reason why we're bringing these jobs at the iowa fertilizer plant. it pays very well. and we're working to try to bring more of those kind of jobs in the state of iowa, companies like case and like g.e., here in burlington, they provide good wages. companies like cargill and c.j., which we brought to the fort dodge area. biosciences, iowa home-grown businesses have all

been expanding while i've been governor. we're working every day to try to do that. we also want to make sure people have the skills for those jobs. that's why we started with the help of bill, the skilled iowa program, why the lieutenant governor has led the efforts for stem, science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and we're working with every high school in the state and community colleges to train people, because the jobs of the future require knowledge in science, technology, engineering, and math, and we want to make sure the workforce of the future in iowa has those skills. i'm going to continue to work on that every day. i have recently proposed a center for human capital enrichment, which would coordinate what we're doing in economic development with our workforce development so that we have the workforce with the skills for those jobs that can raise their incomes and better provide for their families and

for the economic well-being of our state. >> senator hatch, in the 45 seconds we have remaining in our first half hour, your reaction to that. >> well, it's interesting, the governor said he would like to replicate what he's done. governor, the state doesn't have enough money to do more than just one deal with orscon's model. we cannot do that that often. and the fact is we need to be able to use what our friend said in his question as an opportunity to understand that every middle-class iowa family is working paycheck to paycheck. they're being taxed too much. and we may talk about this later. but we had proposed a middle class tax cut, where every family under $220,000 would get a tax cut, because we're working on productivity and children are the values of our proposal. that if you have to live paycheck to paycheck, the state has the responsibility to invest in our communities and our small businesses, not the big undeserving corporations like we have. >> and we will continue

regarding taxes, property taxes, accountability and leadership, much more still to come in our gubernatorial debate. we continue our conversation now with the focus on accountability and leadership. throughout the campaigns, we have seen on television and on our various airwaves, radio and newspapers as well, senator hatch has accused the branstad administration of being scandal ridden, settlements of state employees. now is our chance to discuss this matter in particular. we begin with dale who has a question for senator hatch. >> yes, senator, iowans clearly like their governor. they keep reelecting him time after time by wider and wider margins. yet instead of telling iowans how you might lead the state, your advertisements and press statements focus on the criticisms. are you saying that iowans don't get it?

>> what i'm saying is that iowans need to listen to the problems that this governor has had over the past four years. it is the most scandal ridden administration in the history of the state, and it's beginning with the development offices that he closed, that the iowa supreme court said was unconstitutional. it was then the iowa juvenile home he closed and the district court said governor, that's unconstitutional. then it was the settlements and the political changes of merit employees. 990 of them were moved over to political positions, including an administrative law judge, meaning they no longer had qualifications, but could be fired for any reason, under the direction of the governor's office.

agent who reported the governor's vehicle speeding. godfrey'sssioner position. he was asked to resign, he would not come in this commissioner godfrey who just left for and impress her and -- in present position in -- impressive position in washington, sued the governor. it should very well be looked are nowthere investigations to look at how the governor has been managing the state. >> 45 seconds? me.owans know they know i go to every county every year. they know i am honest, straightforward, transparent. i have released all my taxes. are know these attacks

false. they are not correct, and the people of iowa know that. i trust the people of iowa. i have nothing to hide. i am proud of the fact that we found out about confidentiality agreements, i signed an executive order to prevent them in the future. senator hatch and his friends killed that bill which would've made it available to the public to know what is in those records and why people have either been dismissed or not hired. honest, open, clean government company house passed that by an overwhelming bipartisan margin. the senator and his friends killed it. >> 30 seconds. >> the fact is iowans do not know what is going on, and if you look at his ads that are attacking me, you would think that i was the one under investigation in the statehouse. that is not the case. the governor's ads are false.

register"oines understood i had done nothing wrong, and they said i follow the rules. check, and they said nothing was right and his advertisements. his advertisements were all false. ladies and gentlemen and governor, i would like to ask that you take the key from one of your political heroes, ronald reagan. he said, and i would keep it to you, you stop lying about me and i will stop telling the truth about you. [laughter] [applause] an opportunity to also answer that, if you choose. the governor, a social media question, why postpone deposition if charges are true? why wouldn't you want that information out there? this lawsuit was filed about

three years ago. it has been delayed by the plaintiffs many times. we're in the midst of a campaign. i have a hairy busy schedule. agreed upon the date for the deposition. we have gotten nothing to hide. i treat everybody with respect and nudity. i do not make these outlandish attacks. everything in our ad has been documented. it is true that he killed the bill that would have reduced the fees for the kind of tax credits he gets. it is also true that he has made millions of dollars off of tax credits. he may complain about that tax credits, but he has no complaints about that. nor will he release the tax returns to show the people of iowa how much money he made and what kind of tax breaks he got. >> that's talk about this because this is a lot of information for the voters to go through. one side having one big issue, the other bring up other issues. it's about whether the politics

in play regarding some of the lawsuits against the governor right now and some of the accusations you face. i am onlyt is repeating, not accusations, but lawsuits, investigations, even the state auditor said that the governor mishandled the investigation of the secret settlements, that there were more secret settlements even after the governor and his staff said there were not. if he is going to be a leader, you need a governor who is going to be open and transparent, and it is just unacceptable that the governor stands in front of us and says he is open and transparent and he has nothing to hide when that is all they have been doing. it is hiding and not just an attack of a candidate. but the accusations come from legitimate sources of the legislature, the state auditor's office,

from the courts, and from individuals who have taken the time to sue him personally and his office. these are not the actions of a governor who can lead. >> governor, would you care for 30 seconds? >> this is iowa, not illinois. most of the former governors in illinois are in prison. i'm back in office because the people of iowa trust me. they know me. they know i'm honest. [applause] and i have been totally open and transparent. and i have a press conference every week. and i take the tough questions from the press. and anybody can file a lawsuit. but i can tell you we worked with the auditor. there was one agreement that was agreed upon before i signed the executive order and was signed later, and when it was discovered that was the case, it was changed. they eliminated the confidentiality clause in that. that has been enforced. i will continue to enforce it. but we wanted to extend it to

local governments and to the legislature, and the house passed it with an overwhelming bipartisan vote. and my opponent and his friends in the senate killed it because they don't want the public to know the truth about what's in those confidential files on employee personnel. i think the people of iowa deserve to know that because it's their tax money that's paying it. >> and as i give you 30 seconds on this, because i think this is such an important issue, i will remind our audience, please, do not applaud until the end of our debate so we can continue moving forward. senator hatch. >> gary and the audience, it's really important for us to understand that these accusations could go back and forth. it's not something we've made up. the republican governors' association and the governor have spent millions of dollars attacking me on tv. on accusations that are untrue. and he's expanding his search to find something more. i'm very proud of my company with my wife. we spent a lot of time being

successful. and the fact is we did not kill a bill that would lower the amount that developers could receive, and in actuality if you read "the des moines register" story, governor, you would see that what they said is that my developer fee was actually less than 10%, it was 9.2%, and that bill had no support with anybody else. and it wasn't dead. it wasn't taken up. this is the kind of leadership you would expect from a governor of illinois, not the governor of iowa. >> this is also a subject matter that can be intertwined with the following questions, so let's move to property taxes now. for a question for governor branstand from dale. >> sure. governor, last week, we published a story looking at property tax reform and how it looks to be working against

smaller low-growth communities. in fact, in the story, the state was accused of institutionalizing devaluation. apartment complexes, for example, have been taxed at 100% of their value. they're on their way to being taxed like residential rates. retail and industrial properties are also headed lower. somebody must pay for the cost of government. if taxes are being lowered for the upper values, the burden must fall on someone. do you know how this is going to shake out? do you know how this will work out for slow growth communities like burlington which are kind of more the rule rather than the exception? and how can you assure ordinary iowans that they won't be asked to shoulder an even bigger burden? >> well, thank you for asking that question. because this has been a problem that has faced the state of iowa for 30 years. multiple residential properties should have never been taxed as commercial. and that is being corrected. that was actually something that senate democrats wanted.

