The CCAP newsletter/propaganda dispensary known as The World is already priming the public for another onslaught of pressure to centralize power and hire a county administrator. A recent editorial characterized the 60% of voters who rejected the administrator ordinance as afraid of change, uncomfortable with “newness” and just plain confused. Considering the paper’s generally low opinion of the local electorate it is a wonder these same voters were given credit for also opposing a new home rule charter. In the end, the paper threatens us with, “The administrator idea is not dead, but its supporters will need to regroup”.
There is simply no statistical or empirical data or even any local examples to support one form of governance over another. There are equal examples of success and failure at both ends of the argument and potentially more examples of graft and other abuses of power with the administrator model. It will be a sad testimony if a focus group like a local chamber of commerce representing only a handful of participating, dues paying businesses decides who sits on the commission.
At any rate, the implications are that the will of the people means nothing to the rat PAC(K) or The World editors.
This is true, from today’s Front Page News at The World in Coos Bay, who attempted to FORCE people to pay for their “news”. Gee Clarkie, this is what you pass off for news? Guess what Clark? It’s November 20th, how much does a paper who carries three month old articles, of course written by others, and sells it to the people as a professional organization? My high school journalism class was more professional. Three month old articles Clark, have any shame at all? Or pride? Or respect for the field?
“Why does Social Security need hollow point bullets?”
By Stephen Ohlemacher, The Associated Press
September 04, 2012 11:00 am(0)
“Bomb threats closed multiple Oregon courthouses Monday, not in Coos County”
By AP and World staff
Brilliant !
How bout this one Clarkie? “Wild animals eating infants!” – BUT NOT IN COOS COUNTY ! ”
Or this? “Blue aliens invading some town in some place, at some time, – BUT NOT IN COOS COUNTY”
Give ME a job Clarkie, I am every bit as professional as you guys !!!!
If you want another news outlet for CB/NB, this one is pretty good. No commentary here at all.
http://www.coosbay-northbend-oregon.com/index.php/matt-jarvis-jc-news
Mark: I repeat that what “Officials” think about the viability of the charter has nothing to do with attempted murder. Please note that I was at the BOC meeting when Ronnie & Jay told the Commissioners they had a problem. So was a reporter from The World. The World did’nt report the story. A few days later while having dinner with some friends we related the story to them. They were outraged that The World ignored the story. They sent an email to Ritchie Simmons & he finally wrote the piece. Both of our friends are retired from law enforcement so that might have something to do with why Ritchie-Simmons ran the story. On another note I don’t recall The World stating that many citizens thought the Administrator ordinance was a bad idea. Is this an example of editorializing by omission? Finally, I don’t believe I need to meet your criteria to prove the paper is a poor representation of journalism. Simply reading it is proof enough. Thanks for the discussion.
R&J reported the incident at a BOC meeting?!?! That’s totally inappropriate. What do they expect the commissioners to do about it? They have no law enforcement authority. Should the World write about their appearance? Absolutely not — unless the headline is: “BOC Wastes More Time in Minutia.”
If R&J were in fear of their lives, they needed to talk to the Sheriff, not the BOC. Seems to me they were seeking publicity, not security. That is shameful, imo. You should feel manipulated, not outraged.
The World did report about county officials who opposed the ordinance, most notably Sheriff Zanni.
Are you saying you and your friends brought pressure to bear on the World causing them to print the story? If you think the paper is so easily manipulated, I don’t know what you’re complaining about.
You only have to meet my criteria if you hope to convince me of your opinion. Simple reading is obviously not enough. The examples you give are far from self-evident. You are welcome to your opinion, of course, but if you have a dog in the fight of any coverage, you must admit to some degree of bias before you can honestly evaluate its objectivity.
