By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post

GOVE COUNTY, Kan. — The prairie was still asleep when I drug my blurry-eyed self and camera gear out of a van onto a pasture in Gove County.

Our instructions indicated we should follow the stacks of cow pies to the lek, mating grounds for prairie chickens, usually used year after year.

We quickly set up our pop-up blinds and settled into the darkness, waiting and listening as the cold, dry Kansas wind slapped our faces.&nbsp;

"You will hear them before you see them," our guide whispered as he zipped us in.

Then through the darkness, you could hear warbles and then bloop, bloop, bloop of the lesser prairie chickens and finally the booooma of a greater prairie chicken.

I participated in the <a href="https://www.audubonofkansas.org/grousetours">Kansas Audubon Society</a>'s Lek Trek weekend April 13 to 16, which was based in Hays.

Although greater prairie chickens can be found from Texas to southern Canada, northwestern Kansas is the only place in the world where greater and lesser prairie chickens occur in the same place.&nbsp;

Lesser prairie chickens have a much smaller range that includes parts of Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado and New Mexico — the majority of that range is in western Kansas.

Last weekend, more than 140 birders from across the nation came to Kansas, with Hays as their base, to see prairie chickens during their mating season.&nbsp;

In addition to the males inflating sacks on either side of their throats to make their signature booms, prairie chickens are also known for their distinct (and in my view, comical) mating dances.

The males shoot up feathers located on the back of their necks called&nbsp;pinnae. Those feathers stick up above their heads like horns. They stick their tail feathers up in the air, wiggle their butts and quickly stomp their feet. It looks like a combo between a 2-year-old throwing a temper tantrum and grandma trying to do the chicken dance.&nbsp;

Although you're supposed to be dead silent in those blinds, it's hard not to giggle just a little at the whole sight.

As more birds join the lek, fights erupt. Two males will face off in the middle of the lek, staring at each other. Sometimes they just walk away. Other times one will fly up and pounce on the other bird.&nbsp;

The females, who are much less showy, which is common in the bird world, mingle with the males appearing uninterested and unamused.

Even after all the girls have left the lek for the morning, a few males tend to hang out, too tired to spar anymore.&nbsp;

Observing prairie chickens from a blind gets you the best views of the birds and the best glimpses of their natural behaviors.

At times, birds were no more than 10 feet from our blinds and could be easily seen without scopes or binoculars.&nbsp;

The downside is that you have to be in those blinds before the first light and must stay in the blinds without a bathroom break until after 9 a.m. in our case when the birds for no apparent reason all flushed at once. We met to load vans to head toward our leks at 3:30 a.m.

Even last Friday when the high was 80, it was cold on that hilltop in Gove County, even with three layers of clothes and gloves. A birder from San Fransisco who went out on one of the blind tours Saturday morning when the high was only in the 50s said it was the coldest he had ever been.

They haven't been here when the wind chills were 50 below.

Prairie chickens were once ubiquitous on the prairie. Early settlers hunted them for food. However, their numbers have been in decline for decades.

Prairie chickens need large open areas of grassland to sustain their populations and perform their signature mating dances. They don't like anything that is taller than they are. This includes trees, power poles, windmills and oil derricks.&nbsp;

Some researchers have proffered the prairie chickens avoid these natural and manmade structures because they have historically been used by birds of prey for perches.

You likely have heard lesser prairie chickens mentioned in the news recently. The federal government has listed the lesser prairie chicken as threatened, which is not sitting too well with some energy companies and local landowners.

Prairie chickens thrive on cattle pastures. Grazing keeps cover at the needed heights for the prairie chickens through their life cycles. They need some short grass, some medium cover and some thicker cover.&nbsp;

One of these said landowners stopped our van on the way out of the pasture Friday morning and started chit-chatting about the chickens.

He said he too had prairie chickens on his property, but he said he was concerned about the limits the listing would place on property rights.

The landowner said he isn't bothered by the prairie chickens or the researchers and visitors who come to see them.&nbsp;

However, he said he wants to be able to manage his cattle and land without interference from the feds in D.C. 

The farmer's concerns did not fall on deaf ears. We've had a farm in our family for several generations. It's hard work, and farmers are often left with small profits and big debts.

So why go through all this trouble to save this one goofy little bird?&nbsp;

Jackie Augustine, organizer of the Prairie Chicken Festival and an expert on the birds, said simply they're cute.

More importantly, they are a sign of healthy prairie habitat.

<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/727ddb20-ced5-4d23-9090-aeb6cfda8a9e">She also argued voluntary measures have been in place for years, but the prairie chicken populations have yet to stabilize.</a>

Commerce doesn't have to be given up entirely for conservation.

Augustine said cattle ranchers can still run cattle on their land, and the listing doesn't completely restrict oil and energy production in this region. It encourages it to be done in areas that won't destroy leks.

Birders are a passionate group. They have what they call life lists, which include every bird they have seen in their lifetimes. Some birders travel internationally to add to those life lists.

The Prairie Chicken Festival attendees, most of whom were from out of state, paid hundreds of dollars in <a href="https://www.facebook.com/audubonofkansas">Audubon</a> fees alone, not to mention food, gas, lodging and entertainment to watch these birds.

Coming to a compromise between maintaining property owner rights and implementing conservation tactics that will preserve the lesser prairie chicken is where we need to be, but that's not where politics are going.

Unfortunately, parties in the prairie chicken debate have taken to their corners for a fight. <a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/1f995f9e-3403-4556-b353-c968c3e5e924">Last week, the Kansas Attorney General sued President Biden in an attempt to have the lesser prairie chicken delisted from the threatened species list.</a>

This weekend was my third time observing prairie chickens in the wild. They never cease to amaze me. They always make me smile. Their boom ... boom ... boom ... makes me feel more in rhythm.&nbsp;

They don't understand land deeds or lawsuits. They are just doing what prairie chickens do.

Those who know me, know I am not a morning person. I don't know anyone who is a 3 a.m. morning person. However, as I emerged from our little prairie cocoons Friday morning on lek, I had a huge smile on my face. The hike, no bathroom, the early wakeup, and the cold were worth it.

However, as the birds flushed and disappeared into the gray morning Friday, I couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness as I wondered what was next for my feathered friends.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1681935383708.jpeg" alt="Prairie chickens thrive on land that is being grazed by cattle because the cattle help maintain vegetation at varying densities, which is ideal for the life cycle of the birds. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post" />
 <figcaption>Prairie chickens thrive on land that is being grazed by cattle because the cattle help maintain vegetation at varying densities, which is ideal for the life cycle of the birds. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post</figcaption>
 </figure>By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays PostGOVE COUNTY, Kan. — The prairie was still asleep when I drug my blurry-eyed self and camera gear out of a van onto a pasture in Gove County.Our instructions indicated we should follow the stacks of cow pies to the lek, mating grounds for prairie chickens, usually used year after year.We quickly set up our pop-up blinds and settled into the darkness, waiting and listening as the cold, dry Kansas wind slapped our faces.&nbsp;"You will hear them before you see them," our guide whispered as he zipped us in.Then through the darkness, you could hear warbles and then bloop, bloop, bloop of the lesser prairie chickens and finally the booooma of a greater prairie chicken.I participated in the <a href="https://www.audubonofkansas.org/grousetours">Kansas Audubon Society</a>'s Lek Trek weekend April 13 to 16, which was based in Hays.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1681935690526.jpeg" alt="The greater prairie chicken on the left, inflates its air sacs, as the lesser prairie chicken does the same on the right. Greater prairie chickens tend to be bigger and have an orange air sac. The lesser prairie chickens are smaller and have a red air sac. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post" />
 <figcaption>The greater prairie chicken on the left, inflates its air sacs, as the lesser prairie chicken does the same on the right. Greater prairie chickens tend to be bigger and have an orange air sac. The lesser prairie chickens are smaller and have a red air sac. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post</figcaption>
 </figure>Although greater prairie chickens can be found from Texas to southern Canada, northwestern Kansas is the only place in the world where greater and lesser prairie chickens occur in the same place.&nbsp;Lesser prairie chickens have a much smaller range that includes parts of Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado and New Mexico — the majority of that range is in western Kansas.Last weekend, more than 140 birders from across the nation came to Kansas, with Hays as their base, to see prairie chickens during their mating season.&nbsp;In addition to the males inflating sacks on either side of their throats to make their signature booms, prairie chickens are also known for their distinct (and in my view, comical) mating dances.The males shoot up feathers located on the back of their necks called&nbsp;pinnae. Those feathers stick up above their heads like horns. They stick their tail feathers up in the air, wiggle their butts and quickly stomp their feet. It looks like a combo between a 2-year-old throwing a temper tantrum and grandma trying to do the chicken dance.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1681935984841.jpeg" alt="Male lesser prairie chickens square off on a lek in Gove County. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post" />
 <figcaption>Male lesser prairie chickens square off on a lek in Gove County. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post</figcaption>
 </figure>Although you're supposed to be dead silent in those blinds, it's hard not to giggle just a little at the whole sight.As more birds join the lek, fights erupt. Two males will face off in the middle of the lek, staring at each other. Sometimes they just walk away. Other times one will fly up and pounce on the other bird.&nbsp;The females, who are much less showy, which is common in the bird world, mingle with the males appearing uninterested and unamused.Even after all the girls have left the lek for the morning, a few males tend to hang out, too tired to spar anymore.&nbsp;Observing prairie chickens from a blind gets you the best views of the birds and the best glimpses of their natural behaviors.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1681936081724.jpeg" alt="A male lesser prairie chicken, right, tries to woo a female lesser prairie chicken, left. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post" />
 <figcaption>A male lesser prairie chicken, right, tries to woo a female lesser prairie chicken, left. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post</figcaption>
 </figure>At times, birds were no more than 10 feet from our blinds and could be easily seen without scopes or binoculars.&nbsp;The downside is that you have to be in those blinds before the first light and must stay in the blinds without a bathroom break until after 9 a.m. in our case when the birds for no apparent reason all flushed at once. We met to load vans to head toward our leks at 3:30 a.m.Even last Friday when the high was 80, it was cold on that hilltop in Gove County, even with three layers of clothes and gloves. A birder from San Fransisco who went out on one of the blind tours Saturday morning when the high was only in the 50s said it was the coldest he had ever been.They haven't been here when the wind chills were 50 below.Prairie chickens were once ubiquitous on the prairie. Early settlers hunted them for food. However, their numbers have been in decline for decades.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1681936235390.jpeg" alt="A prairie chicken tries to pounce on a rival male as they fight for mates on a lek in Gove County. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post" />
 <figcaption>A prairie chicken tries to pounce on a rival male as they fight for mates on a lek in Gove County. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post</figcaption>
 </figure>Prairie chickens need large open areas of grassland to sustain their populations and perform their signature mating dances. They don't like anything that is taller than they are. This includes trees, power poles, windmills and oil derricks.&nbsp;Some researchers have proffered the prairie chickens avoid these natural and manmade structures because they have historically been used by birds of prey for perches.You likely have heard lesser prairie chickens mentioned in the news recently. The federal government has listed the lesser prairie chicken as threatened, which is not sitting too well with some energy companies and local landowners.Prairie chickens thrive on cattle pastures. Grazing keeps cover at the needed heights for the prairie chickens through their life cycles. They need some short grass, some medium cover and some thicker cover.&nbsp;One of these said landowners stopped our van on the way out of the pasture Friday morning and started chit-chatting about the chickens.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1681936388982.jpeg" alt="An overview of the prairie chicken lek as dawn slowly breaks over the prairie. A male lesser prairie chicken, center, can be seen here with several females. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post" />
 <figcaption>An overview of the prairie chicken lek as dawn slowly breaks over the prairie. A male lesser prairie chicken, center, can be seen here with several females. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post</figcaption>
 </figure>He said he too had prairie chickens on his property, but he said he was concerned about the limits the listing would place on property rights.The landowner said he isn't bothered by the prairie chickens or the researchers and visitors who come to see them.&nbsp;However, he said he wants to be able to manage his cattle and land without interference from the feds in D.C. The farmer's concerns did not fall on deaf ears. We've had a farm in our family for several generations. It's hard work, and farmers are often left with small profits and big debts.So why go through all this trouble to save this one goofy little bird?&nbsp;Jackie Augustine, organizer of the Prairie Chicken Festival and an expert on the birds, said simply they're cute.More importantly, they are a sign of healthy prairie habitat.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1681936745789.jpeg" alt="Lesser prairie chickens have been listed as threatened by the federal government, but the state of Kansas is fighting that designation. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post" />
 <figcaption>Lesser prairie chickens have been listed as threatened by the federal government, but the state of Kansas is fighting that designation. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post</figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/727ddb20-ced5-4d23-9090-aeb6cfda8a9e">She also argued voluntary measures have been in place for years, but the prairie chicken populations have yet to stabilize.</a>Commerce doesn't have to be given up entirely for conservation.Augustine said cattle ranchers can still run cattle on their land, and the listing doesn't completely restrict oil and energy production in this region. It encourages it to be done in areas that won't destroy leks.Birders are a passionate group. They have what they call life lists, which include every bird they have seen in their lifetimes. Some birders travel internationally to add to those life lists.The Prairie Chicken Festival attendees, most of whom were from out of state, paid hundreds of dollars in <a href="https://www.facebook.com/audubonofkansas">Audubon</a> fees alone, not to mention food, gas, lodging and entertainment to watch these birds.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1681936920208.jpeg" alt="Most of the prairie chicken leks in Kansas are on private land. This one was marked by cow pie piles. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post" />
 <figcaption>Most of the prairie chicken leks in Kansas are on private land. This one was marked by cow pie piles. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post</figcaption>
 </figure>Coming to a compromise between maintaining property owner rights and implementing conservation tactics that will preserve the lesser prairie chicken is where we need to be, but that's not where politics are going.Unfortunately, parties in the prairie chicken debate have taken to their corners for a fight. <a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/1f995f9e-3403-4556-b353-c968c3e5e924">Last week, the Kansas Attorney General sued President Biden in an attempt to have the lesser prairie chicken delisted from the threatened species list.</a>This weekend was my third time observing prairie chickens in the wild. They never cease to amaze me. They always make me smile. Their boom ... boom ... boom ... makes me feel more in rhythm.&nbsp;They don't understand land deeds or lawsuits. They are just doing what prairie chickens do.Those who know me, know I am not a morning person. I don't know anyone who is a 3 a.m. morning person. However, as I emerged from our little prairie cocoons Friday morning on lek, I had a huge smile on my face. The hike, no bathroom, the early wakeup, and the cold were worth it.However, as the birds flushed and disappeared into the gray morning Friday, I couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness as I wondered what was next for my feathered friends.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1681936568023.jpeg" alt="Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney standing outside of her blind in the late morning after her prairie chicken viewing tour. Courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney standing outside of her blind in the late morning after her prairie chicken viewing tour. Courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>