i wanted to provide permanent tax relief for commercial industrial property. and the agreement we reached between the house and senate and the governor does all of that, and by getting the state's financial house in order, putting together a five-year projected budget, and the state providing the money to replace the commercial-industrial property tax is going to provide tax relief to businesses, small and large, across the state of iowa in communities of all sizes. it will especially help slow growth communities and rural communities because the property tax credit is significant. it also benefits for economic development commercial development in our state as well. and the state is providing the money to replace the local property taxes. and i insisted that we put that money in a standing appropriation so the legislature couldn't renege on that commitment. >> senator hatch, 45 seconds.

>> the commercial-industrial property tax bill that was passed, as the governor said, with his insistence, did nothing for residential property tax receivers. and his priority was to reduce corporate taxes, not residential. if it wasn't for the senate democrats who he has so openly criticized now, that provision of allowing commercial property tax for small businesses and property-depressed areas would never have seen the light of day. and so we came to a conclusion. i think there's going to be issues in the future about how the state will be able to fund all of those property tax reliefs. but it didn't help the middle class. it did not help the residential property tax owners. and it certainly gave a boom to the largest out-of-state corporate leaders that are taking more taxes away and out of this state. >> governor, would you care to respond?

>> i would just point out that this was passed with bipartisan support in both houses of the iowa legislature. it was long overdue. our commercial property taxes were the third highest behind minnesota and illinois. we don't want to be there. this is going to make a difference. and it's going to be the most significant property tax cut in iowa history. and it's going to be phased in over a period of time. and we have the resources to do it. and i've protected it because we've cut the size and cost of government. so we can afford to fund the education, leadership bill that we passed for teacher leadership and property tax relief. >> senator hatch, you'll probably get a chance to respond to that if will you in this next question from danielle regarding property taxes. >> senator hatch, your campaign website says your proposed income tax cut for middle-income families would cost the state about an estimated $300 million a year over the next couple of

years. at a time when you say we need to fund our schools and our infrastructure needs, vital and immediate investment, why would that be the best use of that money? >> the best use of that money for middle-class iowans, you're right. it's the best use for that money. iowans who are in the middle class working every day, 40 hours, 50 hours a week, need a break. middle-class iowans need that kind of help. we are the sixth highest state with dual-income families. we are a low-wage state. and we are a state that values children. so in our property tax relief, we identified families that have dual incomes, and we gave them a $1,000 tax credit, because we value the productivity of the state. and we also valued the children.

i think governor branstand and almost every politician will say they are our greatest resource that is need protection. so right now we give them a $40 tax credit. they're valued a lot more than that. under my proposal, we give them a $500 tax credit. when you put them together it provides us with a very strong middle-class tax cut. that will help the people that need it the most. not these corporations. but people need that. to answer your question on the budget, it is a priority. the budget is a priority. someone once said you could tell me all you want about your values. but show me your budget. then i'll tell you what your values are. this would be a high priority of our administration. >> do you believe that the legislature would pass such a plan and why? >> well, i think the legislature will engage in this discussion. i can't guarantee anything. but i know that the democratic caucus in the house and senate believe very proudly and very

clearly that middle class has got to get a break. that middle class iowans can't be left out in the cold. they were under the governor's commercial property tax relief. that's the largest property tax relief in history. but it wasn't for the residential taxpayers, it was for the corporate taxpayers. i want to give residential middle america the everyday iowan the tax break they deserve, equal to the tax break he gave to the corporations of this state. >> thank you, senator. governor, your response. >> well, first of all, eliminating federal deductibility will raise taxes for some low-income people, too, because if your income varies from year to year, you won't be able to able to deduct your federal taxes. the bill that we passed, the property tax relief, isn't just to corporations. it's to all commercial and industrial property, including all the main street businesses in burlington and fort madison and all over the state of iowa. and people have gotten those tax

bills, and they can see there's real significant tax relief for individual iowans that own commercial property. i've heard from them. all over this state. and they're saying thank you. finally we got some real tax relief. and i'm proud that we did that. and that's going to continue next year, and we want it to continue in the future. if you instead going out and spend that money on another program, then we won't be able to do that, and the education money that's committed also for teacher leadership. >> 30 seconds, senator. >> being a governor means that you set priorities and that you lead. the governor just said he wanted to provide the commercial and industrial property tax relief for commercial businesses in this state. i want to provide property tax

thisor the citizens of state. my parties will always be with the middle class. we are one., which we are good at what we do. we will figure out a way, and we will be able to continue to provide the jobs that are necessary, but i want middle class i what to get the support we need. >> let's try to squeeze in another category if we can regarding gas tax, infrastructure, roads, bridges. the question is for the governor from dale. >> time is going by quickly. >> time flies when you're having fun. [laughter] money toate needs that improve its infrastructure. administrator of the department of transportation says there's not enough money to maintain the network we have. what -- coalitions have lobbied

you for some time to widen a highway, and that is going to be a project more important with truck traffic coming from the fertilizer plant. januarys told us in that there was support for an youease in the gas tax if would have indicated your support, but without such indication, nobody was prepared to propose a tax that might get vetoed. during the state fair debate, you said you were working on a transportation funding plan, but were not prepared to reveal it. why not? >> there was put together a whole series of options, and i have been discussing this for the last several months how we could go to a hybrid system that we could replace the gas tax with an excise tax on fuel, like you have with the sales tax. and also increased fees for heavier loads that go across the

state of iowa. i would also compliment paul trobini when we had that flood in 2011 on the missouri river, he was able to put together a strategy to rebuild all of those roads even though we only had 60 days to do it. we rebuilt all those roads and got the federal funds reimbursement to pay for all of that. he also -- we've had the two biggest road building years in history the last two years. because he's reduced administrative costs by $50 million. i'm continuing to work with him. i intend to work with a bipartisan group of legislators as we did the last time we addressed this issue back in 1988. and we got a majority of both house and senate republicans and democrats to agree to do this. and i will lead, but i want to make sure that we have a majority of both parties, both caucuses, supporting it. >> senator, if you can, for time constraints, 30 seconds, please. >> you can't lead with legislators unless you have a proposal. i've offered a proposal for over two years.

