Community Post: Is the News-Press anti-Catholic?
From Mic DeNiro -- not sure about the assertion made here as many newspapers go to the ugly before the beautiful but let's see what ya'll think
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Today's front page of the News-Press features an article by Scott Steepleton, reporting that a judge in Los Angeles ruled that personnel files of Franciscan friars accused of molesting children in Santa Barbara can be made public, regardless of whether the clerics were charged with a crime or legal claims against them proven.
There is no question that this is a legitimate story, one in a series of articles on the situation the paper has presented over the years.
Yet noticeably absent in Sunday or Monday's edition was an article on something positive and inspirational involving the Catholic Church and Cardinal Roger Mahoney, our local archbishop and the oft-portrayed villain of the local and regional child abuse situation.
The Cardinal presided over the Diaconate Ordination held at La Playa Stadium at SBCC on Saturday. Sixty Catholic laymen were ordained as deacons, with the power to preach and to administer the sacraments of baptism and marriage, after four years of study in a program that was originated by Thomas Curry, the bishop of the Santa Barbara region of the Los Angeles archdiocese.
I would estimate that over 3000 people attended to observe and honor these men, who are committed to strengthening the Church and spreading its influence to do good.
Yet not a word from the News-Press. Is this due to inadequate staffing, laziness – it being easier to read a judge's ruling and call a few lawyers for comments than going out and doing some actual reporting – or bias against Catholics?
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Today's front page of the News-Press features an article by Scott Steepleton, reporting that a judge in Los Angeles ruled that personnel files of Franciscan friars accused of molesting children in Santa Barbara can be made public, regardless of whether the clerics were charged with a crime or legal claims against them proven.
There is no question that this is a legitimate story, one in a series of articles on the situation the paper has presented over the years.
Yet noticeably absent in Sunday or Monday's edition was an article on something positive and inspirational involving the Catholic Church and Cardinal Roger Mahoney, our local archbishop and the oft-portrayed villain of the local and regional child abuse situation.
The Cardinal presided over the Diaconate Ordination held at La Playa Stadium at SBCC on Saturday. Sixty Catholic laymen were ordained as deacons, with the power to preach and to administer the sacraments of baptism and marriage, after four years of study in a program that was originated by Thomas Curry, the bishop of the Santa Barbara region of the Los Angeles archdiocese.
I would estimate that over 3000 people attended to observe and honor these men, who are committed to strengthening the Church and spreading its influence to do good.
Yet not a word from the News-Press. Is this due to inadequate staffing, laziness – it being easier to read a judge's ruling and call a few lawyers for comments than going out and doing some actual reporting – or bias against Catholics?
Labels: Catholicism, Santa Barbara News-Press
posted by Sara De la Guerra | 6/19/2007 05:33:00 PM
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29 Comments:
Don't know about the Catholics, but they sure went after publicly known and identified "Jewish" Alpha females: Susan Rose, Marty Blum, Naomi Schwartz, and Janet Wolf.
Yet, they love Harriet Miller and Iya Falcone. Both not "Jewish" as far as I know.
This is a non-issue and disappointing to see at Blogabarbara.
The Newspress (what's left of it) runs stories routinely without what some may consider enought preliminary fluff to boost the other side of the issue.
Last Friday, several newspapers (the good ones) ran articles about the overpaid Mike Brown, the chief executive of the County government. However, those newspapers could be considered not to have included nice articles about Brown in the prior week or two. Big deal. Many other examples can be found.
Catholic priests and other officials have been involved in child molestation. The Cardinal hid it or spun it the other way. A Los Angeles Superior Court Judge ruled that the information had to be revealed to the public. That makes it news. Period.
News articles do not have to restrict their content simply because not enough nice nice has been published prior.
Read the SBNewsroom and Los Angeles Times for a much better and more complete story on this.
Is Sara De La Guerra that desperate for subjects for this blog?
The Catholic bureaucrats and administration have done bad things that hurt people. Face the Truth and whining about it.
I doubt the Newspress is "biased" against Catholics, but just inept and lame instead, as has been documented in painful detail for the past year. Nevertheless, even that Mess has no obligation to puff up nice nice stories when other hard news is to be found.
What? No content about the City Council non-campaign and upcoming possibility not even to hold an election?
6:03 pm -- watch out, you will be falsely accused of being against sexism and now anti-semitism too! What is the purpose of this blog BTW? I hope your sarcasm detector is on :)
CANNOT -- Did you notice my note in the beginning? No -- I'm not desperate for subjects but I think your voice deserves airing even if I don't think the same way you do. This means you can provide a community post just as often as the next person.