📸 Reporter experiences Kansas prairie chickens first hand

Clinical trials can benefit you, no matter what stage of cancer you have. Here, Tara Lin, M.D., professor of hematologic malignancies and cellular therapeutics at KU Medical Center and medical director of the Clinical Trials Office at The University of Kansas Cancer Center, explains five reasons to consider participating in the testing of a novel cancer treatment.

Advances in cancer medicine come through rigorous testing in clinical trials. A clinical trial is how we develop new treatments — by testing a new drug alone, by testing a new drug in combination with already approved medications or by testing a new combination of older medicines used together. There are also clinical trials to learn about new techniques in surgery or radiation therapy for people with cancer.&nbsp;

By the time the treatment reaches an individual, scientists have already spent years developing it. Nearly all tried-and-true cancer drugs available to you today exist because past patients participated in clinical trials.

Despite the advantages of joining a clinical trial, few people with cancer actually&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kucancercenter.org/cancer-clinical-trials/why-participate" target="_blank">participate</a>. With all the advances in our understanding of cancer biology and new options for treatment, today is an ideal time to consider joining a clinical trial.

Below are five reasons you should consider participating in a clinical trial:

1. You gain access to innovative treatments before they become widely available.

As a participant in a clinical trial, you may receive the latest leading-edge cancer treatment.

2. You receive frequent, attentive medical care.&nbsp;

Some people are nervous that once in a clinical trial, their standard of care will stop. Placebos are rarely used for active cancer treatment. Most studies compare the standard treatment with a new investigational drug or treatment. As a clinical trial participant, in addition to the care you would receive as part of your standard treatment, you will also have visits to the clinic with the trial team. Team members will track your side effects as well as the effectiveness of the new therapy. In essence, you are receiving “Standard of Care Plus.”

3. You play an active role in important treatment decisions that can affect your care.&nbsp;

If you qualify for a clinical trial, you are the advocate in your care and can choose to take part. Participating in a clinical trial may make you feel as if you have more control over your health, which can lead to a more positive outlook on life.

4. Clinical trials aren’t just for people who have exhausted all treatment options.&nbsp;

There are more clinical trials testing new medications in combination with the current standard of care for people with newly diagnosed cancers, too. Clinical trials can be an important part of your cancer care when you are first diagnosed or if the cancer comes back.

5. You are contributing to improving the health of others.&nbsp;

Clinical trials are the only way researchers can continue to develop new cancer treatments. By participating in a clinical trial, you are helping to advance cancer research and offering hope and opportunity for future patients.

If you’re interested in participating in a clinical trial, ask your doctor about your options.

To search KU Cancer Center clinical trials that may be a good fit for you, download the KUCC Clinical Trial Finder app. The app is currently available for iOS and Android users. To download, go to the App Store or Google Play Store and search for “KUCC Clinical Trial Finder.” From there, download the app to your personal device.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1675778031892.jpeg" alt="Tara L. Lin, M.D., is a professor in the Division of Hematologic Malignancies and Cellular Therapeutics in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Kansas School of Medicine. She also is the medical director of the Clinical Trials Office at The University of Kansas Cancer Center." />
 <figcaption>Tara L. Lin, M.D., is a professor in the Division of Hematologic Malignancies and Cellular Therapeutics in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Kansas School of Medicine. She also is the medical director of the Clinical Trials Office at The University of Kansas Cancer Center.</figcaption>
 </figure>Clinical trials can benefit you, no matter what stage of cancer you have. Here, Tara Lin, M.D., professor of hematologic malignancies and cellular therapeutics at KU Medical Center and medical director of the Clinical Trials Office at The University of Kansas Cancer Center, explains five reasons to consider participating in the testing of a novel cancer treatment.Advances in cancer medicine come through rigorous testing in clinical trials. A clinical trial is how we develop new treatments — by testing a new drug alone, by testing a new drug in combination with already approved medications or by testing a new combination of older medicines used together. There are also clinical trials to learn about new techniques in surgery or radiation therapy for people with cancer.&nbsp;By the time the treatment reaches an individual, scientists have already spent years developing it. Nearly all tried-and-true cancer drugs available to you today exist because past patients participated in clinical trials.Despite the advantages of joining a clinical trial, few people with cancer actually&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kucancercenter.org/cancer-clinical-trials/why-participate" target="_blank">participate</a>. With all the advances in our understanding of cancer biology and new options for treatment, today is an ideal time to consider joining a clinical trial.Below are five reasons you should consider participating in a clinical trial:<h2>1. You gain access to innovative treatments before they become widely available.</h2>As a participant in a clinical trial, you may receive the latest leading-edge cancer treatment.<h2>2. You receive frequent, attentive medical care.&nbsp;</h2>Some people are nervous that once in a clinical trial, their standard of care will stop. Placebos are rarely used for active cancer treatment. Most studies compare the standard treatment with a new investigational drug or treatment. As a clinical trial participant, in addition to the care you would receive as part of your standard treatment, you will also have visits to the clinic with the trial team. Team members will track your side effects as well as the effectiveness of the new therapy. In essence, you are receiving “Standard of Care Plus.”<h2>3. You play an active role in important treatment decisions that can affect your care.&nbsp;</h2>If you qualify for a clinical trial, you are the advocate in your care and can choose to take part. Participating in a clinical trial may make you feel as if you have more control over your health, which can lead to a more positive outlook on life.<h2>4. Clinical trials aren’t just for people who have exhausted all treatment options.&nbsp;</h2>There are more clinical trials testing new medications in combination with the current standard of care for people with newly diagnosed cancers, too. Clinical trials can be an important part of your cancer care when you are first diagnosed or if the cancer comes back.<h2>5. You are contributing to improving the health of others.&nbsp;</h2>Clinical trials are the only way researchers can continue to develop new cancer treatments. By participating in a clinical trial, you are helping to advance cancer research and offering hope and opportunity for future patients.If you’re interested in participating in a clinical trial, ask your doctor about your options.To search KU Cancer Center clinical trials that may be a good fit for you, download the KUCC Clinical Trial Finder app. The app is currently available for iOS and Android users. To download, go to the App Store or Google Play Store and search for “KUCC Clinical Trial Finder.” From there, download the app to your personal device.

LIN: Five reasons to consider participating in a clinical trial for cancer treatment

By ERIC THOMAS <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/12/09/when-the-world-cup-comes-to-kansas-city-tough-questions-will-follow/">Courtesy Kansas Reflector</a>

Last weekend, the team representing the United States at the World Cup in Qatar crashed out of the tournament following a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.foxsports.com/watch/play-6110921be00004b?cmpid=google-one-box">3-1 loss against the Netherlands</a>.