10-cent gas tax, two cents a year for the next five years. not only is highway 61 needing a four lanes, but highway 20 up in fort dodge to sioux city. there are areas there that need four lanes. plus the bridges in this state. we are the second worst state in bridge repair in the country. we cannot have a repair of our county roads and our state roads if we don't have revenue. jackson county said they are just now reducing the tonnage of 44 bridges in jackson county. from 10 tons to three. you can get a van with children on that three-ton bridge, but you can't get emergency vehicles. you can't get ambulances. you can't get the fire trucks. you can't get the farm implements, the combines and the trucks that need to pass and to provide commerce for our farmers. this is a crisis.

and for the governor not to recognize it, to have a cash force that he doesn't listen to and waiting for the special interests to say you can do it now is not the leadership we want. we need a leader to take the lead. >> it is time for us now to get to our closing statements. the order is determined by the coin flip. senator hatch, you are first. >> thank you. gary, i thank you very much and for kwqc to be a sponsor, the chamber of commerce, and "the hawkeye." i commend the two panelists and yourselves for providing this for this opportunity. and also i want to acknowledge my wife, sonya roberts, and my running mate, monica vernon, in the audience. and if i could give a quick shoutout to my daughter in anchorage, alaska, who's an nbc affiliate reporter and weekend anchor. so for danielle, i'm as proud of her as i'm sure your parents are of you. but being governor means that we

have to lead our state into a new area of economic explosion. i want to return iowa to the tom vilsack iowa where we focused not only on agriculture insurance, but we diversified this economy to finance information technology and advanced manufacturing. in iowa when we are not picking winners and losers but create regional authorities we can rely on local leaders to match the priorities of our local and our county leaders. to do this, we need to reorganize an economic development effort into four regions, equal to the congressional districts, establish regional boards of directors, and provide leadership, locally. and i will announce tonight that my running mate, monica vernon, will take the lead. being a city council person, she

knows how to bring people together. she's done that. and she's a leader in the community. local business leaders know what they need, and we'll rely on their advice. we need a community of economic development proposal, not a top down. we need local people picking what they want to invest in, not winners and losers from a board in des moines. thank you very much. >> governor branstad. >> first of all, i want to thank the greater burlington partnership, kwqc, "burlington hawkeye," and all of you in the audience for being here and for sponsoring this. it's great to have this debate at the first territorial capital of iowa in burlington. i'm really proud to be here. my mother was born here. i'm proud to have my wife and a lot of members of my family, my stepmother here. and i also want to say i love this state. i grew up on a farm. i learned to work hard at a very early age. and i worked every day, the lieutenant governor kim reynolds and i go all over this state. we go to every county every year. we work hard every day to bring

more good jobs to iowa to make iowa the best in the nation in terms of education, to reduce the tax and regulatory burden. we've reduced the size of government by over 1,400 and we're not done yet. we're focused on things like college affordability and reducing student debt. two years, no increase in resident state tuition. and we're going to do more. to reduce that and make college more affordable, we've proposed a center for human capital enrichment. and a goal to connect every acre so that we have high speed internet everywhere in iowa. i would appreciate having your vote of confidence, your support, and the opportunity to work hard for you for the next four years. i love iowa. and i'm proud to have the opportunity to serve you. and i would appreciate your vote. thank you very much. >> gentlemen, thank you. [applause]

the conversation continues at your next debate. but that is all the time we have for tonight. we would like to thank our candidates, senator jack hatch and governor terry branstad. let's give them a round of applause. [applause] watch us at kwqc.com and on hawkeye.com. thank you for watching tonight. c-span campaign 2014 debate coverage continues tonight at 7:30 eastern. nebraskanight at 9:00, .econd congressional debate and next sunday, the iowa u.s. senate debate between candidates. 2014, more than

100 debates for the control of congress. >> our live coverage continues this afternoon at 4:00 eastern participates in a discussion on the economic effects of climate change. that event taking place on the eve of a u.n. climate change debate in new york. then bob schieffer combats a discussion on combating isis. 6:30, a new book on private military and security companies. tonight, wade baker on the recent eight it preaches at home depot, target, and jpmorgan chase. >> truly all of the above. we have worked with law enforcement agencies who have

drag people out of their basements, literally. inhave also participated fairly large-scale arrests of multiple individuals that are very highly connected together, very well organized. they have individual specialities and rules. someone writes militia software. others know how to wash the money, just like organize organized crime. then others are working on behalf of the government, have offices, pictures of it, recon photos, and they go to that building. that is their job, to hack into companies and steel information on behalf of the government. i have seen photos of eastern anopean towns that were just insane number of people drive lamborghinis and things like this, and a lot of that is the

spam, the fake pharmaceuticals, the financial fraud and just tax e fraud,d medicar staggering amounts of money that are at some point along that chain traced back to data that was stolen, stored at a corporation or government. >> tonight at 8:00 eastern on c-span2. activistss of protesting what they said is wall street's role in the climate crisis have gathered in manhattan's financial district, carrying signs, sitting out on broadway, as workers and tourists look on. that is reporting on more than 300,000 joining the march on sunday. this comes ahead of obama's appearance tomorrow at the u.n. climate change summit. rick green who spoke to

iowa state university students in about iowa's role national politics. he also answered student questions about journalism ethics, social media, and the job market. >> i'm here to introduce rick green. rick green is the president and publisher of the register company which is of course the powerhouse news organization here in iowa. i can say it is a powerhouse because it's one of our competitors of the "sioux city journal." he was promoted from editor last year and now oversees pubblecages in sioux falls and iowa city. before that he was editor of "the desert sun" in palm

springs, california, and editor of "the cincinnati enquirer." rick is an ohio native and his first job was for the cochocton where he started as a high school sophomore. please join me in welcoming rick green. >> congratulations. >> thank you very much. >> appreciate the welcome. well, good evening. hoy are you? how are you? am i ok here? good. boy, it's nice to see everybody. how is everybody tonight? i got to tell you how flattered and humbled i am, incredibly kind, chris. thank you for breaking away from that 2-week-old baby. i'm sure your wife is pleasant and happy that you're here tonight. [laughter] i specifically want to thank you in honor of your dead husband just to thank you so much for establishing this remarkable program and the legacy that you leave and getting a chance to be here and

be part of this great program. journalism is so important. it's more than just today and more than tomorrow, but for generations and programs like this make it so possible so thank you so very much for a very successful program. i wish my father back in east central ohio could be here tonight. my dad was never a big fan of the whole journalism thing. when i was a kid, he advised me. he said i want you to be an engineer. want you to be a lawyer. get in the family coal mining business even. i just don't want you to be a journalist. i finally said to him between my junior and senior year, dad, i kind of decided where i want to go to school and what i want to be. i want to be a reporter. ultimately, i want to be an editor and maybe even some day a publisher. my dad was a little disapproving, and he said to me, didn't offer too many words of wisdom but he offered this one that stuck with me today.

he said, rick -- he called me ricky. there is no sin in being poor. it just comes mighty unhandy when you're hungry. my father didn't see the future in newspapers but i hope by tonight's -- the end of tonight my dad sees what i'm going to share with you that there is indeed a future in newspapers here. just a quick opening observation and then a confession of sorts. i've never fancied myself a lecturer. i am much more comfortable with a good conversation, exchange of questions, and great dialogue. i'm going to share a few remarks and observations about this industry of ours and tackle your questions afterward or until mickey turns out the light. i'm a pretty spontaneous communicator. i'm not big on notes. i certainly am not big on elaborate, multimedia presentations. i just like to have a really good conversation. but especially at 8:00 on a tuesday night.

