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Sunday, July 05, 2009
Letters with Barry Horstman on the Streetcar coverage
Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
The Cincinnati Streetcar blog posted this item, calling on readers to request The Enquirer to report facts accurately in regards to the anti-passenger rail story. Though some Streetcar advocates are rude and spiteful little people who like to make statements bordering on defamatory, I still should acknowledge when they are right. And, regardless your position on the streetcar, the Enquirer should do the right thing in regards to accurate reporting. Here are some recent letters I have sent on the matter.
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From: [The Dean of Cincinnati]
Sent: Wednesday, July 01, 2009 7:41 AM
To: Horstman, Barry
Cc: Wells, David; Callinan, Tom
Subject: Corrections Request - Inaccurate Headline RE: Streetcars
Mr. Horstman,
As you know, Gannett’s Code of Newroom Ethics include the following stipulations:
* We will dedicate ourselves to reporting the news accurately, thoroughly and in context.
* We will be vigilant watchdogs of government and institutions that affect the public.
As an institution that affects the public, the local NAACP and COAST has consistently referred to their ballot issue as a “Streetcar” petition or a “Trolley” petition. However, this is not accurate, as the language affects all passenger rail. It therefore should be reported in that context.
The Enquirer has a number of stories which echo the NAACP/COAST spin, including your recent story headlined, “Opponents: Streetcar issue on the ballot.”
This is not true, as there is not a streetcar issue to be placed on the ballot. There is only an anti-passenger rail issue to be placed on the ballot.
Please advise what action, if any, you will take to correct this error—in accordance with Gannett’s Code, which includes, “Errors should be corrected promptly.”
Thanks,
[The Dean of Cincinnati]
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from Horstman, Barry
to [The Dean of Cincinnati]
date Wed, Jul 1, 2009 at 8:42 AM
subject re: streetcar story
Dear [Dean] –
Thanks for your note. While the ballot issue indeed uses language that speaks of “passenger rail transportation” – a point emphasized in this story and previous ones – the streetcar issue certainly would be the first major test of that charter amendment, should it pass. Furthermore, I doubt that anyone on either side of this issue would seriously disagree that the primary, perhaps only, reason the petitions are being circulated is to try to stop the streetcar plan. Given that, calling this measure a “streetcar issue” in a headline seems an acceptable shorthand description, especially when the story provides the fuller details for which there seldom is space in a headline.
As a point of interest, streetcar opponents say they chose the broad language used on the petitions to avoid potential problems if the project was later labeled a “trolley” or some word other than streetcar.
But I will be happy to pass along your thoughts to our headline writers.
Thanks again for taking the time to comment.
Barry M. Horstman
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from [The Dean of Cincinnati]
to “Horstman, Barry”
date Wed, Jul 1, 2009 at 9:16 AM
subject Re: streetcar story
Thank you for your note.
Just because opponents have an explanation for the language does not make that explanation true. (You may recall I was initially part of this coalition.)
The petition could have required a public vote before the City spend money on any rail based passenger systems located in rights-of-way otherwise dedicated for tire transit. Then it would not matter what they called it. So you can see there are other angles on this story.
For example, COAST has a long history of being anti-transit, anti-government. Recently COAST leaders met with Grover Norquist. If you keep that in mind, and revisit the language, you may have a new understanding of its implications. In the least, it is worth doing for the sake of the Enquirer readership.
Regards,
[The Dean]
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07 Jul 2009 at 10:48 am | #
NOTE: I am tired of people taking things off on tangents. This article is about letters to the Enquirer and streetcar coverage. If you would like to comment on that, do so. Otherwise, go somewhere else.
07 Jul 2009 at 08:02 pm | #
Poor you. Life must be very hard when you realize you are what you are attacking.
09 Jul 2009 at 01:37 pm | #
Dean, what exactly is on topic in this thread? only Enquirer stuff? only coverage about the petitions and streetcars?
You do have the authority to approve posts, right? so you could always not approve those posts that you feel are off-topic. you have the touch (bah-bah) you’ve got the power!