As a fan, I have tracked this team 
from qualifying in CONCACAF to pre-tournament friendlies, from the group
 stage into the knockout round, monitoring the pre-match lineups and 
coaching decisions. Even my soccer-crazed son might have rolled his eyes
 at the arcane statistics I recited to him, likely from one of the 
dozens of <a target="_blank" href="https://meninblazers.com/page/podcasts">podcasts</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://theathletic.com/">articles</a> or videos I gobbled up.

Besides the results for the U.S. 
men’s national team, the other dominant storyline from the World Cup has
 little to do with assists, corner kicks or <a target="_blank" href="https://theanalyst.com/na/2021/07/what-are-expected-goals-xg/">xG</a>.
 Counterintuitively, this second storyline might determine the success 
of the 2026 World Cup in the United States even more than the wins, 
losses and ties of our national team.

The referee’s final whistle at 
Khalifa International Stadium signaled the start of a new storyline. The
 next World Cup match that the U.S. will play will likely be at home — 
in the United States.

This storyline is the stew of 
political hijinks and squabbles that flooded the World Cup this year. 
That storyline includes how journalists have covered (or failed to 
cover) the politics of this multibillion dollar global sports event.

With Kansas City hosting games for 
the 2026 event, our region will be dipped into that World Cup stew. As 
local journalists, many of us will decide how to cover it.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

One thing is certain: This year’s 
World Cup has provided lessons on what not to do as both a host nation 
and as journalists. Let’s study the lessons now for 2026, so we don’t 
make the same blunders.

We start with the profit-driven 
cowardice of Fox Sports. In the years preceding the Qatar World Cup, 
FIFA and the host nation generated so many newsworthy controversies: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/11/20/fifa-qatar-world-cup-corruption/">accusations of bribes to FIFA</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/the-world-cup-is-officially-underway-in-qatar-heres-why-its-so-controversial">anti-gay laws in Qatar</a> and the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/feb/23/revealed-migrant-worker-deaths-qatar-fifa-world-cup-2022">deaths of foreign workers</a>.
 The question for Fox Sports, the broadcast rights holder in the United 
States, was how it would cover these juicy narratives during the match 
telecasts.

How would they cover the diplomatic 
tensions between the competing countries? Perhaps, they would cover 
international flaps — like the social media staff of the U.S. team 
foolishly <a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/11/27/usmnt-twitter-iran-flag-change/">removing a portion of the Iran flag</a>
 on some social media posts — during pregame segments. Or perhaps we 
would hear the in-match commentators interject the news into their 
play-by-play.

Fox Sports made short work of that decision by simply opting not to cover any of it.

Their possible motive? <a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/11/18/fox-qatar-world-cup-coverage/">The Washington Post reported</a>
 that Fox Sports agreed to a sponsorship deal with Qatar Airways. That 
funding (and perhaps some complementary airfare for Fox Sports staff) 
may have enabled the broadcaster to set up a swank studio in Qatar 
rather than anchoring coverage from Los Angeles.&nbsp;

Who owns the airline? Qatar itself, suggesting an unsightly quid pro quo. A Fox Sports spokesman <a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/11/18/fox-qatar-world-cup-coverage/">told the Post</a> that the network did not agree to censor its political coverage in exchange for the Qatar Airways sponsorship deal.

However, contrast Fox Sports’ 
editorial spinelessness with the words of Telemundo Deportes president 
Ray Warren about how his network would cover World Cup politics: “I do 
think we have to talk about the legacy we leave. By the time the 
tournament’s over, we (won’t have been) ignoring the geopolitical issues
 that might arise.”

I doubt that an American sponsor in 
2026 will make such a brazen attempt to neuter a media outlet, at least 
partially because of how embarrassing this incident has been for Fox 
Sports.

However, millions of sponsorship 
dollars will flood the Kansas City region. Might a sponsor ask a local 
publication or broadcaster to weaken its scrutiny with a wink? How might
 an advertiser discourage honest coverage through a financial nudge?

“World Corrupt,” <a target="_blank" href="https://crooked.com/podcast-series/world-corrupt/">a podcast series</a>
 that has chronicled the hypocrisy and corruption of this World Cup, 
summarized what it looks like to watch the coverage of a World Cup that 
has been artificially sweetened.

“It is basically the Splenda of international tournaments,” <a target="_blank" href="https://crooked.com/podcast/world-corrupt-episode-7-stoppage-time/">co-host Tommy Vietor half-joked</a>.

Fewer controversies should ignite in 
the run-up to the World Cup in North America. However, smoke-free skies 
can’t be guaranteed with a flammable international syndicate like FIFA.

Because Kansas City will host 
matches, we should also expect that the visiting foreign press will zoom
 in on the blemishes of Missouri, Kansas and the Midwest. As the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.axios.com/2022/06/16/world-cup-2026-venues-los-angeles-new-york-list">only host city in the central United States</a>,
 our local site will stand in for all of middle America in news 
coverage. You could travel west from Pennsylvania to California, and the
 only host city you would pass would be KC.

Of course, we want our region to be a
 great place to live for the sake of, well, being a great place to live.
 However, if we need any extra motivation, maybe we will clean up our 
room before the house guests come to visit.

Consider, for example, the local headlines that the foreign press might have seized on during the last month. A<a target="_blank" href="https://www.kshb.com/news/crime/4-teens-man-charged-in-shooting-death-of-kansas-city-man-in-shawnee"> recent Shawnee shooting</a> resulted in charges for four teens. Alleged <a target="_blank" href="https://www.kcur.org/corruption-in-kansas-city-kansas">corruption in the Kansas City, Kansas, police department</a> allowed an officer to terrorize citizens. A small town <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/12/06/kansas-towns-library-lease-renewed-after-months-of-debate-about-lgbtq-content/">nearly shuttered its library</a> because it included books about LGBTQ lives.

If we need any proof that the 
visiting press will care about these stories, note how the American 
press is rightfully scrutinizing <a target="_blank" href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/qatar-world-cup-migrant-deaths-28679897">the death of a foreign worker in Qatar</a> this week.

We should also prepare ourselves for absurd questions from hostile journalists with an agenda. Here’s how <a target="_blank" href="https://time.com/6237256/usmnt-press-conference-tyler-adams/">they grilled the U.S. team captain</a> Tyler Adams about racism in America, after chiding him for his pronunciation of Iran.

“Are you OK to be representing a 
country that has so much discrimination against Black people in its own 
borders?” a reporter for Iran’s state-controlled TV station asked during
 a pre-match press conference.

Or — even more bonkers — how the same press gaggle asked U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter for <a target="_blank" href="https://nypost.com/2022/11/28/us-coach-gregg-berhalter-grilled-at-world-cup-presser-before-iran-match/">his take on the position of U.S. warships</a>.

Everything will be inbounds. We, as Americans and Midwesterners, will need answers.

Adams’ response to the grilling by 
the Iranian press displayed the kind of eloquence and patience that our 
politicians and players will need in 2026.

“There’s discrimination everywhere 
you go,” he said. “In the U.S., we’re continuing to make progress every 
single day … through education. I think it’s super important. Like you 
just educated me now on the pronunciation of your country. It’s a 
process. As long as you see progress, that’s the most important thing.”

Or, perhaps we need to all practice the kind of deflection that Berhalter used.

“I don’t know enough about politics; I’m a soccer coach,” Berhalter said, dodging a foreign affairs kerfuffle.

As hosts, we will need to do a bit of each: toughen our skin, clean up our affairs and provide thoughtful and patient answers.

Like the team itself, we will need 
some practice to prepare for the World Cup in Kansas City. The 2026 
summer of soccer and all its controversial storylines are coming, along 
with the goals and celebrations.