my first mentor in high school was a sports editor of my hometown newspaper. incredibly comfortable in front of crowds. he just always said, rick, just speak from the heart. you might stumble a little bit, but do it with unrehearsed conviction and honest passion. two things happened. first came when mickey gave me a call and said a tremendous opportunity here and honor for us, we want you to be a chamberlain lecturer and present your thought about this industry and where we're going. this is a place i need to tell you that i have great passion and respect for. when i first got in town, this was one of the first institutions i developed a relationship with. they're treasured relationships. i'm very grateful for being here. the second, however, came in an e-mail last week. this is when i really started getting a little worried. michael moraine, "the register's" arts and entertainment reporter, someone who appears often here in the

lecture program. his e-mail was very simple. he said, uh-oh, rick. you better step up your game next tuesday. students are getting extra credit. so, frank, god bless you. just so you know i scribbled down a few notes tonight. i spent a lot of time in hamilton hall and have an appreciation and deep respect for the students of this respected school and program, particularly the staff of the "iowa state daily." mickey , you kind of stole my thunder here. also getting a chance to work with mark and your great staff and laura and everybody who has been part of this, i have great respect and tremendous, tremendous passion for where it is that you're going. i know several of the greenly students are here tonight for extra credit and a chance to put me on the grill. there was a lukewarm applause. if you're in the greenly program and studying this great craft will you please stand and be recognized and let me salute you with a big round of applause from everybody, please?

great. now i need you to sit down and take notes. we're talking about your future. all right? the call came just before lunch on my first day on the job. january, 2011. i think i was in hour six, maybe hour seven, as editor of the "des moines register. just 72 hours before, i had piled out of my prius overloaded with clothes and boxes and books and had driven from palm springs, california, across the rockies to colorado, nebraska, and iowa, for my new home. 60-degree difference between palm springs and des moines at that time, but an entirely different world as well. my head was spinning in a very positive way. i felt sort of like that rookie pitcher who is brought up from triple-a to pitch in the big leagues. a chance, you know, walking

around looking at the staff and the placards. i was leading iowa's largest newsroom. the place, the trumpets on page one every day, the words that are the battle cry of our newsroom. "we deliver the news iowa depends on." dream job. never been to des moines. had driven through iowa one time. first time i had been to des moines was the weekend i started. it was how much i wanted to be part of this rock star staff that i had, was inheriting, but also be in a state that treasures newspapers. where is chris? where did you go? you be that passion which the state has for newspapers. getting back to that call that i took, i don't recall her name, and i regret that i probably didn't ask it and certainly don't but i vividly recall she was from a little town in iowa about an hour south of des moines called new virginia, iowa.

is anybody from new virginia, iowa, warren county? anybody know where that is? i see a hand. are you from there? ten minutes south. about 500 households, just a relatively small speck on the map, right? yep, but it's home. it's home. mr. green, she said, very kind, very kind voice, welcome to iowa. with her whole iowa nice charm in full throttle, we all know about this iowa nice concept. she offered a few tips to the new guy from california who landed in iowa just a few days before. she proceeded to tell me where to shop for groceries. [laughter] i prefer meat at fairway, she said. when you go to find the best pork tender loin sandwich, it's in smitty's, south side of des moines, and you need to know, rick, there is extreme passion for the political process in this state. you know this is the state that helps prepare candidates for

the white house, she said. we had a good exchange, good conversation. then she turned serious and her voice changed. still had the iowa nice. but i can still hear it in my mind and i really kind of channel her whenever mickey gave me this call about the chance to be here tonight, margie. rick, i've grown up with "the register," and i can't imagine my day starting without it. but i see the headlines. i've read about cutbacks. i know this is a time of great challenge in your business. and this woman, who i, unfortunately, had never gotten a chance to reconnect with, she didn't leave her number or name, didn't have an e-mail or anything. i just called her new virginia all these years in my mind when i share the story with people. she said to me in one pivotal question, is there a future for "the register?" it was and remains an important

question in the state that cherishes its newspapers. iowa is home to what, more than 300 newspapers? powerful. one of the highest per capita in the entire country which is for a newspaper guy like me, grew up just reading every single newspaper he could get his hands on and knew this is what he wanted to be when he was in about seventh grade to come to iowa where the tapestry of the state is defined by the quality of newspapers from sioux city to des moines to all corners of the state. i was so ecstatic about being here. 99 counties, weeklies, and dailies that for years have been the essential voice of our communities. the newspapers captured some of our state's greatest moments of hope, unfortunately some tragedy, controversies. celebrations. of crooked politicians and hometown heroes who have fought our wars, defended our most vulnerable residents. leaders in our state capitol who went off to bigger things in washington, d.c. these newspapers, these media sites, have helped stitch the very fabric of our communities and the idea of public engagement. in a state that cherishes its

role of ensuring good government and preparing the white house, there is not a better place to be. these newspapers have told the story of us, of iowa. but, sadly, we stand here tonight, september, 2014, under attack, right? we've all seen the headlines. we know some of the challenges there. it's easy to use the word "victims" whenever you start talking about where journalism is, newspapers in particular, where things might be going in some people's minds. words like "victims of an unforgiving economy." these are things i read in stories and conversations that i have. right? the word "victims" is used a lot. "victims of new reader habits," that might not need the morning newspaper as much as some predecessors. victims of new technology where an entire world was information is shared in smart phones and tablets. everybody sees the big announcement last week of apple, right, where the entire world is going to be on your wrist?

incredible, unbelievable ramifications for us. i would probably add something else to the whole conversation. newspapers have been the victims unfortunately of some of the leaders' own egos who for too long have resisted transformtive only survive and to flourish, but to perform its primary mission to serve its readers. too many ways of not understanding it is a new day and a new way to tell stories and operate. i am confronted every morning with the quote -- i think a friend sent it just as i was assuming reins of publisher last august. i was surprised by the opportunity. incredibly rare in this business for editors to rise through the ranks as publisher. i was an editor and i had great passion for the mission we have and the content

we produce and how it intersects. so a friend knew a little bit about my trepidation, right, a little bit of anxiety. it came from an irish playwright, a guy named george bernard shaw. i've got it taped to my computer. it is really important to kind of listen. "progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything." so think about that. it relates to the massive transformation unfolding in this industry of ours. "the register," sioux city, other newsrooms around the country, particularly in this state, newsrooms of story tellers and watch dogs. social media experts, interpreters and big data. things that five years ago, i

know i wasn't talking about in my newsroom. i know you weren't talking about it in here but you are today just like i am. somewhere between all of that and des moines, still two print editions touching readers in all kinds of ways, and our sunday paper is reaching more than 400,000 readers in this great state. it is a remarkable time to be a journalist, an unbelievable opportunity to leave an imprint. i'm proud of the things we're accomplishing. we have the seventh best reach as it relates to the combined print and digital in the entire country, and that's great. here is something else even greater. change is a mandate. if you are in this school, if you are studying this business, anything related to communications, be prepared. strap it on. change is a mandate. it's nonnegotiable. i've shared that with my staff, some folks who got their arms crossed and they want to go back to their alleged glory days and remember the way it used to be. i'm a guy who has great respect and grew up as a kid in newsrooms and back in ohio before i even went to college i remember those days, but i also know things have changed. if you hate change, i tell that

staff, stick around because you're really going to love extinction. shaw was so very right. progress is impossible without change. now, folks have asked me and it'll probably come up tonight the whole idea of print. do i see print going away any time soon? several of you asked me that before i came up tonight. no, i don't. clearly, things have changed as it relates to full access on all platforms and a multitude of ways in which we engage readers. print i'm convinced is a staple and will still be part of our portfolio of what it is that we offer. chris, you're probably battling the same things in terms of finding that device and platform that they want. will our readership shrink? continue to decline? sure, absolutely, just as i know my mobile traffic and tablet traffic and all things digitally will continue to soar. as i said, someone has to react to the fact that we're able to literally get news on our wrist.

