Media bias persists; but kudos to Chillicothe Gazette
Lead Summary
By
Rory Ryan-hcpress@cinci.rr.com
As the 2011 general election is behind us, let's begin this week's little ditty by acknowledging all those who ran for public office.
The winners have had their respective congratulations by now. Those who didn't win also deserve a word or two of thanks for having the personal wherewithal to subject themselves to a political campaign and the headaches that often go with it.
One thing sets all of you apart from your critics, be they in the media or on the street: You actually tried to make a difference while many others remained on the sidelines.
Thank you for participating in the electoral process in this great republic we call America.
And as the much-anticipated race for mayor of Hillsboro wrapped up, it was very good to hear Highland County Clerk of Courts Ike Hodson tell voters they had "two good candidates who had Hillsboro's interests at heart."
* * *
Next up, from the "I can't believe this happens in 2011 file," a village council still thinks it can do the public's business in secret.
Our media neighbors to the east at the Chillicothe Gazette have threatened legal action against the Waverly council for an alleged blatant violation of the Ohio Open Meetings Act.
It seems the Waverly council president doesn't believe the council committee meetings fall under the standards of Ohio's open meetings laws.
Even if the council president would succeed in court – he won't – the question remains: Why would you want to shield the public's business from the light of day? (They do call it a Sunshine Law for a reason, pal.)
The Chillicothe paper and its very capable editor Mike Throne cited Ohio Revised Code 121.22, which defines "any committee or subcommittee of a (public body)" as a public body subject to open meetings laws. Those open meetings laws require the entity to give notice of the meeting and requires it be conducted in a public place," the newspaper wrote.
As someone who's been imploring public bodies in several southern Ohio counties to respect and adhere to state laws on open meetings and public record access, I have to commend the Chillicothe Gazette for taking a stance.
Since I'd rather not write a check to my own attorneys, I tend to handle such refusals of public meeting access or public records in this fashion, which has served me well.
1. If a public official denies rightful access to Highland County's only locally owned newspaper, we'll publish a story to that effect.
2. We'll also publish an editorial opinion, causing further embarrassment.
3. We'll still get the public information to our readers, which was the initial intent.
Now, if you're in such a public office, wouldn't it be easier to choose door No. 3?
Editor Throne has been much more diplomatic.
"The goal is simply to allow the public, the residents of Waverly, to have a say in their government, and by failing to notify the public about when these committee meetings are happening, they're not supplying Waverly residents with the ability to comment and challenge what their government does," Mr. Throne said.
Seems reasonable, logical and legal. The public has a right to know what their government's up to. Good work, Mike.
* * *
Media bias
Long before media professional Bernard Goldberg exposed the leftward slant of those whose calling is to inform the masses, former Reagan Secretary of the Interior James G. Watt tried to do the same thing.
For all their efforts, both were ridiculed by the press, the late-night jokesters and most of the rest of us. As they were predictably castigated by the Left, they found supporters on the Right few and far between.
After all, when there's an imminent lynching, it's easier to be a bystander than a savior.
In Watts' book, "The Courage of a Conservative," he wrote "You can beat a man into submission in our political system if you can get the press to do your dirty work."
He's right.
In his book "Bias," Goldberg accurately pointed out that the mainstream news media have a liberal bias. They do.
And don't kid yourself. They also have a money-driven agenda.
Accuracy and Fairness may have been taught in journalism classes, but they rarely apply in the real world. There are different standards for different classes.
Consider this Goldberg passage: “For reporters who were too young to cover the great civil rights struggle of the 1960s, the homeless story 20 years later was the next best thing.”
Goldberg argued that during the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan was seen as the cause of homelessness. (Of course, homelessness "ended" after Bill Clinton's election because media coverage of it all but ended.)
The media are very good at telling us what they want us to know. They are less adept at the once noble tenets of Accuracy and Fairness.
Consider these questions: What former U.S. president...
• Championed an end to war;
• Campaigned on an end to conscription (i.e. compulsory enlistment for state service, a.k.a the draft);
• Promised 18-year-olds (who were old enough to be drafted) the right to vote; and,
• Promised a college education for every American regardless of social or monetary status?
In true Professor Horne investigatory fashion, I tried an unscientific poll of college graduates.
The correct answer: That bastion of liberaldom himself, Richard Nixon. Who knew?
In January 1969, University of Notre Dame President Fr. Ted Hesburgh, who was a long-serving member of the nation's Civil Rights Commission, was invited to meet with President Nixon.
Father Ted was asked by the president to oversee the "poverty program."
According to his biography, "God, Country, Notre Dame," Fr. Ted wrote: "I told him I did not think that was a very good idea. I thought the poverty program could be made to work, but that my ideas would destroy the patronage system used by mayors who were handing out jobs to their pals…
"Can you imagine what would happen (in the South) if a Catholic priest came in and wiped out all of that patronage?"
Father Hesburgh ended his conversation with President Nixon with this recollection: "As long as I'm here, may I give you some advice?"
President Nixon said "Go ahead."