Eric Thomas directs the Kansas Scholastic Press Association, a nonprofit that supports student journalism throughout the state. He also teaches visual journalism and photojournalism at the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Kansas in Lawrence.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/12/1670597372971.png" alt="The U.S. men’s national soccer team warms up before a friendly match against the national team of Uruguay on June 5, 2022, at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas. (Eric Thomas, courtesy Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>The U.S. men’s national soccer team warms up before a friendly match against the national team of Uruguay on June 5, 2022, at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas. (Eric Thomas, courtesy Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>By ERIC THOMAS <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/12/09/when-the-world-cup-comes-to-kansas-city-tough-questions-will-follow/">Courtesy Kansas Reflector</a>Last weekend, the team representing the United States at the World Cup in Qatar crashed out of the tournament following a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.foxsports.com/watch/play-6110921be00004b?cmpid=google-one-box">3-1 loss against the Netherlands</a>.As a fan, I have tracked this team 
from qualifying in CONCACAF to pre-tournament friendlies, from the group
 stage into the knockout round, monitoring the pre-match lineups and 
coaching decisions. Even my soccer-crazed son might have rolled his eyes
 at the arcane statistics I recited to him, likely from one of the 
dozens of <a target="_blank" href="https://meninblazers.com/page/podcasts">podcasts</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://theathletic.com/">articles</a> or videos I gobbled up.Besides the results for the U.S. 
men’s national team, the other dominant storyline from the World Cup has
 little to do with assists, corner kicks or <a target="_blank" href="https://theanalyst.com/na/2021/07/what-are-expected-goals-xg/">xG</a>.
 Counterintuitively, this second storyline might determine the success 
of the 2026 World Cup in the United States even more than the wins, 
losses and ties of our national team.The referee’s final whistle at 
Khalifa International Stadium signaled the start of a new storyline. The
 next World Cup match that the U.S. will play will likely be at home — 
in the United States.This storyline is the stew of 
political hijinks and squabbles that flooded the World Cup this year. 
That storyline includes how journalists have covered (or failed to 
cover) the politics of this multibillion dollar global sports event.With Kansas City hosting games for 
the 2026 event, our region will be dipped into that World Cup stew. As 
local journalists, many of us will decide how to cover it.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;One thing is certain: This year’s 
World Cup has provided lessons on what not to do as both a host nation 
and as journalists. Let’s study the lessons now for 2026, so we don’t 
make the same blunders.We start with the profit-driven 
cowardice of Fox Sports. In the years preceding the Qatar World Cup, 
FIFA and the host nation generated so many newsworthy controversies: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/11/20/fifa-qatar-world-cup-corruption/">accusations of bribes to FIFA</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/the-world-cup-is-officially-underway-in-qatar-heres-why-its-so-controversial">anti-gay laws in Qatar</a> and the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/feb/23/revealed-migrant-worker-deaths-qatar-fifa-world-cup-2022">deaths of foreign workers</a>.
 The question for Fox Sports, the broadcast rights holder in the United 
States, was how it would cover these juicy narratives during the match 
telecasts.How would they cover the diplomatic 
tensions between the competing countries? Perhaps, they would cover 
international flaps — like the social media staff of the U.S. team 
foolishly <a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/11/27/usmnt-twitter-iran-flag-change/">removing a portion of the Iran flag</a>
 on some social media posts — during pregame segments. Or perhaps we 
would hear the in-match commentators interject the news into their 
play-by-play.Fox Sports made short work of that decision by simply opting not to cover any of it.Their possible motive? <a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/11/18/fox-qatar-world-cup-coverage/">The Washington Post reported</a>
 that Fox Sports agreed to a sponsorship deal with Qatar Airways. That 
funding (and perhaps some complementary airfare for Fox Sports staff) 
may have enabled the broadcaster to set up a swank studio in Qatar 
rather than anchoring coverage from Los Angeles.&nbsp;Who owns the airline? Qatar itself, suggesting an unsightly quid pro quo. A Fox Sports spokesman <a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/11/18/fox-qatar-world-cup-coverage/">told the Post</a> that the network did not agree to censor its political coverage in exchange for the Qatar Airways sponsorship deal.However, contrast Fox Sports’ 
editorial spinelessness with the words of Telemundo Deportes president 
Ray Warren about how his network would cover World Cup politics: “I do 
think we have to talk about the legacy we leave. By the time the 
tournament’s over, we (won’t have been) ignoring the geopolitical issues
 that might arise.”I doubt that an American sponsor in 
2026 will make such a brazen attempt to neuter a media outlet, at least 
partially because of how embarrassing this incident has been for Fox 
Sports.However, millions of sponsorship 
dollars will flood the Kansas City region. Might a sponsor ask a local 
publication or broadcaster to weaken its scrutiny with a wink? How might
 an advertiser discourage honest coverage through a financial nudge?“World Corrupt,” <a target="_blank" href="https://crooked.com/podcast-series/world-corrupt/">a podcast series</a>
 that has chronicled the hypocrisy and corruption of this World Cup, 
summarized what it looks like to watch the coverage of a World Cup that 
has been artificially sweetened.“It is basically the Splenda of international tournaments,” <a target="_blank" href="https://crooked.com/podcast/world-corrupt-episode-7-stoppage-time/">co-host Tommy Vietor half-joked</a>.Fewer controversies should ignite in 
the run-up to the World Cup in North America. However, smoke-free skies 
can’t be guaranteed with a flammable international syndicate like FIFA.Because Kansas City will host 
matches, we should also expect that the visiting foreign press will zoom
 in on the blemishes of Missouri, Kansas and the Midwest. As the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.axios.com/2022/06/16/world-cup-2026-venues-los-angeles-new-york-list">only host city in the central United States</a>,
 our local site will stand in for all of middle America in news 
coverage. You could travel west from Pennsylvania to California, and the
 only host city you would pass would be KC.Of course, we want our region to be a
 great place to live for the sake of, well, being a great place to live.
 However, if we need any extra motivation, maybe we will clean up our 
room before the house guests come to visit.Consider, for example, the local headlines that the foreign press might have seized on during the last month. A<a target="_blank" href="https://www.kshb.com/news/crime/4-teens-man-charged-in-shooting-death-of-kansas-city-man-in-shawnee"> recent Shawnee shooting</a> resulted in charges for four teens. Alleged <a target="_blank" href="https://www.kcur.org/corruption-in-kansas-city-kansas">corruption in the Kansas City, Kansas, police department</a> allowed an officer to terrorize citizens. A small town <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/12/06/kansas-towns-library-lease-renewed-after-months-of-debate-about-lgbtq-content/">nearly shuttered its library</a> because it included books about LGBTQ lives.If we need any proof that the 
visiting press will care about these stories, note how the American 
press is rightfully scrutinizing <a target="_blank" href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/qatar-world-cup-migrant-deaths-28679897">the death of a foreign worker in Qatar</a> this week.We should also prepare ourselves for absurd questions from hostile journalists with an agenda. Here’s how <a target="_blank" href="https://time.com/6237256/usmnt-press-conference-tyler-adams/">they grilled the U.S. team captain</a> Tyler Adams about racism in America, after chiding him for his pronunciation of Iran.“Are you OK to be representing a 
country that has so much discrimination against Black people in its own 
borders?” a reporter for Iran’s state-controlled TV station asked during
 a pre-match press conference.Or — even more bonkers — how the same press gaggle asked U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter for <a target="_blank" href="https://nypost.com/2022/11/28/us-coach-gregg-berhalter-grilled-at-world-cup-presser-before-iran-match/">his take on the position of U.S. warships</a>.Everything will be inbounds. We, as Americans and Midwesterners, will need answers.Adams’ response to the grilling by 
the Iranian press displayed the kind of eloquence and patience that our 
politicians and players will need in 2026.“There’s discrimination everywhere 
you go,” he said. “In the U.S., we’re continuing to make progress every 
single day … through education. I think it’s super important. Like you 
just educated me now on the pronunciation of your country. It’s a 
process. As long as you see progress, that’s the most important thing.”Or, perhaps we need to all practice the kind of deflection that Berhalter used.“I don’t know enough about politics; I’m a soccer coach,” Berhalter said, dodging a foreign affairs kerfuffle.As hosts, we will need to do a bit of each: toughen our skin, clean up our affairs and provide thoughtful and patient answers.Like the team itself, we will need 
some practice to prepare for the World Cup in Kansas City. The 2026 
summer of soccer and all its controversial storylines are coming, along 
with the goals and celebrations.Eric Thomas directs the Kansas Scholastic Press Association, a nonprofit that supports student journalism throughout the state. He also teaches visual journalism and photojournalism at the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Kansas in Lawrence.&nbsp;

OPINION: World Cup kicks tough questions at Kansas City

By SCOTT REEDER <a href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2022/10/27/adults-dont-be-monsters-to-trick-or-treaters/">Courtesy Iowa Capital Dispatch</a>

Little masked hobgoblins will soon be 
knocking at our doors wanting handfuls of candy, and it’s important to 
remember the rules of good behavior — for adults — not just the 
children.

I often hear oldsters grumble about the unruly&nbsp;behavior of youths, but in my experience it is the adults who tend to be the real jerks during this doorstep masquerade.

A person I knew, who was married to a 
prominent lawyer, really took off her mask on Halloween. She lived in a 
nice house in an expensive neighborhood. Her chief complaint about 
trick-or-treaters was that they weren’t “neighborhood children.”

That’s a coded way of saying she didn’t like Black trick-or-treaters in her hoity-toity subdivision.

She bragged about her screening process. 
When youngsters she didn’t recognize would knock on her door, she 
started asking questions.

“Where do you kids live?” “Who are your parents?” “Oh, you live on the next street over? In what house?”

Come on, it’s just a Snickers bar. Give it to anyone who asks. No one will ever complain about you being too generous.

And what prompted these questions? Well, 
these were mostly Black youngsters from Springfield, Illinois’, east 
side who came to trick-or-treat in the more affluent, mostly white 
neighborhoods on the city’s west side.

Why might they do this? Well, many folks in
 their own neighborhoods can’t afford to give away candy. Some 
neighborhoods are safer than others for children to walk through at 
night.&nbsp;&nbsp;And hey, there are no rules that say you can’t trick-or-treat 
wherever you like.

And rest assured, grade school children on 
your doorstep know why you’re asking those questions. They know you’re a
 bigot, even if you haven’t figured that out about yourself yet.

Some religious groups such as Jehovah’s 
Witnesses object to Halloween. It’s understandable that they keep their 
porch lights off. But some evangelicals – the faith group I belong to – 
perplex me.

Most evangelicals I know participate in the
 holiday. A few evangelicals refrain because they believe it’s the 
“devil’s holiday.” But over the years I’ve had several friends who 
viewed the holiday as an opportunity to proselytize. Instead of giving 
away candy, they hand out Bible tracts.

I don’t claim to be an expert on 
evangelism. But my guess is that children leave those front porches 
disappointed and their parents irritated.

Some people complain about teenagers trick-or-treating.

The way I look at it is they are choosing childhood over partying. Just enjoy them while you still have them.

As for parents, take time to be with your 
kids. I remember when I was 4, dressing up for the preschool Halloween 
parade and my father sitting with a group of moms watching us walk by. 
Dads just didn’t do that back in 1969. In fact, it made such an 
impression on me, I still remember it 53 years later.

And finally, there is the issue of 
costumes. A child dressed as a hobo isn’t belittling the homeless. Kids 
dressed as witches and devils aren’t glorifying the occult. And as for 
the ones dressed as politicians, don’t be surprised they are standing on
 your step wanting a handout.

Scott Reeder, a staff writer for the Illinois Times, is a veteran journalist who has worked for newspapers in the Midwest, Texas and Nevada.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/10/1666903908737.jpg" alt="Image courtesy of Pixabay" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy of Pixabay</figcaption>
 </figure>By SCOTT REEDER <a href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2022/10/27/adults-dont-be-monsters-to-trick-or-treaters/">Courtesy Iowa Capital Dispatch</a>Little masked hobgoblins will soon be 
knocking at our doors wanting handfuls of candy, and it’s important to 
remember the rules of good behavior — for adults — not just the 
children.I often hear oldsters grumble about the unruly&nbsp;behavior of youths, but in my experience it is the adults who tend to be the real jerks during this doorstep masquerade.A person I knew, who was married to a 
prominent lawyer, really took off her mask on Halloween. She lived in a 
nice house in an expensive neighborhood. Her chief complaint about 
trick-or-treaters was that they weren’t “neighborhood children.”That’s a coded way of saying she didn’t like Black trick-or-treaters in her hoity-toity subdivision.She bragged about her screening process. 
When youngsters she didn’t recognize would knock on her door, she 
started asking questions.“Where do you kids live?” “Who are your parents?” “Oh, you live on the next street over? In what house?”Come on, it’s just a Snickers bar. Give it to anyone who asks. No one will ever complain about you being too generous.And what prompted these questions? Well, 
these were mostly Black youngsters from Springfield, Illinois’, east 
side who came to trick-or-treat in the more affluent, mostly white 
neighborhoods on the city’s west side.Why might they do this? Well, many folks in
 their own neighborhoods can’t afford to give away candy. Some 
neighborhoods are safer than others for children to walk through at 
night.&nbsp;&nbsp;And hey, there are no rules that say you can’t trick-or-treat 
wherever you like.And rest assured, grade school children on 
your doorstep know why you’re asking those questions. They know you’re a
 bigot, even if you haven’t figured that out about yourself yet.Some religious groups such as Jehovah’s 
Witnesses object to Halloween. It’s understandable that they keep their 
porch lights off. But some evangelicals – the faith group I belong to – 
perplex me.Most evangelicals I know participate in the
 holiday. A few evangelicals refrain because they believe it’s the 
“devil’s holiday.” But over the years I’ve had several friends who 
viewed the holiday as an opportunity to proselytize. Instead of giving 
away candy, they hand out Bible tracts.I don’t claim to be an expert on 
evangelism. But my guess is that children leave those front porches 
disappointed and their parents irritated.Some people complain about teenagers trick-or-treating.The way I look at it is they are choosing childhood over partying. Just enjoy them while you still have them.As for parents, take time to be with your 
kids. I remember when I was 4, dressing up for the preschool Halloween 
parade and my father sitting with a group of moms watching us walk by. 
Dads just didn’t do that back in 1969. In fact, it made such an 
impression on me, I still remember it 53 years later.And finally, there is the issue of 
costumes. A child dressed as a hobo isn’t belittling the homeless. Kids 
dressed as witches and devils aren’t glorifying the occult. And as for 
the ones dressed as politicians, don’t be surprised they are standing on
 your step wanting a handout.Scott Reeder, a staff writer for the Illinois Times, is a veteran journalist who has worked for newspapers in the Midwest, Texas and Nevada.&nbsp;