it's not just that we can get it on our smart phone. that's not enough. now we got to get it on our wrist. yet there is this one constant in this whole sea of change, if you will. it's something that hasn't changed in all the many years i've been in newsrooms going back to when i was 14 back in ohio. to larger newsrooms in cincinnati and here in des moines, to midsized operation in southern california. i have talked to thousands of readers. new virginia is one of them. talked to other alleged experts and folks who follow this. i have learned three simple words, kind of defining what it is we have to zero in on. yesterday, today, tomorrow. three simple words. content is king. say it again. three simple words. content is king. there was a time, not that long ago, where the success of the

newspaper industry was defined exclusively with that ink-on-paper experience. that morning daily, 5:30 thump on the door step and for some folks the afternoon daily that greeted you after work. there is now a realization if we're to survive, and we will, but it requires adaptation we have to do it in a different way and be more of an all-platforms approach. how many times have we had time together with your staff talking about the fact what are you doing for your readers today? and not just in print. what are we doing throughout the entire day on all different aspects? it's just more than generating exclusive content. the content has to be essential. so a crying need right now, what i see is that there is a fancy, and we've taken our eye off the ball. the idea of the essential content is king. it comes at a time of unprecedented competition. from bloggers in their moms' basement, right, they've got an iphone and think they're a

journalist, and guess what -- they are, to media groups like politico who wants to come in and dominate the political scene. al jazeera, relative newcomer doing amazing work. even unsuspecting sites like tmz known for all the celebrity quick videos. their persistent reporting has shaken the nfl to its very core because of the video it had last week of ray rice and the elevator scene with his fiancee. there is a very, very good chance the nfl commissioner might lose his job. that's where we are today. smart phones have made everyone a journalist and it's more than dancing cat videos. i am proud, very proud despite those challenges, those changes, "the register" hasn't retreated. i am very, very proud of it. we have built a state-of-the-art video studio. we are rolling new productions

every week, next week, we are introducing a new structure to our newsroom. really important time for all of us. the thing that is so critical is that we have to think about the consumer nonstop. we can still do the high-quality journalism we are known for in the new era. we got a big kudos at the end of the political caucus cycle. amy walter, she had a blog and talked about the top five winners and losers of the iowa caucus. she said, coming in at number two was the "des moines register."

she said they proved local papers can not only survive, but thrive. they combined good old-fashioned reporting with an understanding and aptitude for the technical and digital world. when i took the reins of the publisher's job, my vision was a simple one and it continues today. we have to protect the content at all cost. if you are a student editor, if you are working for and all media site, you have to protect the content. it is the lifeblood of our success. i am just a news guy, but i know how it works. that great content we produce on all platforms generates a very engaged, passionate audience. it is that audience -- those are the eyeballs that advertisers want to align themselves with that content.

my advertising staff knows this. whereever we are, wherever our readers are, we have to find them. we have to make it easy so that their content intersects with their world. there are some in my business who have ballyhooed the idea -- let's talk about being digital first. some have defined success by the number of facebook friends they have or the number of twitter followers. i would say, yes, absolutely, and we have to own the digital space. we have got to live it, breathe it, and dominate it. it does not mean a damn thing if you do not have great, powerful, accurate, contextual journalism. content is essential to the community service we are supposed to provide.

it is our number we will not survive without the great content. great content alone cannot save the day. to me, when i reflect on the interaction in my years of experience in where things are going, five really important trends that i see unfolding that are giving me great confidence that there is a future. very quickly, five of them. number one, we are not as slow and clumsy and reluctant to embrace change as we once were. 15 years ago, there was an arrogant belief by some that this newfangled world wide web was a passing fad.

whenever the tech boom happened, even greater affirmation that this was a passing fancy. how could it ever steel profit from the out powerful morning daily? has anyone seen craigslist recently? that is where my classified advertising has gone. publishers have had to make changes in their game. we are talking in a different language in our advertising and/or marketing. we are talking about search campaigns. we are strategizing ways to help them grow their business. we are so much more than a four by 10 ad on b4. new ways to help readers grow and businesses grow. that mindset has changed. with it has come new analytics. we are watching in real time

what is unfolding for our readers. it has meant new forms of storytelling. it is a willingness to leverage the skills of nontraditional hires from never before needed areas or those that we did not understand. in march, we got some nice attention from editor and publisher the talked about 10 newsrooms around the country doing it right. i was very proud of our staff. the register has grown into an educated device. it is the idea that we have to be more customer facing than ever before. number 2 -- we are embracing the pursuit of developing new technology and the abilities to tell stories in new ways. i mentioned smartphones.

i can tell you that video is a new powerful storytelling medium and we have to deliver it. when i got there in 2011, we ended the year, we produced about 585 videos. they generated about 741,000 video views. only ended in 2013, our team has shot, produced, and posted 4778 videos. we went 582 videos to 4778 videos. 2.4 million video views. we have to be in that space. this year we are on track to produce 5000 videos.

on saturday night, we went three regional emmys. shooting video that earned a regional emmy. we are very happy about that. third thing, new partnerships and relationships. sometimes with competitors. on september 20, we will tagteam with one of the largest cbs affiliate in the country. we are tagteaming with them on a debate. we are bringing the u.s. senate candidates together and doing some things we have never done before. later this week, you will hear about a new partnership with a

high-powered national media company focused on a passion topic but everybody cares about. thinking of new ways that we have to engage. the old days are gone. we have to pursuing new ways for us to reach readers. the fourth thing, there is a newfound passion for innovation, new products that will ensure the intersection of readers lives and great content. i will give you a fantastic venture. next week, we are getting ready to roll out a five-day series focusing on a family farm in page county, iowa. it is a farm that has been in the family for generations. it is an illustrative model of family dealing with aging and climate change. new conditions with globalization, genetically modified crops.

we went out and hired a gamer, 360 degree video, we are creating a 3-d game interaction that will a company this. that is the technology we are using. new innovation, the passion. the fifth and final reason why i think the future for newspapers is bright, we remain incredibly relevant. relevance is the heart of what we do. at a time when news consumption

is soaring, more people consuming more information than ever before, newspapers becoming more and more relevant. our mission is a public service and i don't care what anybody says, nobody can do a better than the newspaper. defending the first amendment. delivering the news that truly matters. we have to resolve this issue of folks prematurely writing our obituaries. if you remember, if you have not seen this movie, 1976, great movie about broadcast journalism. one of the producers had a horrible day. he was upset and he stands in the middle the newsroom and yells, i'm mad as hell and i'm not going to take it anymore. that is how i feel.

