Where's the candidate forum?
If I were managing the local paper, there would be a story in today's edition about Wednesday's LD1 candidate forum, organized by the League of Women Voters at YC. I saw Lynn McMaster there taking pics and Bill Monroe and Don Steel taking sound and interviews. I didn't see a Courier photographer or reporter.
Quite apart from my agreement with her on most of the issues, I thought Lindsay Bell was clearly very confident, well prepared and well spoken, standing head and shoulders above Noel Campbell's know-nothing jingoism, Karen Fann's smug naivete and Rep Andy Tobin's all-about-me fatuousness. Lindsay brought clear, specific, positive ideas to the table, where her opponents relied on ideology and slogans.
On the Senate side, Sen Steve Pierce was able to coast on his cowboy-patrician air because Bob Donahue couldn't seem to organize his thoughts or project any confidence in his ideas, which on paper aren't bad. I got the feeling he'd be eaten alive at the capitol.
Followup, Sunday: I thought the editors might have been saving the story for the Sunday edition, but no dice. This adds to the mound of actions indicating unwillingness at the Courier to cover Democrats. Prove me wrong, editors.
9 comments:
Steve-
gotta ask, why are you not nearly as critical about any of the other media sources here in the quad-city area as you are with the courier?
I feel a daily local paper is the most important medium for building and maintaining a community. Our local paper has had a consistently bad reputation for decades, and until recently that was economically sustainable, but in the current media environment and what's coming, it's a recipe for failure. That would leave us with no local paper, which to me is unacceptable. So the only logical option is working to improve what we have. Further, I have found the editors doing things that offend my profession, eroding the reputation of journalists everywhere. I eventually reached a point where I could no longer allow these insults to go on unmarked.
The other local print and web-based media are ephemeral and run by amateurs who can't be expected to know how things are done. The little remaining local commercial radio is generally a waste of time, just irredeemable right-wing propaganda.
I do hope that in one of these candidate forums someone will ask the fatuous (your word), pompous Mr. Tobin why he strongly supported the payday loan industry. An industry that thrived on charging those who could least afford it indefensibly usurious rates of interest. And then suddenly retreated from his position??? Watch him squirm.
Have you seen the latest letter sent out by the Courier "Circulation Editor" ?
They're bleeding so bad that he's now offering an 'opportunity' to subscribe for less that .20 cents per day. i.e 'yesterday's news tomorrow ' $71.37 for 52 weeks !
And to you long-suffering 'loyal subscribers' ha ha ha ..
Steve-
Short-term or not, I believe you should be as critical with the other local news outlets as you are with the courier. Is the courier the NY Times, certainly not and it never will be for a variety of reasons I think some of your critisism is spot on, but some of it also goes overboard. People will forever rip the courier for all its faults and that's sad because I believe the courier and its staff work hard.
"Working hard' is not the same as working SMART. If you have been involved in any business or company you have seen many people 'working hard' and perhaps have been doing it wrong all their working lives! Steve is the only breath of fresh air and intelligence posting in this community.
@Anonymous "1"...I wish I understood your issue with Steve's comments. Are you defending the right of the Courier to deny Democratic candidates equal time? Is it up to Steve to write to every paper in the area, possibly in Arizona, to bring attention to this issue? Or, are you concerned that someone will listen to him and actually begin to cover the Democrats equally? Why would that concern you?
I have to agree with Steve that it is the responsibility of the Courier (a technically neutral news source) to cover all sides equally. I don’t, however, agree with your opinion that it is up to Steve to hold every paper accountable in the area. Steve has never claimed to be a news source for Prescott. The header of the Courier includes the line, “Trusted Local News Leader for Prescott, Arizona communities since 1882.” That claim carries a lot of responsibility, in my opinion. When looking at Steve’s “home page”, I find no similar claims. However, the title of his blog “Courierwatch” would lead the educated reader to assume he is...watching the Courier.
Ah. And there's the rub. Are there any educated readers left in the Courier's fold?
I think it's important to bear in mind that understanding local issues and events is or should be a key component of what it means to be "educated." How can we properly stay abreast of these things without a competent and fair local newspaper operation?
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