OPINION: Adults, don’t be monsters to trick-or-treaters

By ERIC THOMAS <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/10/09/cameras-in-hand-parents-proudly-document-everything-is-that-whats-best-for-our-kids/">Courtesy Kansas Reflector</a>

Seventeen years ago, I pointed a 
gleaming silver camcorder at my newborn daughter as she alternated 
breathing and screaming during her first moments of life. She lay, eyes 
clenched in struggle, on a neonatal warming bed in an Overland Park 
hospital. When I glanced away from the LCD screen of the video camera, I
 could tell that her first gasps were healthy because the delivery nurse
 was smiling at Ella while checking her vitals.

My right finger looped around the top
 of the camera, toggling the lens of the camera to zoom in and capture a
 close-up. The image through the viewfinder blurred before the pixels 
snapped back into focus. Ella’s face filled the frame. I remember my 
wife’s voice — fatigued and faint — asking from across the hospital room
 if Ella was OK.

“She,” I said, my voice high-pitched 
and cracking with happiness. “She … is beautiful.” The last syllable 
trailed off on the video footage, my grip on the camera wavering with 
fatherly joy.

Since that moment, Ella’s life has 
been a seamless series of visuals. We are assembling the same visual 
timeline for her brother, born four years later.

The images follow, one after another.
 Yearbook portraits posed in school cafeterias converted for a day into 
photo studios. Videos from the sidelines. Selfies studded with the glint
 of middle-school braces. Snapchats sent from the backseat of a friend’s
 car on the way to the homecoming dance.

We have been here, whether with a 
cellphone camera or a digital SLR, in response to nearly every modestly 
significant twitch in her life arc. We stand poised with our iPhones. I 
crouch low with my camera, my SD card reformatted, to ensure that not 
even one digital image gets mangled. We preserve every moment we can.&nbsp;

The size of our image archive became 
clear this fall when a rite of high school senior year — the senior 
yearbook ad — forced me to narrow my catalog of nine bazillion images 
down to a handful. Which of the 3,587 photos of her with the dog should I
 choose? Which of the 7,962 photos of her at the barn should I choose?&nbsp;

Curating those photos — the daily 
chronicling of my daughter’s life — made me realize how thoroughly 
documented her life is. Along with so many others in her generation who 
stare back at the lens’ gaze, my daughter will not wonder what her life 
looked like. Her clothes in 2010. Her hair in 2014. Her boyfriend in 
2022. Her young life is one without gaps. We have it all archived.

My wife and I are a little jealous of
 that. Even though I loved photography at the time, some of my best 
friends from high school in the 1990s exist almost completely in my 
memory. I remember my buddy Aaron painting my chest blue before a 
football game. No photos exist.

If we were teens in 2022, my high 
school best friend Jeff and I would have made endless videos of our 
backyard fireworks stunts. The kinds of moments that Ella is 
photographing exhaustively these days are missing from my high school 
photo albums.

I still hold these happy pockets of 
memories, even without photos. But I can’t help but wonder how just a 
few images might teleport me back to those moments of school spirit and 
youthful pyromania.

With that said, omnipresent cameras 
create costs. With cameras so present at every occasion (and 
non-occasion), our sons and daughters preen and perform for the 
attention of the lens. Would the occasion be more joyful, we parents ask
 as we watch from the outskirts, if they simply celebrated for the fun 
of it, rather than for the camera?

Our daughters bear an outsized 
burden. Social media constantly deceives them about the allure of being 
impossibly thin, glossy and happy — giddy mannequins wrapped in luxury 
clothing.

When I told Ella about my column idea
 for today, she provided another anecdote to illustrate how much our 
relationship with cameras has changed. One of her favorite podcasts, <a target="_blank" href="https://serialpodcast.org/">a true-crime investigation of a murder in 1999</a>,
 tracked the life of a teenage boy who was a suspect in the crime. When 
police asked him to provide an alibi, he wasn’t able to pinpoint exactly
 where he had been on the day of the murder.

Ella holds her alibi in her hand: her
 phone. The Snapchat messages from friends beg for an immediate 
response. Her camera roll is an hourly collection of silly dogs, friends
 in class and selfies at stoplights. The lens of her camera phone knows 
more than we do as parents.

When our children were younger, I 
worried about posting too many images of them on my social media. What 
if, I wondered, my son, then three years old, didn’t want his photo on 
Instagram with spaghetti and marinara cascading down his belly as he 
reclined in a high chair? Even if I asked my daughter, who was 8 at the 
time, if I could post her photo, did she really understand what “public”
 meant? Did she understand that the goofy image would be online 
essentially forever?

So, I retreated from posting online. Instead, I sent dispatches of images to grandma and grandpa.

The irony is that my kids could care 
less about me sharing those images now that they are older. They’re busy
 watching their friends casually post their most personal moments.

Their photographic lives seem 
obligatorily online, constantly shooting pixels up into the cloud. The 
photos are vital, so we must save them. And if we must save them, we 
must use archives hosted by Apple, Amazon and Google (<a target="_blank" href="https://www.pcmag.com/news/you-have-until-sept-24-to-claim-part-of-100m-google-photos-privacy-settlement">who needs to be sued to stop surveilling us</a>).

Perhaps that bond between our photos 
and how we so often share them with huge data corporations is even a 
bigger change for our children’s lives lived in front of the camera — 
more significant still than how often we photograph them. The fact that 
the images are online changes everything. (Yes, Mr. McLuhan, <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_medium_is_the_message">the medium is the message</a>. I get it.)

That first video of my newborn 
daughter is not on YouTube or online. She was born at just the 
technological moment when sharing videos meant saving the movie files to
 DVDs. In our living room cabinet, there is a portfolio of disks with 
all of those movies, starting with the tearful moment where my voice 
cracks in the delivery room. While I worry that we might have gone a bit
 overboard — both as a culture and as a family — in recording every 
semi-significant moment, I know one thing.

I’m glad I have that moment. But I’m glad it’s an unshared moment. A moving image forever and only for our family.

Eric Thomas directs the Kansas Scholastic Press Association, a nonprofit that supports student journalism throughout the state. He also teaches visual journalism and photojournalism at the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Kansas in Lawrence. He lives in Leawood with his wife and two children.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/10/1665329858143.png" alt="Columnist Eric Thomas has documented the life of his daughter, Ella, in a seamless series of visuals. (Eric Thomas for Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Columnist Eric Thomas has documented the life of his daughter, Ella, in a seamless series of visuals. (Eric Thomas for Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>By ERIC THOMAS <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/10/09/cameras-in-hand-parents-proudly-document-everything-is-that-whats-best-for-our-kids/">Courtesy Kansas Reflector</a>Seventeen years ago, I pointed a 
gleaming silver camcorder at my newborn daughter as she alternated 
breathing and screaming during her first moments of life. She lay, eyes 
clenched in struggle, on a neonatal warming bed in an Overland Park 
hospital. When I glanced away from the LCD screen of the video camera, I
 could tell that her first gasps were healthy because the delivery nurse
 was smiling at Ella while checking her vitals.My right finger looped around the top
 of the camera, toggling the lens of the camera to zoom in and capture a
 close-up. The image through the viewfinder blurred before the pixels 
snapped back into focus. Ella’s face filled the frame. I remember my 
wife’s voice — fatigued and faint — asking from across the hospital room
 if Ella was OK.“She,” I said, my voice high-pitched 
and cracking with happiness. “She … is beautiful.” The last syllable 
trailed off on the video footage, my grip on the camera wavering with 
fatherly joy.Since that moment, Ella’s life has 
been a seamless series of visuals. We are assembling the same visual 
timeline for her brother, born four years later.The images follow, one after another.
 Yearbook portraits posed in school cafeterias converted for a day into 
photo studios. Videos from the sidelines. Selfies studded with the glint
 of middle-school braces. Snapchats sent from the backseat of a friend’s
 car on the way to the homecoming dance.And always, photos by her mother and me.We have been here, whether with a 
cellphone camera or a digital SLR, in response to nearly every modestly 
significant twitch in her life arc. We stand poised with our iPhones. I 
crouch low with my camera, my SD card reformatted, to ensure that not 
even one digital image gets mangled. We preserve every moment we can.&nbsp;The size of our image archive became 
clear this fall when a rite of high school senior year — the senior 
yearbook ad — forced me to narrow my catalog of nine bazillion images 
down to a handful. Which of the 3,587 photos of her with the dog should I
 choose? Which of the 7,962 photos of her at the barn should I choose?&nbsp;Curating those photos — the daily 
chronicling of my daughter’s life — made me realize how thoroughly 
documented her life is. Along with so many others in her generation who 
stare back at the lens’ gaze, my daughter will not wonder what her life 
looked like. Her clothes in 2010. Her hair in 2014. Her boyfriend in 
2022. Her young life is one without gaps. We have it all archived.My wife and I are a little jealous of
 that. Even though I loved photography at the time, some of my best 
friends from high school in the 1990s exist almost completely in my 
memory. I remember my buddy Aaron painting my chest blue before a 
football game. No photos exist.If we were teens in 2022, my high 
school best friend Jeff and I would have made endless videos of our 
backyard fireworks stunts. The kinds of moments that Ella is 
photographing exhaustively these days are missing from my high school 
photo albums.I still hold these happy pockets of 
memories, even without photos. But I can’t help but wonder how just a 
few images might teleport me back to those moments of school spirit and 
youthful pyromania.With that said, omnipresent cameras 
create costs. With cameras so present at every occasion (and 
non-occasion), our sons and daughters preen and perform for the 
attention of the lens. Would the occasion be more joyful, we parents ask
 as we watch from the outskirts, if they simply celebrated for the fun 
of it, rather than for the camera?Our daughters bear an outsized 
burden. Social media constantly deceives them about the allure of being 
impossibly thin, glossy and happy — giddy mannequins wrapped in luxury 
clothing.When I told Ella about my column idea
 for today, she provided another anecdote to illustrate how much our 
relationship with cameras has changed. One of her favorite podcasts, <a target="_blank" href="https://serialpodcast.org/">a true-crime investigation of a murder in 1999</a>,
 tracked the life of a teenage boy who was a suspect in the crime. When 
police asked him to provide an alibi, he wasn’t able to pinpoint exactly
 where he had been on the day of the murder.Ella holds her alibi in her hand: her
 phone. The Snapchat messages from friends beg for an immediate 
response. Her camera roll is an hourly collection of silly dogs, friends
 in class and selfies at stoplights. The lens of her camera phone knows 
more than we do as parents.When our children were younger, I 
worried about posting too many images of them on my social media. What 
if, I wondered, my son, then three years old, didn’t want his photo on 
Instagram with spaghetti and marinara cascading down his belly as he 
reclined in a high chair? Even if I asked my daughter, who was 8 at the 
time, if I could post her photo, did she really understand what “public”
 meant? Did she understand that the goofy image would be online 
essentially forever?So, I retreated from posting online. Instead, I sent dispatches of images to grandma and grandpa.The irony is that my kids could care 
less about me sharing those images now that they are older. They’re busy
 watching their friends casually post their most personal moments.Their photographic lives seem 
obligatorily online, constantly shooting pixels up into the cloud. The 
photos are vital, so we must save them. And if we must save them, we 
must use archives hosted by Apple, Amazon and Google (<a target="_blank" href="https://www.pcmag.com/news/you-have-until-sept-24-to-claim-part-of-100m-google-photos-privacy-settlement">who needs to be sued to stop surveilling us</a>).Perhaps that bond between our photos 
and how we so often share them with huge data corporations is even a 
bigger change for our children’s lives lived in front of the camera — 
more significant still than how often we photograph them. The fact that 
the images are online changes everything. (Yes, Mr. McLuhan, <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_medium_is_the_message">the medium is the message</a>. I get it.)That first video of my newborn 
daughter is not on YouTube or online. She was born at just the 
technological moment when sharing videos meant saving the movie files to
 DVDs. In our living room cabinet, there is a portfolio of disks with 
all of those movies, starting with the tearful moment where my voice 
cracks in the delivery room. While I worry that we might have gone a bit
 overboard — both as a culture and as a family — in recording every 
semi-significant moment, I know one thing.I’m glad I have that moment. But I’m glad it’s an unshared moment. A moving image forever and only for our family.Eric Thomas directs the Kansas Scholastic Press Association, a nonprofit that supports student journalism throughout the state. He also teaches visual journalism and photojournalism at the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Kansas in Lawrence. He lives in Leawood with his wife and two children.

