In a message dated 1/6/01 4:53:38 PM, Andy Driscoll wrote: >Aghast is soft for what I feel. Is rage better? What in hell is this about >"routine" and "if-we-carried-every-beating-of-a-driver story, >we'd-have-no-room-for-anything-else bullrot. What overstatement, and what a >callous attitude for a newspaper to present. This is urban journalistic >cynicism and arrogant news management at its worst (except when the paper >plays footsie with police officers beating the heads of legitimate >demonstrators). > >Steve Brandt - and obviously others - waste a lot of time defending their >lousy coverage and presume that only they have the value set to determine >newsworthiness of events. As a working journalist, I am ashamed for my >industry for a refusal to see the worth in stories that truly touch people, >but worse, which threaten the very 1st Amendment they'd go to the wall >defending if anyone attacked their right to publish anything they damned >well pleased. I would defend the latter to the death, why don't they defend >the former? > >Andy Driscoll ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Kudos to Mr. Driscoll for scoring a 10.0 in correctly characterizing the STRIB'S failure to address this ghastly story. The perception of "arrogance by the STRIB" is right on target!! The video tape of this beating may have given TV stations a better reporting opportunity, but that is no excuse for the STRIB to ignore the incident. And if the opinion of Steve Brandt is correct that this attack on a bus driver is not that unusual, then where the heck was the STRIB in it's role to publicize this fact and champion corrective action? Bob Schoonover Afton MN