there is a bright future and a great opportunity for us to leverage our traditional skills and convictions and defend the first amendment. we just have to do it in new ways. new structures. new strategies. a chance for us to truly a difference. i do not think anybody can do it as well as we can. i refuse to believe we have met the demise of this great industry. i am not blind, though. i don't have a rearview mirror in my office. i don't try to go back and rekindle the days of the way it used to be. i cannot live my life and run an operation. i know we have lost a lot of friends in this business.

i don't romanticize what it is we're up against. i miss my friends, i do. it has been a difficult journey. progress is not easy. reinvention comes with a heavy toll. i think of my good friends no longer in this business or they have reinvented themselves. readers want results. readers want results. the technology, the demands of those facets of life, they have to change. we have to change. and we will. i promise you that. we will. i was driving home late last week. i think it was the same day the

president had his news conference and his announcement of what was going on in the middle east. i listened to npr. there was this fascinating interview with a guy named david greenway. he is one of the most noted foreign correspondents of this country. he had an unbelievable access to the battle scene and talking to the soldiers and painted a portrait that had been often ignored. first tv war we had seen. greenway wrote a book that just came out called "foreign correspondent" and i've not yet read it. i listen to him on npr.

greenway is a fantastic journalist. he was lamenting the newspaper injury and the glory days -- industry and the glory days and what it used to be. the old cranky editors. his definition, i believe. i am driving home and i'm thinking about tonight. man, this guy is depressing the hell out of me and i have to tell everybody there is a bright future for newspapers. as i was listening to this, the host of the npr show said, david, it has been a pleasure. i love your story. looking forward to talking about the book. we can continue this conversation online. we will talk a little bit more about it. or you could follow us on facebook. here are the ways in which you

can comment on the story. it hit me. this is it. i am hearing the wringing of hands and the npr host says, conversation will continue on a different platform. it crystallized for me, that is what is unfolding. there is still a place, there will be a long-standing place for the print edition. we have to broaden the conversation. it is going to be something as complex as a watch on your wrist or on facebook or on twitter. the technology we cannot even envision yet. we have to be prepared for it. i'm convinced that newspapers are the right place to get it done. it is easy for journalists -- i

started when i was 14 back home. we are not good with math, but i will let you figure out the age. it is easy for long-time journalists to turn into a cynic. i am not. i am excited. i am optimistic about the future. i want to be the guy leading the change. i don't have a place -- i have so many friends and so many colleagues and mentors. they recognized the role that we play, the integral part of the fabric of america that newspapers play. you want to tell stories, and you want to make a difference.

come talk to me. i will find you a job. we will figure out how to get you into this great fraternity. i don't have any regrets about where things are heading in the excitement of the future of it. i don't have regrets about my career. i am still a young guy. i go back to that one regret to a person i did not get a chance to get her name. i wish she could be here tonight. i think about -- with apologies to the new york sun, yes, new virginia, there is a future for

newspapers. it is a bright one. thank you for your time. [applause] i feel like paul rhoads with two seconds left on the clock. i am understanding that ethics students are getting extra credit for putting me on the grill. fire away. somebody break the ice. [inaudible] grab a microphone. how are you? >> first question. >> what is your name? >> nick.

>> what do you want to do? >> not a clue. [laughter] i enjoy shooting a little bit of photography. there has been talk about where that fits into the newsroom. chicago newsrooms were cutting their staffers and shooting with iphones. what is your opinion on that? a lot of people want videographers. >> i have been blessed working with unbelievable photographers who have made this incredible adjustment in their skill set

and expertise. they tell stories on a wide variety of platforms. they can give you a 20-minute documentary. there are stories to be told. just as reporters have had to learn new skills, photographers, videographers, they have adjusted their skills. there is a place for the traditional photography. i am seeing the fusion of those skills. if you're passionate about telling stories and being able to convey emotion and capture the heart beat of the story, there is a place for you. good luck. >> he stole the thunder of my question. we're all here to get better at

journalism and to learn what we can do with it and we are all looking for jobs. what does the job market look like to you? what can we be doing now to prepare for that? >> i am often on university campuses, different laces at different times. it has been interesting to hear students. they will come in, looking great, rick, i am ready to work for the des moines register. name the publication. that is great. why are you ready to work for me? >> i know social media. i know how to facebook. i have 575 followers on twitter. i can shoot video and edit and post it and i can take photos and build galleries.

i will tell them, that's great. how do you develop sources that will tell you things they are not supposed to tell you? how will you know which public records to go track down in an old dusty basement of a government building? how will you know the heartbeat of your community? they will look at me and her face will get white and say, but i can facebook and i can tweet. content is king. you've got to know how to report. you have to know how to write. you have to understand relationships. find the means by which you can tell the story. we will distribute on every single platform. i do not know about the job market long-term as it relates to those folks who do not have the ability to know how to find stories.

everybody thinks the bright shiny object is the silver bullet. it is not. it comes down to the ability to find great content. i believe that today and i believe that 35 years ago and i will believe it until the day i retire. >> awesome, thank you. >> my question for you would be, what has been the number one principle that you abide by throughout your career? >> as it relates to ethics? i have a great mentor. someone who i would walk on fire for. do the right thing. the heart of it is great ethics.

doing meaningful work that makes a difference, but you do it in a fair way and a balanced way, a non-opinionated way. the whole line of commentary and reporting and blame it on msnbc, fox, whoever you want. we have to be incredibly thoughtful about doing the right thing for our readers. ethics, my north star. you can't be a credible journalist and know there are flaws in your newsroom. it starts with having a good strong foundation in ethics. >> i am not hitting extra credit

for this -- getting extra credit for this. i want you to speak on the idea of you've seen the contraction in the newsrooms. you are very optimistic on the newspapers themselves. i would like to hear you speak about optimistic on the role of the journalist. especially the idea of the lost instructional knowledge, entire beats being sacrificed. >> the toughest part of the gig. it is a time where if we could look at every fte in a newsroom, you want to hold onto them as much as you can. unfortunately, i have had to oversee some tough decisions related to retractions. so many industries have had to look closely at how they are doing.

i have to believe that we will still find her way without some of that institutional knowledge. we are hiring kids coming out of college. the skill sets are so incredibly high and contributions are so great. the toughest thing in the entire world is to tell somebody that we have gone a different direction. sometimes it is not in your control. you continue to be a great and hard-working person. we have had to make some tough

decisions. that is a painful conversation. you will have to work even harder. nothing stays the same other than that commitment to strong quality and making a difference. it is the toughest part of the job right now, i won't lie to you. >> i wanted to thank you for coming to iowa state. >> what is your name? >> my name is tyree. like any good 20-year-old, i want to be a bureaucrat when i grow up. [laughter] how much do you think the register's relevance depended on iowa having pretty notable politicians? do you think the relevance extends to -- can you talk about

the relevance holistically of the register and politics? >> 1976 was the caucus that really put iowa on the map. unknown governor from georgia came traipsing through the great state of iowa. that really catapulted jimmy carter, who became president. politics is part of the dna of the des moines register. are we relevant without hillary clinton coming here to flirt about her plans for 2016?