OPINION: Is documenting their lives what’s best for our kids?

By ERIC THOMAS <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/06/03/screaming-on-the-sidelines-confessions-of-a-semi-reformed-sports-dad-in-kansas/">Courtesy Kansas Reflector</a>

Any parent who has a child playing sports has a story like this.

This weekend we were watching the 
closing minutes of a soccer game before my son was taking the field with
 his team. The game was between teams of 18-year-olds in a tournament, 
and clearly something contentious had happened earlier.

The coaches were jawing at the 
referee. The players seemed more focused on pushing each other around 
than winning the ball or scoring goals. It was tense, but also lazy, 
soccer. My wife and I watched the feisty grind to pass time.

As a loose ball skittered into a 
dangerous area, a defender lost track of the forward he was marking. 
Once he relocated him, it was too late to do anything but foul him. The 
defender brought his opponent down in a dangerous rugby tackle, 
maliciously hooking the forward’s legs as they rolled on the ground. The
 forward sprung up from the tackle, prepared for a fight. And he got 
it.&nbsp;

The goalkeeper rushed forward and blindsided him with a shove.&nbsp;

What followed was a predictable 
shower of yellow cards and red cards, eventually sending off three 
players. That’s where the drama should have ended. As someone who didn’t
 care a bit about which team won, I judged that the referee had done his
 job. Tempers subsided.

But then, the dad from the sidelines piped up.

“That’s just terrible,” he said to the referee. “How can you do that to my son? You are just terrible!”

The ref spun on his heels and asked, rhetorically he hoped, “Do you want to leave too?”

“You should be parking cars!” the dad shouted. “You are awful. You should be parking cars!”

If I printed here the number of times
 the dad mentioned the referee’s acumen with storing automobiles, you 
wouldn’t believe it. It was his furious public mantra. Over and over, 
louder and louder, with “parking cars!”

A field marshal arrived. More 
shouting, plus an escort to the parking lot (fittingly) for the dad. 
After five minutes, the game resumed.

This story is just this weekend’s 
installment from our experience watching parent madness in youth soccer.
 We’ve seen parents ejected. Parents mouthing at opposing 12-year-olds 
while they are playing. One parent glowered over a referee as he stalked
 after him, saying, “I’m gonna kick your a**.”

Years ago, while photographing a 
football game, I saw a referee call off the rest of the game after a 
parent stormed onto the field on the opening kickoff! Just one play was 
the entirety of a game. Thanks to one parent.

I write these words with full 
understanding of how unreasonable I have been. My family even has a meme
 of something I once said to a teenage ref — during a soccer game for 
10-year-olds — after his call led to a goal.&nbsp;

I screamed, “That’s on you, sir!” with a toxic blend of accusation and mocking respect.

I have found it difficult to be the 
good sports parent that I hope to be. We want our kids to win. We want 
them to compete fairly. And we get particularly livid when we feel 
missed calls put them at risk of injury. There are reasons behind the 
madness festering in the folding chair on the sidelines.

This year, I made a promise to my 
son. I would stop coaching him from the sidelines. We pay a coach who is
 far more talented than me for that. I would also stop screaming at the 
refs.

At the outset of my promise, I kept 
score using a note on my phone. Each game that I avoided coaching my kid
 or the ref earned me a tally. It helped me see that I was making 
progress.

And it worked — mostly. I made it 
through a season with dozens of games without coaching my boy. My wife 
only occasionally has to reach over with a calming hand on my forearm to
 remind me of my silliness toward officials.

The irony is that my son is now 
reffing games. What would I think if I saw a dad yelling at my son that 
he is awful or that he had ruined a family’s weekend by failing to raise
 an offside flag?

Sports leagues <a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/12/06/youth-sports-referees-quitting-shortage-sports-officials-quit/">struggle to fill officiating slots</a>.
 We have an insatiable appetite for youth sports that requires hundreds 
of referees for games every weekend: Baseball, soccer, basketball and 
volleyball run essentially year-round. Yet our ferocity towards 
officials <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/21/sports/referee-shortage-youth-sports.html">repels so many potential young refs</a>. One <a target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/youreoffside">social media account</a> documents the nationwide problems of parents who yell during youth sports.

As I work to be more reasonable, I 
have realized the biggest reward for being a sane parent comes on the 
ride home after the game. You might think “venting” toward the ref about
 a missed offsides call or a questionable foul would have left me 
feeling relieved.

But the truth is, time after time, I 
felt ashamed. My focus was on how I embarrassed myself, wishing I could 
take it back, rather than on the truly incredible thing: My son was 
playing soccer — a far more elegant brand of soccer than any soccer I 
ever played — with a gaggle of friends he loves and a coach he admires.

That is my goal these days: to shut 
up with my negativity on the sidelines so that after the game I can 
return home with a light heart, and do an incredible job of parking my 
car.

<a target="_blank" href="https://journalism.ku.edu/eric-thomas">Eric Thomas</a>&nbsp;directs the Kansas Scholastic Press Association and teaches visual journalism and photojournalism at the University of Kansas.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/6/1654266244855.png" alt="A foul? Not a foul? Youth sports games can turn parents into abusive maniacs rather than supportive fans, writes our columnist. (Eric Thomas)" />
 <figcaption>A foul? Not a foul? Youth sports games can turn parents into abusive maniacs rather than supportive fans, writes our columnist. (Eric Thomas)</figcaption>
 </figure>By ERIC THOMAS <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/06/03/screaming-on-the-sidelines-confessions-of-a-semi-reformed-sports-dad-in-kansas/">Courtesy Kansas Reflector</a>Any parent who has a child playing sports has a story like this.This weekend we were watching the 
closing minutes of a soccer game before my son was taking the field with
 his team. The game was between teams of 18-year-olds in a tournament, 
and clearly something contentious had happened earlier.The coaches were jawing at the 
referee. The players seemed more focused on pushing each other around 
than winning the ball or scoring goals. It was tense, but also lazy, 
soccer. My wife and I watched the feisty grind to pass time.But then chaos broke out.As a loose ball skittered into a 
dangerous area, a defender lost track of the forward he was marking. 
Once he relocated him, it was too late to do anything but foul him. The 
defender brought his opponent down in a dangerous rugby tackle, 
maliciously hooking the forward’s legs as they rolled on the ground. The
 forward sprung up from the tackle, prepared for a fight. And he got 
it.&nbsp;The goalkeeper rushed forward and blindsided him with a shove.&nbsp;What followed was a predictable 
shower of yellow cards and red cards, eventually sending off three 
players. That’s where the drama should have ended. As someone who didn’t
 care a bit about which team won, I judged that the referee had done his
 job. Tempers subsided.But then, the dad from the sidelines piped up.“That’s just terrible,” he said to the referee. “How can you do that to my son? You are just terrible!”The ref spun on his heels and asked, rhetorically he hoped, “Do you want to leave too?”“You should be parking cars!” the dad shouted. “You are awful. You should be parking cars!”If I printed here the number of times
 the dad mentioned the referee’s acumen with storing automobiles, you 
wouldn’t believe it. It was his furious public mantra. Over and over, 
louder and louder, with “parking cars!”A field marshal arrived. More 
shouting, plus an escort to the parking lot (fittingly) for the dad. 
After five minutes, the game resumed.This story is just this weekend’s 
installment from our experience watching parent madness in youth soccer.
 We’ve seen parents ejected. Parents mouthing at opposing 12-year-olds 
while they are playing. One parent glowered over a referee as he stalked
 after him, saying, “I’m gonna kick your a**.”Years ago, while photographing a 
football game, I saw a referee call off the rest of the game after a 
parent stormed onto the field on the opening kickoff! Just one play was 
the entirety of a game. Thanks to one parent.I write these words with full 
understanding of how unreasonable I have been. My family even has a meme
 of something I once said to a teenage ref — during a soccer game for 
10-year-olds — after his call led to a goal.&nbsp;I screamed, “That’s on you, sir!” with a toxic blend of accusation and mocking respect.I have found it difficult to be the 
good sports parent that I hope to be. We want our kids to win. We want 
them to compete fairly. And we get particularly livid when we feel 
missed calls put them at risk of injury. There are reasons behind the 
madness festering in the folding chair on the sidelines.But it’s madness still.This year, I made a promise to my 
son. I would stop coaching him from the sidelines. We pay a coach who is
 far more talented than me for that. I would also stop screaming at the 
refs.At the outset of my promise, I kept 
score using a note on my phone. Each game that I avoided coaching my kid
 or the ref earned me a tally. It helped me see that I was making 
progress.And it worked — mostly. I made it 
through a season with dozens of games without coaching my boy. My wife 
only occasionally has to reach over with a calming hand on my forearm to
 remind me of my silliness toward officials.The irony is that my son is now 
reffing games. What would I think if I saw a dad yelling at my son that 
he is awful or that he had ruined a family’s weekend by failing to raise
 an offside flag?Sports leagues <a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/12/06/youth-sports-referees-quitting-shortage-sports-officials-quit/">struggle to fill officiating slots</a>.
 We have an insatiable appetite for youth sports that requires hundreds 
of referees for games every weekend: Baseball, soccer, basketball and 
volleyball run essentially year-round. Yet our ferocity towards 
officials <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/21/sports/referee-shortage-youth-sports.html">repels so many potential young refs</a>. One <a target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/youreoffside">social media account</a> documents the nationwide problems of parents who yell during youth sports.As I work to be more reasonable, I 
have realized the biggest reward for being a sane parent comes on the 
ride home after the game. You might think “venting” toward the ref about
 a missed offsides call or a questionable foul would have left me 
feeling relieved.But the truth is, time after time, I 
felt ashamed. My focus was on how I embarrassed myself, wishing I could 
take it back, rather than on the truly incredible thing: My son was 
playing soccer — a far more elegant brand of soccer than any soccer I 
ever played — with a gaggle of friends he loves and a coach he admires.That is my goal these days: to shut 
up with my negativity on the sidelines so that after the game I can 
return home with a light heart, and do an incredible job of parking my 
car.<a target="_blank" href="https://journalism.ku.edu/eric-thomas">Eric Thomas</a>&nbsp;directs the Kansas Scholastic Press Association and teaches visual journalism and photojournalism at the University of Kansas.

