Re: media and impartiality

[The Real Me <emerald.eyes@xxxxxxx>]

On Fri, 25 Apr 2003 03:26:56 +0000,  "L. Bird" <pkeets@hotmail.com>
wrote:

>Here's an interesting link regarding media and impartiality with excerpts 
>below.  I notice the SF Chronicle fired one of their reporters for taking 
>part in an anti-war rally.  Clear Channel corporate's statement regarding 
>their non-involvement in the local pro-war rallies may well be true, as we 
>experienced the Who boycott from one of their stations in January, but 
>support from others.
>

Many newspapers do not want their employees participating in any
partisan political activities, out of fear that it would taint their
(the newspapers') reputations.

When I wrote for a Gannett chain of papers just north of NYC, I asked
my department's editor if I could do some political volunteering -- in
NYC, which is pretty much outside the chain's area of coverage. He
said that they forbid any political activity (outside of voting) for
any employees -- even those of us in Sports.

One reason (or excuse?) he gave was that since Governor Pataki (who
was up for re-election that year) had lived in the area and his kids
had attended school there -- four years earlier -- some people might
accuse us of tilting the coverage of those schools. 

Another reason/excuse was that it was possible that we in the Sports
Department might be sent out to cover various races, count results,
etc.

Leslie


--
"Every one of the innocents who died on Sept. 11 was the most important person on earth to somebody. 
Every death extinguished a world." -- President George W. Bush, 12/11/2001

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