The advice was simple and direct: End the war in Vietnam, give 18-year-olds the right to vote, end the draft, and create a program whereby any qualified young adult should not be prevented from attending college due to a lack of money.
Aside from Watergate, one has to wonder just how often Nixon's name surfaces in today's classrooms. In a way, it's similar to former Ohio Gov. James Rhodes. He's remembered more for "Four Dead in Ohio" at Kent State than he is for trying to bring a college education to within 20 miles of every Ohioan. (Unless you live in parts of Adams County, but I digress.)
At the height of the student revolutions of the late 1960s and early '70s, Fr. Hesburgh categorized the (often faculty-driven) nonsense as follows: "The rhythm is simple: Find a cause, any cause, silly or not; in the name of the 'cause,' get a few determined people to abuse the rights of the community so as to force a confrontation; once this has occurred, justified or not, yell 'police brutality' and if it does not happen, provoke it by foul language, physical abuse, whatever… Then call for amnesty."
Cultural literates will recall the story of the Kent State uprising, but few will recall the words of Aristotle. "Young people have exalted notions because they have not yet been humbled by life or learned its necessary limitations; moreover, their hopeful disposition makes them think themselves equal to great things. They would always rather do noble deeds than useful ones."
In a nutshell, that sums up too much of the modern media.
Twenty-five years ago, James Watt wrote that "people deserve to be treated with decency, but decency doesn't make the evening news."
For several years, I kept a file on wire stories, many from The Associated Press, that were filled with inconsistencies and outright lies.
One spring, when former President George W. Bush was asked to throw out the ceremonial "first pitch" at a Cincinnati Reds' Opening Day game, the AP reported that Bush received a nice ovation in this "heavily Republican city."
The reporter could not simply write that the president received a nice ovation. She had to include the qualifier "in this heavily Republican city."
Aside from the AP reporter being neither Fair nor Accurate, she was right about one thing. "W" did throw out the first pitch, a nice fastball over the outside corner as I recall.
Of course, a simple telephone call to the Hamilton County Board of Elections would have confirmed that Cincinnati has been an overwhelmingly Democrat city for two generations. But that wouldn't fit the MSM agenda.
The AP, sadly, does not concern itself with Accuracy and Fairness 100 percent of the time. From someone who's seen it for years, trust me on this one. If it doesn't fit the template, it's not always newsworthy.
While a 2011 small-town mayor's race might reach their radar, an admitted and coordinated theft within their own industry in 2009 does not. (They – and others – do have the evidence, which might explain the long faces at the industry functions.) And if I am wrong, why don't they challenge me? Because they know that dog won't hunt.
How we lookin'? Not good.
When it comes to the mainstreamers, Accuracy and Fairness are not always in the equation.
Rory Ryan is publisher and editor of The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]
The winners have had their respective congratulations by now. Those who didn't win also deserve a word or two of thanks for having the personal wherewithal to subject themselves to a political campaign and the headaches that often go with it.
One thing sets all of you apart from your critics, be they in the media or on the street: You actually tried to make a difference while many others remained on the sidelines.
Thank you for participating in the electoral process in this great republic we call America.
And as the much-anticipated race for mayor of Hillsboro wrapped up, it was very good to hear Highland County Clerk of Courts Ike Hodson tell voters they had "two good candidates who had Hillsboro's interests at heart."
* * *
Next up, from the "I can't believe this happens in 2011 file," a village council still thinks it can do the public's business in secret.
Our media neighbors to the east at the Chillicothe Gazette have threatened legal action against the Waverly council for an alleged blatant violation of the Ohio Open Meetings Act.
It seems the Waverly council president doesn't believe the council committee meetings fall under the standards of Ohio's open meetings laws.
Even if the council president would succeed in court – he won't – the question remains: Why would you want to shield the public's business from the light of day? (They do call it a Sunshine Law for a reason, pal.)
The Chillicothe paper and its very capable editor Mike Throne cited Ohio Revised Code 121.22, which defines "any committee or subcommittee of a (public body)" as a public body subject to open meetings laws. Those open meetings laws require the entity to give notice of the meeting and requires it be conducted in a public place," the newspaper wrote.
As someone who's been imploring public bodies in several southern Ohio counties to respect and adhere to state laws on open meetings and public record access, I have to commend the Chillicothe Gazette for taking a stance.
Since I'd rather not write a check to my own attorneys, I tend to handle such refusals of public meeting access or public records in this fashion, which has served me well.
1. If a public official denies rightful access to Highland County's only locally owned newspaper, we'll publish a story to that effect.
2. We'll also publish an editorial opinion, causing further embarrassment.
3. We'll still get the public information to our readers, which was the initial intent.
Now, if you're in such a public office, wouldn't it be easier to choose door No. 3?
Editor Throne has been much more diplomatic.
"The goal is simply to allow the public, the residents of Waverly, to have a say in their government, and by failing to notify the public about when these committee meetings are happening, they're not supplying Waverly residents with the ability to comment and challenge what their government does," Mr. Throne said.
Seems reasonable, logical and legal. The public has a right to know what their government's up to. Good work, Mike.