yes, absolutely. are politics the only thing we write about? not at all. i will take it further about the relevancy. chris and i have had this conversation. i know you feel the same way. now i'm getting all fired up. there is an undeniable wake between the strong coverage of the political process and how it aligns with how iowans interact on that level. they take their role so seriously. candidates spend months and months on end. they go traipsing across the state. talking about the relevancy

related to the candidates. we covered that. critically important. talk about credit and the republican website. he is a great journalist. he has a very specific viewpoint. i would like to think that i'm also speaking to an audience, but i'm doing it in a way that does not show my republican or democratic leanings. you can watch the president have a statement about what will unfold in the middle east related to isil. you have your clicker. there is msnbc's take. here is fox's take on that speech. it is the same address, same president, totally different take. i am seeing the same thing unfold in the digital space. if politics picked up and left

iowa, i will still be relevant. does that help? >> i have a question for you. you can tweet 140 characters. i'm surprised you. i did not hear anything about don lampert. i did not hear anything about "the post." i am rather heartbroken. >> i spent four of the best years at ohio university.

my stint in a program, some of the best memories and best relationships. i was fortunate. i have the incredible opportunity to work for a daily newspaper when i was a high school sophomore. i am proud of that and that prepared me to go to college and prepared me for where i wanted to go. >> [inaudible] >> lightning round. >> i am from illinois. a lot of talk about how there is an oversaturation of news with social media and a lot of headlines. i wonder how this impacts newspapers or of stories need to be more specific. >> never enough news. never enough information. information is what makes this democracy so great.

does it mean that we have to work harder? absolutely. we are updating nonstop. accuracy is more important than urgency. we talked about our code of ethics and what we believe, this digital era, urgency gets you in trouble if you are reckless. i would much rather be the last guy in town reporting a story that everybody else had and i was sure i had it right that if i were first and wrong. readers remember that. it speaks to your relevancy, your credibility, and your ethics. >> i know you said earlier that you do believe the student newspaper will survive. the way that social media is skyrocketing, i am wondering how

much of an impact will have on the student newspaper. >> demographics, technology, and readers' needs. i am convinced that print is a long-standing part of the portfolio. there are plenty of readers -- we're seeing across the country, folks who still read the paper. they get to read and they see what has changed. and then they are on the smartphone. now i will have them standing there sitting in meetings

looking at their watch. who knows where it will be in another three or five years? print still speaks to a certain demographic. still speaks to folks who like that ink on paper experience. it is part of their consumption of news. my morning newspaper is going to be different than once on the website. a different type of analysis. do i see print sticking around? yes, i do. do i see print readership starting to decline? yes, i do. >> thank you. >> my question -- social media

and everyone having an iphone, everybody is a journalist. how have you seen ethical journalism change over the years? where do you think it might be going? >> the pursuit to get the story first is trumping their ethical standards in so many newsrooms. >> people at the state fair, people at walmart, do you think the ethics behind journalism -- >> let's go back to the iowa state fair. let's say you have a family from west des moines and they have an iphone. the person taking video of their

family has it all. are they a journalist or are they not a journalist? they are capturing news. it is a good question. if i am an average consumer using my smartphone and i'm taking photos of the weather and storm chasing, what is that collision? it has to come down to making sure you've got the right leadership positions, people who love the strong convictions of doing the right thing. it has caused much deeper conversations about the origins of the information, the motivation of sharing it. it is conflicted. good question. >> i am louie.

are you familiar with native advertising? i have been reading about it. it is an ethically gray area of journalism. what is your opinion on it? >> as long as it is properly labeled as advertising. it is a brand-new strategy and a new vehicle for media sites to pursue and for advertisers to express themselves. it has to be very -- recognized that this is advertising so that readers are not confused. why are they writing about it? special content created online from that advertiser. i think it is important new line of revenue.

>> my name is lisa. my question also has to do with native advertising. as journalists, when we go out into the job market, what are some things that we should keep in mind? >> as it relates to producing native advertising? or as a journalist? >> here is the reality. newspaper industry is taking it on the chin as it relates to the number of jobs in newsrooms. at the same time, there has been this explosion of alternative media sites. if you have got great skills and great passion, in terms of content is king, and you love to

tell stories, you will find a job. it might be tougher to get in certain newspapers. mark and mikey, it is a big market. a lot of different places that are nontraditional. everybody wants to talk about the demise of newspaper content. you go to so many websites, that is content that we are funneling. it is on twitter and facebook. if you have great passion for storytelling and great commitment to understand the fundamentals of writing, you will find a position. >> thank you. >> [inaudible]

>> i have another ethics question. what do you do to get everybody on the same page ethically? >> get everybody on the same page ethically? constant coaching. transparency. here is what is expected if you want to work for me. ethics is a nonnegotiable thing. michael, you know that in your classes. nonnegotiable conversations related to the ethics. if you want to be credible and relevant, you cannot play by the ethics game. you won't work for us. >> my name is nicole. i am in a research class. we have been talking about cutting the paper to three days

a week instead of five and beefing up more of the online and mobile. >> it is twofold. you will know more about how your audience is intersecting with your content. if you are not owning the digital space, you are leaving yourself wide open. it comes back to what i said earlier, content is king. a lot of media companies are giving not consideration -- giving not consideration right now. is it the same kind of marketing device for certain advertisers? those of the kinds of conversations that are unfolding. some companies using reduced service where the strategy has been to reduce days of frequency and home delivering. we are not considering that.

it is important conversation. >> when there is a story where there are two sides, how does a journalist -- what does a journalist do to persuade the reader to read both sides of the story? >> you have to make sure in your story, your representing both sides. it is so easy to be misled and to have folks on one side -- let me really tell you what is meant by hillary clinton's appearance in iowa from this viewpoint. others will say, that is not the right opinion. your job as a reporter, you report.

you let the readers decide. your story has to make sure you have both sides of the argument. often, there are more sides than just the two. >> my name is jonathan north. i want to be a photojournalist. i was wondering what kind of ethical dilemmas might come up for a photo journalist and how you deal with them. >> good question. there is this incredible device called photoshop. are you familiar with it? very judicious about how you use photoshop. there are mechanical means in which images can be altered. we have seen that in certain high-profile cases.

photographers have taken the liberty of adjusting images. i go back to what we were talking about, doing the right thing. be smart. be honest with the reader. give your reader credit. the thoughtful about how you are using the different devices. don't change the quality or characteristics of your image. >> thank you. >> am i next? >> are you here for extra credit tonight?

>> my significant years in newspapers were in cedar rapids. my question -- i am speaking about a woman who teaches here on this campus. when she sends somebody out to do an interview, conducted the interview at long distance. i would not have been allowed to do that. when i was reporter and editor, that did not exist. i was hoping you would speak about the importance of the face to face interview. >> i am old enough to know the power of relationships. when we were talking earlier about the tools you need to be a successful journalist and successful writer, being able to earn the trust of your best sources. looking at them across the table.

what motivates them. technology has changed. now you have reporters that will text sources about certain issues unfolding or certain questions. i want the story at all costs as long as it is ethical means and we are not breaking any laws and doing the right thing for our readers. in some cases, the only way to get that story is the one conventional means. let's do whatever we need to do to get the story. i have to serve my readers and i cannot cheat my readers because i find it an unorthodox way. does that help? >> [inaudible]

>> i applaud the des moines register for its persistence in fighting for openness and transparency in our government. could you talk about why the des moines register thinks it is so important to fight that battle time and time again? i am setting you up for softball question. why is that so important? >> iowa thinks it is important. they expect the government that is fair and open and accessible. is that a strong belief in the foundation of what we do? absolutely.

i have a fantastic editor. working with chris and bill and doing the right things for the taxpayers. the primary mission is this is the expectation our readers have of us. >> if that is the expectation of the people of iowa, why do we continue to have exemptions in our open records laws? why do we continue to have city councils that meet in private? why is the government not getting the message? [laughter] >> don't do it, rick. >> it is right there. they are our elected officials. there are bureaucrats but don't have the same convictions.

it is our job to bang them over the head when it is necessary by whatever means possible to be able to say, here is the law. here is what you're doing. change your act or we go to court. here is the other thing. whenever it becomes public, the readers and the voters swoop in and jump on that. they will not let that continue. it is a big deal for us because it is a big deal for iowa. [applause] thank you very much.

