Steven A Smith

Steven A. Smith is clinical associate professor emeritus in the School of Journalism and Mass Media at the University of Idaho having retired from full-time teaching at the end of May 2020. He writes a weekly opinion column. Smith is former editor of The Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington. As editor, Smith supervised all news and editorial operations on all platforms until his resignation in October 2008. Prior to joining The Spokesman-Review, Smith was editor for two years at the Statesman Journal in Salem, Oregon, and was for five years editor and vice president of The Gazette in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He is a graduate of the Northwestern University Newspaper Management Center Advanced Executive Program and a mid-career development program at Duke University. He holds an M.A. in communication from The Ohio State University where he was a Kiplinger Fellow, and a B.S. in journalism from the University of Oregon.

Loan Forgiveness is a Mixed Bag

But the loan forgiveness that will change my daughter’s life comes at a cost. And when I look at the president’s program through a lens other than that of father, I must acknowledge that cost.

The Decline in Belief

I think much of the decline in belief is due to the precipitous decline in trust of all institutions. If we do not trust in government, or business, or media, or even the organized church, then why should we trust there is a God?

Music of My Life

You can learn a lot about a person from their musical preferences. And maybe a bit about their values, even their faith. 

Alex Jones is ‘Scum’

But Alex Jones said Jesse was not real, not a potential academic superstar, not an athlete, not a leader. He said Jesse was an actor. He said the boy and the other Sandy Hook students were part of an elaborate “false flag” exercise staged by the U.S. government under former President Barack Obama to scare the public into supporting strict gun laws, maybe even to win support for repeal of the Second Amendment.

The View From The Recliner

I have sometimes written about the view from my porch, one of my favorite places to watch the world go by on cool autumn days, or better, summer mornings or breezy evenings.

But this last week, I can only write about the view from my living room recliner.

The Committee That No One Heard

It was a triumph for American democracy and the rule of law, albeit, in retrospect, Nixon’s crimes were pale, puny things compared to what we have seen from former President Trump.

Two Years with FāVS

So, giving it not much thought at all, I asked Tracy if I could write a column for her site, Spokane Faith and Values.

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