Screaming on the sidelines: Confessions of a semi-reformed sports dad

By DOUGLAS SCHULER and LAURA MARIE EDINGER-SCHONS <a href="https://www.nevadacurrent.com/2022/03/10/why-hundreds-of-western-companies-are-abandoning-russia-with-barely-a-shrug/">Courtesy States Newsroom</a>

Many companies in the U.S. and elsewhere have been quick to sever ties to Russia – going well beyond applying the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-28/sanctions-imposed-so-far-on-russia-from-the-u-s-eu-and-u-k">sanctions ordered by their governments</a>.

IKEA, Nike and H&amp;M are <a target="_blank" href="https://edition.cnn.com/2022/03/03/business/ikea-h-and-m-russia/index.html">temporarily closing their Russian stores</a>. Disney, Sony and Warner Bros. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/mar/01/disney-and-warner-bros-pause-film-releases-in-russia-over-ukraine-invasion">paused the release of new films</a> in Russia. Apple, Samsung and Microsoft <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cnet.com/news/apple-microsoft-and-other-tech-companies-stop-sales-in-russia/">stopped selling their products there</a>. McKinsey, Ernst &amp; Young and many other top <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/big-auditors-to-leave-russia-amid-invasion-of-ukraine-11646666419?mod=djemCFO">accounting</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ft.com/content/6c412673-d65e-4e75-adbb-08146c42387c">consulting firms</a> said they are leaving the Russian market – possibly for good.

In all, <a target="_blank" href="https://som.yale.edu/story/2022/over-200-companies-have-withdrawn-russia-some-remain">over 300 companies have announced plans</a>
 to close stores, reassign staff or stop selling products in Russia 
since the invasion began on Feb. 24, 2022, according to a running tally 
by Yale management professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld. Most recently, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/08/business/mcdonalds-pepsi-coke-russia/index.html">McDonald’s</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/03/08/business/stocks-economy-inflation-ukraine">Starbucks</a> and Coca-Cola joined the list on March 8, 2022, announcing they would close stores and cease sales.

In some ways, these decisions fit in with a <a target="_blank" href="https://theconversation.com/how-corporate-ceos-found-their-political-voice-83127">recent trend in which companies have increasingly staked out</a>
 public positions on often controversial social and political issues, 
such as restrictions on trans rights and ability to vote. As <a target="_blank" href="https://business.rice.edu/person/douglas-schuler">business professors</a> <a target="_blank" href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=k7slUggAAAAJ&amp;hl=en&amp;oi=ao">who study why</a> companies engage in activism, we feel the same factors that have driven those decisions to speak out are at work over Ukraine.

But we also believe Ukraine stands out for one important reason: For 
many of these companies, it may have been one of the easiest stands 
they’ve ever taken – even if there is a financial cost.

<a target="_blank" href="https://www.doi.org/10.1177/0022242920937000">Corporate sociopolitical activism</a>
 – the technical term we use – entails companies making public 
declarations or taking actions about significant social or political 
issues that extend beyond their core business.

Until relatively recently, <a target="_blank" href="https://theconversation.com/how-corporate-ceos-found-their-political-voice-83127">companies rarely took stands</a> on social or political issues.

That didn’t really change until the 2000s, when LBGTQ rights were under attack and major companies such as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-walmart-arkansas-analysis-idUSKBN0MT13E20150402">Walmart spoke out</a> against bills that would have allowed discrimination.

Since then, there’s been a <a target="_blank" href="https://qz.com/work/1797058/2020-is-the-year-corporate-activism-and-global-political-risk-converge/">surge in companies taking proactive stands</a> on issues ranging from climate activism and racism to abortion and voting rights.

For example, in the wake of the murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis in 2020, hundreds of CEOs <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/11/ceos-unveil-plans-against-racial-inequality-after-george-floyd-death.html">signed a pledge</a> against racial discrimination and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ceoaction.com/purpose/">created an organization dedicated</a> to diversity, equity and inclusion. In 2021, the CEOs of Dell, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and AT&amp;T <a target="_blank" href="https://www.npr.org/2021/04/02/983709091/these-are-the-businesses-speaking-out-against-texass-newly-proposed-election-law">spoke out against a Texas bill</a> aimed at making it more difficult for citizens to vote.

Others have taken more decisive action. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.npr.org/2021/09/08/1035045952/lyft-uber-will-pay-drivers-legal-fees-if-theyre-sued-under-texas-abortion-law">Uber and Lyft</a>
 said they would pay to defend their drivers if they got sued under a 
Texas law that allows anyone to sue a person who helps someone get an 
abortion. And in 2016, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/27/bathroom-bill-to-cost-north-carolina-376-billion.html">PayPal and the NCAA pulled business</a> from North Carolina after the state passed a bill limiting LGBTQ protections.

<a target="_blank" href="https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/great-expectations-navigating-challenging-stakeholder-expectations-of-brandsexpectations-of-brands">Surveys show</a> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/publication/documents/2021-11/ipsos-global-trends-2021-report.pdf">today’s consumers expect</a> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.5wpr.com/new/wp-content/uploads/pdf/5W_consumer_culture_report_2020final.pdf">companies to live up</a> to the <a target="_blank" href="https://certusinsights.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Markstein-Social-Responsibility-_-Certus-Insights-Research-_.pdf">values they espouse</a> in their press releases, and big corporate groups such as the Business Roundtable even began <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessroundtable.org/business-roundtable-redefines-the-purpose-of-a-corporation-to-promote-an-economy-that-serves-all-americans">urging companies</a> to focus on creating value for everyone – not just shareholders.

More specifically, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.econbiz.de/Record/don-t-mix-business-with-politics-understanding-stakeholder-reactions-to-corporate-political-activism-appels-moritz/10012303252">research</a> has identified <a target="_blank" href="https://www.doi.org/10.5465/amr.2018.0084">three major factors</a> that typically drive a company’s decision to pursue corporate activism: employee beliefs, consumer pressure and the <a target="_blank" href="https://hbr.org/2018/01/the-new-ceo-activists">CEO’s personal involvement</a> or conviction.

It’s not always clear what is driving corporate decisions to suspend 
operations in Russia, but it seems as if all three factors are at play.

IKEA, for example, <a target="_blank" href="https://about.ikea.com/en/newsroom/2022/03/03/ikea-pauses-operations-in-russia-and-belarus">cited the support and security</a>
 of its workforce in announcing its “pause” in Russia and a donation of 
20 million euros for humanitarian assistance for those displaced by the 
war. After a #BoycottMcDonald’s <a target="_blank" href="https://www.mashed.com/789748/heres-why-boycott-mcdonalds-is-trending-on-twitter/">began trending on Twitter</a>
 to protest its presence in Russia, the fast-food chain said it was 
temporarily closing its stores there. And Tesla CEO Elon Musk <a target="_blank" href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22958373/ukraine-russia-starlink-spacex-elon-musk">agreed to provide Ukraine</a> with free satellite internet after a Ukrainian official requested it on Twitter.

But ultimately, the decision whether or not to sever a relationship 
with a country – even if temporarily – is very different from taking a 
stand on an anti-trans measure.

Even so, the speed with which U.S. and other Western companies have 
abandoned Russia is something we’ve never seen in our lifetimes. And it 
suggests the decision was likely a no-brainer.

For one thing, Russia’s invasion has been met with widespread 
revulsion in the West. And even before the war, the public’s perception 
of Russia in Western countries <a target="_blank" href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/02/07/russia-and-putin-receive-low-ratings-globally">was very low</a>.

One post-invasion poll found that 86% of Americans <a target="_blank" href="https://poll.qu.edu/poll-release?releaseid=3837">saw the invasion as unjustified</a> – with broad bipartisan agreement – and another showed that half of the respondents would <a target="_blank" href="https://www.live5news.com/2022/03/07/poll-finds-majority-want-russian-oil-ban-divided-biden/">compare the actions of Vladimir Putin</a> with those of Adolf Hitler.

And governments including those like <a target="_blank" href="https://www.dw.com/en/german-chancellor-olaf-scholz-announces-paradigm-change-in-response-to-ukraine-invasion/a-60932652">Germany</a>
 that have close commercial ties to Russia have strongly condemned its 
actions and joined unprecedented sanctions. About 80% of Germans said 
they approved of their government’s decision to sanction Russia and 
export weapons to Ukraine – or said it didn’t go far enough.