>> you are patient and you asked brilliant questions. this man is a natural, zealous reporter. thank you again. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> ahead of the election, members of congress are back in their home districts campaigning, meeting with constituents. senator al franken tweeted out a video urging people to watch if they are having a case of the mondays. the minnesota state fair shaking hands with the people there. senator richard room of all tweeting him with child advocate

sarah egan to discuss the mystic abuse in the nfl. eleanor representative met with students at the whiteside area career center and ed whitfield celebrating his wedding anniversary, tweeting happy 24th anniversary to my wonderful wife, connie. our live coverage on c-span continues in about 10 minutes when treasury secretary jack liu certificates in a discussion on the economic effects of climate change taking place on the eve of the viewing climate change summit in new york. that is at 4 p.m. eastern. bennett 5:30 we will be live as bob schieffer moderates a discussion on combating isis and other terrorist groups. the invisiblen, soldiers, how america outsourced our security. click c-span campaign 2014

debate coverage continues tonight. at 7:30 eastern, the pennsylvania governor's race between republican governor tom corbett and democratic opponent tom wolfe. thursday night, nebraska second leeressional debate between perry and state senator brad asked for. they, the i went u.s. senate debate between u.s. congressman democrat bruce braley and republican jodi arias and. jodyn 100 debates -- aronson. may beear that jack lew running late due to a meeting at the white house. we will share this while we wait for the secretary. >> a former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff having served from 1997-2001. he joins us as we continue discussing u.s. strategy to combat isis. as you look at the threat posed

by isis and the plan that the obama administration has come up with here to combat isis, do you think isis can be defeated without having boots on the ground? >> first of all, i'm delighted to see that we now have a strategy and it's being articulated. the part that is worrisome is that we can use solely air power to defeat isis. that begs the question, if you can't do that, then do we need to put boots on the ground? i think you heard general dempsey when he testified last week say that ultimately, we need to be prepared to have to put boots on the ground. i would submit that he is right on track with that, but i would say first and foremost, we need to think about the thousands of iraq he forces that we train, for example in iraq, that should be capable now of being the boots on the ground and fighting

, it's time for them to fight against isis and therefore they serve as the boots on the ground. they should be able to defeat isis in every way, shape, and form. dempsey,ntion journal his comments getting a lot of reaction on capitol hill. strategicines like rift widens between obama and the pentagon, talking about the isis threat. do you see a risk on strategy customer >> i think marty is doing what any good military advisor would do. he is giving the president his best recommendation based on what the military sees as the right answer. we all know this problem is not just a military problem. i would submit it's more of a political and diplomatic problem than a military. but we've got to -- president obama has to deal with all of it eerie the informational problem, fighting against the social

media, fighting against the as well as tehran isis in washington dc and all the other capitals of the world. president obama has to put it all together. he's got to bring together the political, diplomatic, and military and come up with a strategy. i think what is lacking and worrisome is that we say we might can win this without boots on the ground, and i think limiting ourselves in that matter sends the wrong signal to the enemy. if are not going to put boots on the ground, are we serious about winning the war? again, i would say first and foremost, let's use the troops that we train. we spent a trillion dollars and a tremendous number of lives and casualties of this war to train the iraqis to defend themselves, to give them a chance to form a democratic nation an inclusive government. push the new president

into doing exactly that. and then start to use as ground troops that we have trained, start caring in the war to isis as well as though she a militant groups that are really fighting with support from tehran that are more in line with isis than they are with the troops. he's got to form his own strategy within her back, hopefully with our help, and go after them himself. this is an iraq war, not the u.s. war. >> you talk about sending messages. are you concerned that this administration has been to open about what is willing and not willing to do when it comes to isis? guest: as a military man, i would tell you i never agree with showing our cards to the enemy. let's let them wonder what our next step will be. what are we willing to do? you can have a strategy. the american people understand there are certain things in the government that ought not be given to the enemy. for example, an exit strategy

should not include the precise date attached to it. it plays right in the hands of the enemy. he can wait you out and lay back and wait until you leave. let's don't show everything to the enemy. we are not going to have to use ground troops or american troops, that is telling him you're not going to face america, so go ahead and pursue this and it going. i think it sends the wrong signal, clearly. host: you talk about the dynamic when you're trying to figure out which cards to show in which cars not to, the dynamic and the president and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, the secretary of defense on capitol hill testifying. how does that work and who gets to decide what they're talking about? guest: it goes to the national security council and the meetings you have with the entire group in one room, the president, the vice president, and all the key secretaries

discussing our national policy on national security strategy, talking about what we should and should not lay out for the world to see. it is more than just the american people. the dynamic goes from the secretary and the chairman, when they go to the white house. hopefully, they are of one mind. the secretary dealing with policy issues, which includes our communications plans. also the chairman coming in with military options we have and a recommendation as to what would work best from a military -- if that is the case, they lay out their concerns in the national security council. the president is the deciding member of the council. he makes the decision as to which way he wants to go and

what ties invest with the political and information plan envisions for his strategy. that is the plan we go forward with. host: two-person that personally think the political states. kenneth isis are getting in the way of the military strategy being laid out and discuss? guest: not in any way, shape, or form. it has got to be one plan, one strategy. the fact that there may be a little bit of disagreement within the administration as to what is best, there is nothing new. when we went into cozumel, the president understood very well that air power might be able to win the war. kosovo.we went into we have done everything we should to make sure we have not an american troops on the ground and ultimately, with a strategy, we have got serbia to surrender and pulled their troops back out

of kos about. however, you cannot use the same model when you look at isis and iraq. in iraq, they can pull their tanks and artillery, anything they have got, the headquarters into hospitals, schools, things of that nature so the air power going after them pass to kill a tremendous number of innocent civilians and destroy this things like mosques and schools and hospitals in order to kill them. we do not have a homeland to go after like we did. you're now left with, you have got to go in and rule them out. i would say again first and foremost, it ought to be iraqi ground troops. i would not take american groups off the ground and off the table here if that is what it will take to defeat isis. host: general hugh shelton.

we will start on our line for me -- for independence, missouri. caller: thank you for your service. women talk about terrorism, isis -- my question to the general is, if the general was going to advise president obama [indiscernible] goes for the regime change in iran in the state of appeasement policy for three decades? thank you very much. host: go ahead. guest: thank you for your question and kind comments. iran is the major source of problems throughout the middle east. let's not forget iran is the

greatest asked order of terrorism in the world. let's not forget iran is pursuing -- pursuing a unique capability. they have steadfastly refused to the next thing i would tell the prime minister to do is to turn through the