At most newspapers, from time to time the editorial page content differs from what is seen on the news pages.
Very seldom does the editorial page undercut the editors and reporters of a newspaper as blatantly as The Joplin Globe did this week with its editorial on Gary Nodler's confrontation with a 20-year-old caregiver at a local movie theater.
It was the Globe that first brought the matter to the public's attention in a page-one story by written by investigative reporter Max McCoy, and kept it alive with follow-up reports. The issue obviously resonated with the public, considering all of the letters to the editor and comments on the Globe's website.
Then the Globe editorial board entered the picture and said it was not a story after all. It was just a he said/she said situation.
As you can imagine, Globe reporters are angered about this and some of them believe that the editorial was spoon-fed to the Globe editorial page editor by Gary Nodler and his supporters. Consider some of what was put in the editorial:
"It would be informative if he were to confirm Nodler’s contention that others in the theater asked for refunds because of the noise level." This indicates that the Globe editorial board is 100 percent certain that Nodler's version of the story is the complete truth.
"Legislative members of both parties voted for reducing Medicaid to bring under control the spending that threatened to take ever-larger chunks out of a resource-limited state budget," the editorial said. That appears to some Globe reporters to come directly from the Nodler camp since it would have only taken a few minutes for editorial writer to double check his facts. Though some are trying to show that in preliminary votes, Democrats also voted for the Medicaid cuts, the simple fact is the cuts were made totally on a party-line vote. Not one Democrat voted yes.
Morale is low at the Globe, as you can imagine. Editors and reporters have been shown that there are sacred cows that cannot be written about truthfully and Sen. Gary Nodler is one of them.
Now they are wondering who else is on that list.
Did you really talk to a Globe reporter or are you just making this up because that's what you assume?
ReplyDeleteIf I were basing it on what I assumed, that's what I would have said.
ReplyDeleteI, for one, salute the Joplin Globe news staff and the editor Ed Simpson for attempting to bring Joplin into the 21st century in terms of government oversight, economic development, and public discussion, to name only three points. But it is becoming increasing obvious that the publisher, Dan Chiodo, and the editorial page director,Clair Goodwin, and some other members of the business staff need to go. They have lost sight of the function of a newspaper and they have not kept up with the changes in American journalism. There are extremists attempting to take control of the press, and regardless of what you call them--left-wingers or right-wingers--they pursue their own personal agenda and not one for the good of our representative democracy--and I stress the word representative. The press plays a terribly important role in that representation and only a cold, close look at our governmental officials serves that purpose well. It's not a matter of feeling safe from the newspaper's eye; it is a matter of feeling safe in the total concept of a representative democracy and listening to the people--not to the politicians. The editorial staff sold out to a hack politician and failed to realize that in doing so they were destroying the credibility of Joplin's most valuable traditional news source. Someday the Globe may eventually realize the existence and validity of such blogs as The Turner Report and many of the others which make serious attempt to cover the news, even though "hampered" by being one-person operations. I am afraid The Globe's editorial has done irreputable harm to news coverage in southwest Missouri.
ReplyDeleteRandy, after four attempts, I was finally able to get the Editorial Board of the Globe to publish my concerns about their Nodler editoral. I used the last paragraph of your piece and had given you credit as 'Randy of the Turner Report' but they finally published my third attempt after I had changed the credit to "Randy of TTR'. I had posted an earlier comment of my concerns early after their publication of the editorial. Thanks for this insightful news, and for the use of a small portion in my comment. You do a great job and I always enjoy your skills. There must indeed be a little turmoil at the Globe, which is unfortunate because I appreciate their news staff and Ed Simpson's concern for Joplin residents. -PT
ReplyDelete