* * *
Media bias
Long before media professional Bernard Goldberg exposed the leftward slant of those whose calling is to inform the masses, former Reagan Secretary of the Interior James G. Watt tried to do the same thing.
For all their efforts, both were ridiculed by the press, the late-night jokesters and most of the rest of us. As they were predictably castigated by the Left, they found supporters on the Right few and far between.
After all, when there's an imminent lynching, it's easier to be a bystander than a savior.
In Watts' book, "The Courage of a Conservative," he wrote "You can beat a man into submission in our political system if you can get the press to do your dirty work."
He's right.
In his book "Bias," Goldberg accurately pointed out that the mainstream news media have a liberal bias. They do.
And don't kid yourself. They also have a money-driven agenda.
Accuracy and Fairness may have been taught in journalism classes, but they rarely apply in the real world. There are different standards for different classes.
Consider this Goldberg passage: “For reporters who were too young to cover the great civil rights struggle of the 1960s, the homeless story 20 years later was the next best thing.”
Goldberg argued that during the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan was seen as the cause of homelessness. (Of course, homelessness "ended" after Bill Clinton's election because media coverage of it all but ended.)
The media are very good at telling us what they want us to know. They are less adept at the once noble tenets of Accuracy and Fairness.
Consider these questions: What former U.S. president...
• Championed an end to war;
• Campaigned on an end to conscription (i.e. compulsory enlistment for state service, a.k.a the draft);
• Promised 18-year-olds (who were old enough to be drafted) the right to vote; and,
• Promised a college education for every American regardless of social or monetary status?
In true Professor Horne investigatory fashion, I tried an unscientific poll of college graduates.
The correct answer: That bastion of liberaldom himself, Richard Nixon. Who knew?
In January 1969, University of Notre Dame President Fr. Ted Hesburgh, who was a long-serving member of the nation's Civil Rights Commission, was invited to meet with President Nixon.
Father Ted was asked by the president to oversee the "poverty program."
According to his biography, "God, Country, Notre Dame," Fr. Ted wrote: "I told him I did not think that was a very good idea. I thought the poverty program could be made to work, but that my ideas would destroy the patronage system used by mayors who were handing out jobs to their pals…
"Can you imagine what would happen (in the South) if a Catholic priest came in and wiped out all of that patronage?"
Father Hesburgh ended his conversation with President Nixon with this recollection: "As long as I'm here, may I give you some advice?"
President Nixon said "Go ahead."
The advice was simple and direct: End the war in Vietnam, give 18-year-olds the right to vote, end the draft, and create a program whereby any qualified young adult should not be prevented from attending college due to a lack of money.
Aside from Watergate, one has to wonder just how often Nixon's name surfaces in today's classrooms. In a way, it's similar to former Ohio Gov. James Rhodes. He's remembered more for "Four Dead in Ohio" at Kent State than he is for trying to bring a college education to within 20 miles of every Ohioan. (Unless you live in parts of Adams County, but I digress.)
At the height of the student revolutions of the late 1960s and early '70s, Fr. Hesburgh categorized the (often faculty-driven) nonsense as follows: "The rhythm is simple: Find a cause, any cause, silly or not; in the name of the 'cause,' get a few determined people to abuse the rights of the community so as to force a confrontation; once this has occurred, justified or not, yell 'police brutality' and if it does not happen, provoke it by foul language, physical abuse, whatever… Then call for amnesty."
Cultural literates will recall the story of the Kent State uprising, but few will recall the words of Aristotle. "Young people have exalted notions because they have not yet been humbled by life or learned its necessary limitations; moreover, their hopeful disposition makes them think themselves equal to great things. They would always rather do noble deeds than useful ones."
In a nutshell, that sums up too much of the modern media.
Twenty-five years ago, James Watt wrote that "people deserve to be treated with decency, but decency doesn't make the evening news."
For several years, I kept a file on wire stories, many from The Associated Press, that were filled with inconsistencies and outright lies.
One spring, when former President George W. Bush was asked to throw out the ceremonial "first pitch" at a Cincinnati Reds' Opening Day game, the AP reported that Bush received a nice ovation in this "heavily Republican city."
The reporter could not simply write that the president received a nice ovation. She had to include the qualifier "in this heavily Republican city."
Aside from the AP reporter being neither Fair nor Accurate, she was right about one thing. "W" did throw out the first pitch, a nice fastball over the outside corner as I recall.
Of course, a simple telephone call to the Hamilton County Board of Elections would have confirmed that Cincinnati has been an overwhelmingly Democrat city for two generations. But that wouldn't fit the MSM agenda.
The AP, sadly, does not concern itself with Accuracy and Fairness 100 percent of the time. From someone who's seen it for years, trust me on this one. If it doesn't fit the template, it's not always newsworthy.
While a 2011 small-town mayor's race might reach their radar, an admitted and coordinated theft within their own industry in 2009 does not. (They – and others – do have the evidence, which might explain the long faces at the industry functions.) And if I am wrong, why don't they challenge me? Because they know that dog won't hunt.
How we lookin'? Not good.
When it comes to the mainstreamers, Accuracy and Fairness are not always in the equation.
Rory Ryan is publisher and editor of The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]