Where were the Joplin newspapers?

The problem of illegal immigration is one of the great issues facing this country and a hearing on the subject was held Thursday at Missouri Southern State University.
A commission headed by Rep. Ed Emery, R-Lamar, held a hearing to determine the extent of the problem in southwest Missouri. It was the most recent in a series of such meetings across the state.
I saw no coverage of the meeting in either the Globe or the Joplin Daily. The ones who did come through for this area were our local television stations. KODE, KOAM, and KSNF all offered coverage of the meeting.
Undoubtedly, the meetings being held by this commission are going to lead to some sort of legislation next year to deal with the illegal immigration situation. Therefore, the coverage provided by local television was much appreciated. This kind of issue, however, is one that cries for the kind of in-depth examination that local television usually does not have the time to provide. This is where newspapers have a clear advantage. Unfortunately, at least in this case, our local newspapers chose not to use it.