For all I know, this is a larger issue than what I think it may be -- that is the beauty of what BlogaBarbara can do and what newspapers cannot. I need to be aware of this in the sense that I've been surprised at times at what people comment on heavily....it's your blog, you decide!
If 6:03 is going to be typical of the posts on this string you might as well kill it now. Did you check with the people whose names you threw around? Pathetic.
Is Sara De La Guerra that desperate for subjects for this blog?
It's not that she's desperate, it's just that anything that can be used against the News-Press, Sara will post. It's because she has an agenda.
P.S. We had some posts earlier in the month about the Grand Jury's recommendation for district elections and the possible non-election after this one...and we will have them again....it's still early!
6:03 pm -- watch out, you will be falsely accused of being against sexism and now anti-semitism too! What is the purpose of this blog BTW? I hope your sarcasm detector is on :)
Sara, you are still being accused of falsely accusing someone of sexism.
What is a Jewish Alpha Female? Is that a Jewish female that dominates other Jewish females?
.it's your blog, you decide!
I've decided that we should go after the non-Jewish females as well.
The News-Press is not anti-Catholic; it's anti-competent.
If every OMISSION from the pages of the progressively-slimmer SBNP is proof of bias or bigotry, then their list of crimes just got a mile longer.
This really is a shameful non-story, at least as packaged with the inflammatory "anti-Catholic" rhetoric in place.
allegro805 -- thanks for getting to what I was thinking with my original point (much more eloquently!). Basiclly, Mic is right for showing how they missed a good story but we all know they do not have the resources to cover it, especially on a weekend.
9:36 pm -- you are always quick to comment and I publish your comments....to my detriment and often against the subject of the post.
Put your thoughts into a community post for everyone to comment on...for instance, explain why four women (regardless of their religious persuasion) have the ire of TKA while perhaps only Brian Barnwell (but don't forget TKA's former workplace relationship with his wife) is the most targeted man. Explain why cheerleader metaphors invoking images of dumb(e) bouncing blond(e)s is an okay thing to do when talking about our duly elected mayor. Why is being mean to primarily women (or for that matter anyone without getting their side if the story) okay? Add Kristen Amyx to the list...and then tell me why I am falsely accusing him of sexism...what is sexism to you? To me, it looks a lot like this...
I am beyond caring what the Suppress' motives or biases are at this point. That rag is such a joke now it doesn't matter either way.
The story was missed for basic lack of staff: remember that the religion reporter was fired along with 7 others, those reporters have not been replaced, and the event was on a Saturday. Simple as that. There is no anti-Catholic agenda here.
In the good old days we could count on professionals in Santa Barbara to cover a story. We could expect a sense of fair play even if at times the paper failed to provide the depth that creates understanding.
Sometimes ignorance made for poor reporting and editorial decisions. Most of the time there wasn't anything malicious to report in the "agenda" of local news.
Now I'm not so sure. And that means that everything has become suspect to me. And that IS the agenda of some. Cast doubt so you can dismiss common understanding and embellish the facts to fit your conclusions.
That may be what good lawyers do. But good journalists are required to look further.
Professional journalists are challenged by professional editors and publishers to PROVE their assertions with fact and multiple sources. That is how we root out bias and give even-handed news to the city. That is how journalism earns the trust of the reading consumer. Without those standards we are ALL caught between what the news says and what the news means.
Why is 6:03 accused of anti-semetism when the post was pointing out a pattern of anti-semetism shown in Travis Armstrong/Wendy McCaw irrational attack pieces?
Why is it not okay to point out this emerging Armstrong/McCaw predeliction? In fact, it is cogent to comtemplate and may help everyone understand what is really at stake ---- anti-semetism within the highest reaches of the NewsPress.
Shhhhhhh ...but let's not talk about it. Right? Glad to see this observation being pointed out. Thanks 6:03. Kudos for your courage.
Since we're talking about the N-P and its nearly complete implosion, I wanted to pass on something I found at the excellent laobserved.com.
It posted a letter from one Daniel A. Olivas, an attorney, to David Hiller, publisher of the LA Times. In it, Olivas complains about the Times' dumping of the great columnist Al Martinez, who'd spent 35 years there, and the general decline of the paper.
He ends the letter with this:
"My friends and family wonder if the Times will go the way of the Herald-Examiner or the Santa Barbara News-Press. I hope not."
