[Peace-discuss] [Discuss] My interactions with the N-G

[John W. via Peace-discuss]

This is why we created the public i 13 years ago.  Would that it had the
circulation that the News-Gazette does.  But it's not banal enough.

John Wason


On Fri, Nov 28, 2014 at 12:29 PM, David Green via
Discuss-CommunityCourtwatch <discuss-communitycourtwatch at lists.chambana.net>
wrote:

As many of you undoubtedly know, I've published many letters over the years
> in the N-G, and over the last 5 years or so, quite a few Sunday guest
> commentaries from an overtly leftist and radical perspective. I've always
> felt that it is important to reach a broader audience in any way available.
> I took it as a sign of some minimal sense of fairness on the part of the
> N-G editors (mostly the retired John Beck, I think) to allow me that space
> (or, from another perspective, allow me to work for free).
>
> Last summer I submitted a piece related to both Gaza and Jewish dissidence
> regarding Israel. Dan Corkery, the managing editor, rejected it with the
> excuse that he had already published one article from a critical
> perspective, and that there were no others from a pro-Israel perspective
> that had been submitted to provide "balance." I wrote to him that I was
> "disgusted by his behavior." That provided him with an excuse to no longer
> publish my submissions. I may have shot myself in the foot; so be it.
> Nevertheless it would appear, whatever Corkery's benign persona as managing
> editor, that he has really limited the space for alternative perspectives
> since he took over; his choices are heavily weighted toward the trivial and
> the banal, as well as the overtly right wing. I suspect that he was looking
> for an excuse, and I gave him one.
>
> This may sound self serving, but it's just as well for me to move on from
> that particular approach (among many), although they will continue to
> accept my letters. I'm sure that there are many in the activist community
> who have always wanted nothing to do with the N-G, and that's
> understandable. But certainly this morning's editorial in full-blown
> justification of the murder of Michael Brown achieves a new low, if that is
> possible, and has prompted me to send this message to these lists.
>
> In any event and for whatever it's worth, what is pasted below is a
> message I sent to Dan Corkery a few days ago, subsequent to an initial
> apologetic e-mail and his acceptance of my apology while affirming that my
> commentaries would no longer be welcome. I don't pretend that this is
> anything that most readers of these lists don't already know; nevertheless,
> thank you for indulging me:
>
> Dan;
>
> I appreciate your response and your acceptance of my apology. My 2 cents
> at this point, in the spirit of honesty and truth as I see it, whether
> regarding you personally or the editors collectively, is that a significant
> segment of our community is utterly and blatantly dis-respected and
> dismissed by the News-Gazette, and is well aware of that. Similarly, the
> News-Gazette has earned the routine and dismissive contempt of those of us
> who sincerely and actively wish to make the world a better place in ways
> that the N-G editors do not approve of. It is viewed by hundreds and
> perhaps thousands of community members, frankly, with utter contempt and
> worse. My efforts have always been to bridge that gap and to act in good
> faith and respect--but these efforts were ultimately doomed to fail in a
> context that is "fair and balanced" between truth and lies. The racist and
> prejudicial currents that predominate at the N-G simply run too deep and
> are too reflexive, whether regarding minorities, the poor, Palestinians,
> Arabs, Muslims, or demonized nations like Iran and North Korea--not to
> mention state government employees, union members, and school teachers.
> Hate is by no means too strong a word to describe your newspaper's modus
> operandi, especially regarding Palestinians, a sincere interest of mine.
> And the U of I boosterism regarding administration, sports, etc. only adds
> to the perception and reality of that lack of objectivity. Whatever the
> sincerity or professionalism of your own contribution, in my honest view
> you have no reason to believe that the News-Gazette contributes in any
> serious way toward making our community, state, and world a better and more
> informed place. Indeed, it is a source of an enormous amount of pernicious
> dis-information, on a regular and systematic basis. In an educated and
> progressive community with enormous potential, that is a real shame, and a
> real missed opportunity. Whatever dis-respect I may have shown to you
> merely reflects this ongoing context.
>
> David Green
>
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