Ultimately, the Russian market is just not that big for companies in the U.S, such as <a target="_blank" href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/22/03/04/what-apple-risks-by-stopping-all-sales-operations-in-russia">Apple</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://deadline.com/2022/03/disney-ukraine-theme-parks-disneyplus-1234973007/">Disney</a>. For others, such as McDonald’s, which has been <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-08/mcdonald-s-faces-tough-questions-with-large-exposure-to-russia?sref=Hjm5biAW">in Russia since 1990 and has about 850 locations there</a>, days of pressure finally persuaded company officials they had to pull out.

On many hot-button social issues like <a target="_blank" href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/350174/mixed-views-among-americans-transgender-issues.aspx">trans rights</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/09/13/key-facts-about-americans-and-guns/">gun control</a>, the general public is split almost right down the middle, meaning taking a stand could alienate a lot of consumers.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1646948339628.jpg" alt="Image courtesy of Pixabay" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy of Pixabay</figcaption>
 </figure>By DOUGLAS SCHULER and LAURA MARIE EDINGER-SCHONS <a href="https://www.nevadacurrent.com/2022/03/10/why-hundreds-of-western-companies-are-abandoning-russia-with-barely-a-shrug/">Courtesy States Newsroom</a>Many companies in the U.S. and elsewhere have been quick to sever ties to Russia – going well beyond applying the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-28/sanctions-imposed-so-far-on-russia-from-the-u-s-eu-and-u-k">sanctions ordered by their governments</a>.IKEA, Nike and H&amp;M are <a target="_blank" href="https://edition.cnn.com/2022/03/03/business/ikea-h-and-m-russia/index.html">temporarily closing their Russian stores</a>. Disney, Sony and Warner Bros. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/mar/01/disney-and-warner-bros-pause-film-releases-in-russia-over-ukraine-invasion">paused the release of new films</a> in Russia. Apple, Samsung and Microsoft <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cnet.com/news/apple-microsoft-and-other-tech-companies-stop-sales-in-russia/">stopped selling their products there</a>. McKinsey, Ernst &amp; Young and many other top <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/big-auditors-to-leave-russia-amid-invasion-of-ukraine-11646666419?mod=djemCFO">accounting</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ft.com/content/6c412673-d65e-4e75-adbb-08146c42387c">consulting firms</a> said they are leaving the Russian market – possibly for good.In all, <a target="_blank" href="https://som.yale.edu/story/2022/over-200-companies-have-withdrawn-russia-some-remain">over 300 companies have announced plans</a>
 to close stores, reassign staff or stop selling products in Russia 
since the invasion began on Feb. 24, 2022, according to a running tally 
by Yale management professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld. Most recently, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/08/business/mcdonalds-pepsi-coke-russia/index.html">McDonald’s</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/03/08/business/stocks-economy-inflation-ukraine">Starbucks</a> and Coca-Cola joined the list on March 8, 2022, announcing they would close stores and cease sales.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1575913663048.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>In some ways, these decisions fit in with a <a target="_blank" href="https://theconversation.com/how-corporate-ceos-found-their-political-voice-83127">recent trend in which companies have increasingly staked out</a>
 public positions on often controversial social and political issues, 
such as restrictions on trans rights and ability to vote. As <a target="_blank" href="https://business.rice.edu/person/douglas-schuler">business professors</a> <a target="_blank" href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=k7slUggAAAAJ&amp;hl=en&amp;oi=ao">who study why</a> companies engage in activism, we feel the same factors that have driven those decisions to speak out are at work over Ukraine.But we also believe Ukraine stands out for one important reason: For 
many of these companies, it may have been one of the easiest stands 
they’ve ever taken – even if there is a financial cost.<h2>Taking a stand</h2><a target="_blank" href="https://www.doi.org/10.1177/0022242920937000">Corporate sociopolitical activism</a>
 – the technical term we use – entails companies making public 
declarations or taking actions about significant social or political 
issues that extend beyond their core business.Until relatively recently, <a target="_blank" href="https://theconversation.com/how-corporate-ceos-found-their-political-voice-83127">companies rarely took stands</a> on social or political issues.That didn’t really change until the 2000s, when LBGTQ rights were under attack and major companies such as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-walmart-arkansas-analysis-idUSKBN0MT13E20150402">Walmart spoke out</a> against bills that would have allowed discrimination.Since then, there’s been a <a target="_blank" href="https://qz.com/work/1797058/2020-is-the-year-corporate-activism-and-global-political-risk-converge/">surge in companies taking proactive stands</a> on issues ranging from climate activism and racism to abortion and voting rights.For example, in the wake of the murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis in 2020, hundreds of CEOs <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/11/ceos-unveil-plans-against-racial-inequality-after-george-floyd-death.html">signed a pledge</a> against racial discrimination and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ceoaction.com/purpose/">created an organization dedicated</a> to diversity, equity and inclusion. In 2021, the CEOs of Dell, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and AT&amp;T <a target="_blank" href="https://www.npr.org/2021/04/02/983709091/these-are-the-businesses-speaking-out-against-texass-newly-proposed-election-law">spoke out against a Texas bill</a> aimed at making it more difficult for citizens to vote.Others have taken more decisive action. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.npr.org/2021/09/08/1035045952/lyft-uber-will-pay-drivers-legal-fees-if-theyre-sued-under-texas-abortion-law">Uber and Lyft</a>
 said they would pay to defend their drivers if they got sued under a 
Texas law that allows anyone to sue a person who helps someone get an 
abortion. And in 2016, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/27/bathroom-bill-to-cost-north-carolina-376-billion.html">PayPal and the NCAA pulled business</a> from North Carolina after the state passed a bill limiting LGBTQ protections.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/great-expectations-navigating-challenging-stakeholder-expectations-of-brandsexpectations-of-brands">Surveys show</a> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/publication/documents/2021-11/ipsos-global-trends-2021-report.pdf">today’s consumers expect</a> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.5wpr.com/new/wp-content/uploads/pdf/5W_consumer_culture_report_2020final.pdf">companies to live up</a> to the <a target="_blank" href="https://certusinsights.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Markstein-Social-Responsibility-_-Certus-Insights-Research-_.pdf">values they espouse</a> in their press releases, and big corporate groups such as the Business Roundtable even began <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessroundtable.org/business-roundtable-redefines-the-purpose-of-a-corporation-to-promote-an-economy-that-serves-all-americans">urging companies</a> to focus on creating value for everyone – not just shareholders.<h2>Why companies speak out</h2>More specifically, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.econbiz.de/Record/don-t-mix-business-with-politics-understanding-stakeholder-reactions-to-corporate-political-activism-appels-moritz/10012303252">research</a> has identified <a target="_blank" href="https://www.doi.org/10.5465/amr.2018.0084">three major factors</a> that typically drive a company’s decision to pursue corporate activism: employee beliefs, consumer pressure and the <a target="_blank" href="https://hbr.org/2018/01/the-new-ceo-activists">CEO’s personal involvement</a> or conviction.It’s not always clear what is driving corporate decisions to suspend 
operations in Russia, but it seems as if all three factors are at play.IKEA, for example, <a target="_blank" href="https://about.ikea.com/en/newsroom/2022/03/03/ikea-pauses-operations-in-russia-and-belarus">cited the support and security</a>
 of its workforce in announcing its “pause” in Russia and a donation of 
20 million euros for humanitarian assistance for those displaced by the 
war. After a #BoycottMcDonald’s <a target="_blank" href="https://www.mashed.com/789748/heres-why-boycott-mcdonalds-is-trending-on-twitter/">began trending on Twitter</a>
 to protest its presence in Russia, the fast-food chain said it was 
temporarily closing its stores there. And Tesla CEO Elon Musk <a target="_blank" href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22958373/ukraine-russia-starlink-spacex-elon-musk">agreed to provide Ukraine</a> with free satellite internet after a Ukrainian official requested it on Twitter.<h2>A corporate no-brainer</h2>But ultimately, the decision whether or not to sever a relationship 
with a country – even if temporarily – is very different from taking a 
stand on an anti-trans measure.Even so, the speed with which U.S. and other Western companies have 
abandoned Russia is something we’ve never seen in our lifetimes. And it 
suggests the decision was likely a no-brainer.For one thing, Russia’s invasion has been met with widespread 
revulsion in the West. And even before the war, the public’s perception 
of Russia in Western countries <a target="_blank" href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/02/07/russia-and-putin-receive-low-ratings-globally">was very low</a>.One post-invasion poll found that 86% of Americans <a target="_blank" href="https://poll.qu.edu/poll-release?releaseid=3837">saw the invasion as unjustified</a> – with broad bipartisan agreement – and another showed that half of the respondents would <a target="_blank" href="https://www.live5news.com/2022/03/07/poll-finds-majority-want-russian-oil-ban-divided-biden/">compare the actions of Vladimir Putin</a> with those of Adolf Hitler.And governments including those like <a target="_blank" href="https://www.dw.com/en/german-chancellor-olaf-scholz-announces-paradigm-change-in-response-to-ukraine-invasion/a-60932652">Germany</a>
 that have close commercial ties to Russia have strongly condemned its 
actions and joined unprecedented sanctions. About 80% of Germans said 
they approved of their government’s decision to sanction Russia and 
export weapons to Ukraine – or said it didn’t go far enough.Ultimately, the Russian market is just not that big for companies in the U.S, such as <a target="_blank" href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/22/03/04/what-apple-risks-by-stopping-all-sales-operations-in-russia">Apple</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://deadline.com/2022/03/disney-ukraine-theme-parks-disneyplus-1234973007/">Disney</a>. For others, such as McDonald’s, which has been <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-08/mcdonald-s-faces-tough-questions-with-large-exposure-to-russia?sref=Hjm5biAW">in Russia since 1990 and has about 850 locations there</a>, days of pressure finally persuaded company officials they had to pull out.On many hot-button social issues like <a target="_blank" href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/350174/mixed-views-among-americans-transgender-issues.aspx">trans rights</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/09/13/key-facts-about-americans-and-guns/">gun control</a>, the general public is split almost right down the middle, meaning taking a stand could alienate a lot of consumers.But on the issue of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, many companies likely were more worried about the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/mcdonalds-us-brands-pressure-stop-business-russia-rcna18990">risks to their reputation</a>
 were they to do nothing. With so many other companies pulling out, it 
likely seemed better to explain to shareholders and customers back home <a target="_blank" href="https://edition.cnn.com/2022/03/02/business/companies-pulling-back-russia-ukraine-war-intl-hnk/index.html">why they’re leaving</a> than <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-60660006">why they’re staying</a>.This article is republished from <a target="_blank" href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a target="_blank" href="https://theconversation.com/why-apple-disney-ikea-and-hundreds-of-other-western-companies-are-abandoning-russia-with-barely-a-shrug-178516">original article</a>.<h2>Douglas Schuler</h2>Associate Professor of Business and Public Policy, Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University<h2>Laura Marie Edinger-Schons</h2>Professor of Sustainable Business, University of Mannheim

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