For the record, the Her-Ex closed in 1989.
Anti Catholic? Oh puleeze. This is just silly.
Scary string here!
Religion and ethnicity are divisive topics.
Hate to see us get fragmented!
I'm boB
6:03 and others:
I don't think Mayor Martha Ann Perkins Blum is Jewish --- maybe she is; I don't know - and don't care. Perhaps the beloved (still beloved, still "mayor-for-life" after attending Saturday's Roberts fund-raiser at the Rose-Ghitterman house?) Harriet Miller is Jewish - again, I don't know and don't care.
Point is that the News-Press is merciless in attacking female politicians - except Iya Falcone, Joni Gray and (so far) Janet Wolf, but just you wait on the last, I predict.
It lays off attacking males - except for Barnwell, although it was more than a little sneering at Grant House recently for being out of town, attending a conference after the gang death.
1:48 pm -- I can't publish yuour comment as you named names and I am not sure whether that is public information or not. Rewrite and I may be able to publish your comment.
7:55 AM -- I am interested in the same issue but am not sure how to address that.
Sorry folks -- had a request for info but to have it off the record.
Travis took on Janet Wolf pretty bad during the Second District Supervisor elections. She was not immune at that time.
Political realities mean little to Travis. He has almost a 100% loss record in his editorial page endorsements.
Here's a quick primer on which news stories are innocuous and which you should be suspicious of.
The News-Press is down to two South Coast news reporters: college grad Hannah Guzik, who covers issues not of importance to Wendy; and veteran journalist Scott Steepleton, who "spins" stories to Wendy's views.
"Local news" over the weekends consists mostly of things that can be covered by a photographer (for example, college graduations and Isla Vista students moving out); crimes, available by calling law enforcement agencies or sent via email; or rewritten press releases (look for stories that quote someone followed by the words "said in a statement").
Stories that have anything to do with the National Labor Relations Board, the Teamsters, or Jerry Roberts will almost always have News-Press Staff Report at the beginning, or Staff Report at the end, and will likely be biased.
Anything with Scott Steepleton's byline should be read closely for potential bias or Wendy's spin.
Everything that Travis Armstrong writes should be considered biased.
Our City Council allowed this neocon activity to take place here? At La Playa Stadium? I'd say that's a really big news story.
Is it true that Harriet "Mayor-for-Life" Miller attended the pro-Jerry Roberts fundraiser at Susan Rose's home? Mayor Miller has joined Travis' cabal? If so, will she be kicked off the radio station? Sued by McCaw like the Indy, Paterno, Roberts and the NLRB?
WB -- sorry, can't publish that.
SBL -- please email me at saradelaguerra@yahoo.com...
"Is this due to inadequate staffing, laziness – it being easier to read a judge's ruling and call a few lawyers for comments than going out and doing some actual reporting"
Plausible, with a factual basis.
"or bias against Catholics?"
Baseless speculation.
"Our City Council allowed this neocon activity to take place here?"
Neocon? I'm about as anti-religious-establishment and anti-neocon as you can get, but there's nothing "neocon" about Catholic ordination. To disallow it would have been far more "neocon" in character.
"It's not that she's desperate, it's just that anything that can be used against the News-Press, Sara will post. It's because she has an agenda."
Yes, she's for good and against bad -- the opposite of your agenda.
Put your thoughts into a community post for everyone to comment on...for instance, explain why four women (regardless of their religious persuasion) have the ire of TKA while perhaps only Brian Barnwell (but don't forget TKA's former workplace relationship with his wife) is the most targeted man.
Because a good portion of our elected officials are women.
Explain why cheerleader metaphors invoking images of dumb(e) bouncing blond(e)s is an okay thing to do when talking about our duly elected mayor.
The cheearleading analogy typically involves using a female cheerleader. And if the analogy fits, then fine. I have no problem with him using it.
Why is being mean to primarily women (or for that matter anyone without getting their side if the story) okay?
Mean? Or right?
Add Kristen Amyx to the list...
Ask Kristen what her relationship is to Michael Towbes, Jennifer McGovern etc. Her whole story reeks of agenda and half-truths.
and then tell me why I am falsely accusing him of sexism...
Because you have an agenda. And you are using a cheap tactic to try to discredit someone for alterior reasons. You seem like the kind of person who has used sexism accusations before. You must be a real treat to work with.
what is sexism to you?
Something far different, more consistant.
To me, it looks a lot like this...
What is the purpose of this blog?
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