Clark is just a back-water secretary, nothing more, here’s another example of how the under-informed are led by the ring in their noses, when not given truthful “news”. This is where Sause, Knutson, and their Fredos, al,Mark,The Walrus want to take government, it’s SOOOOO much easier than having to pay an out of county Fredo to eliminate your competetors in Salem, having your evil spawn write the bill, The Walrus slips $5,000 (chump change to Sause) into his pocket, and “presto” elimination of competition, all the while sucking up the public’s money for the Port, commenters on the Facebook World page are praising the return of the train (‘as long as it isn’t public money) they chortle, no one EVER tells them the truth, that’s why. Preying upon others less fortunate than you? Karma is a real bitch, and she bats last.
Enjoy the reason cupcakes went out of business, seems these Titans of Business have one thing in common, picking your pockets,and sucking every penny of YOUR money before they sail away in their yachts, or on their Designer Ponies, Sause-Romney, shared hobbies, million dollar ponies.
How many schools have closed in Coos County in ten years?
“But while headlines have been quick to blame unions for the downfall of the company there’s actually more to the story: While the company was filing for bankruptcy, for the second time, earlier this year, it actually tripled its CEO’s pay, and increased other executives’ compensation by as much as 80 percent.
At the time, creditors warned that the decision signaled an attempt to “sidestep” bankruptcy rules, potentially as a means for trying to keep the executive at a failing company. The Confectionery, Tobacco Workers & Grain Millers International Union pointed this out in their written reaction to the news that the business is closing:
BCTGM members are well aware that as the company was preparing to file for bankruptcy earlier this year, the then CEO of Hostess was awarded a 300 percent raise (from approximately $750,000 to $2,550,000) and at least nine other top executives of the company received massive pay raises. One such executive received a pay increase from $500,000 to $900,000 and another received one taking his salary from $375,000 to $656,256.
Certainly, the company agreed to an out-sized pension debt, but the decision to pay executives more while scorning employee contracts during a bankruptcy reflects a lack of good managerial judgement.
It also follows a trend of rising CEO pay in times of economic difficulty. At the manufacturing company Caterpillar, for example, they froze workers’ pay while boosting their CEO’s pay to $17 million. And at Citigroup, CEO Vikram Pandit received $6.7 million for crashing his company, walking off with $260 million after the business lost 88 percent of its value.
What is your point, Kay?
What is the World not reporting? It covered the tugboat story extensively.
I don’t think you want “truth.” I think you’re just bitter that others don’t share your misguided outrage.
Wait a second Mark. Are you suggesting that the motive for attempted murder was that the “Officials” did’nt think the Charter had legs? That is a real stretch. No. It is editorializing the news.The statement was true but should not have been used in the context or content of a report of an attempted murder.
Jack,
If this report of suspected attempted murder were submitted by Joe and Bob Citizen of Arago, it wouldn’t even be a story. R&J’s connection to the Charter initiative makes it news, and information about the Charter is therefore relevant. There is no editorial opinion in the story. None. But if you were in favor of the Charter I could understand why you wouldn’t want these facts about it printed.
I understand your objections to the World’s coverage in the two examples you cite, and even if I concede the points, neither one makes your case. You are poking at the margins.
If there was a rally of 500 Charter supporters that the World didn’t cover, you’d have a case.
If the World were printing stories of character assassination against R&J, you’d have a case.
If the World were mischaracterizing what the Charter says or would do, you’d have a case.
The World published a story about the county officials who did not support the Charter. Were there county officials who favored the Charter? I don’t know of one. There were no candidates who favored the Charter. If you’re saying there was an untold story about the Charter, what was it?
Mark McKelvey now compares himself to Abraham Lincoln?
Perhaps the Mrs. will buy you a tophat Mark, and you can lead the Fourth of July Parade next year.
Unbelievable. Abe LIncoln of all things. Poor Mark.
Actually, Kay, you’re the one comparing me to Abraham Lincoln. Hey, it’s not that I don’t appreciate the sentiment. I just think it’s a little over the top. But far be it from me to deny you your right to an opinion.
Thanks.
Mark: What “Officials” think about a ballot issue has nothing to do with allegations of attempted murder unless the reporters are infering that the “Officials “might be involved in the crime. This type of reporting reminds me of the Half Moon Bay Review In the 60’s. Whenever a property crime was reported the writers” last line was ‘A band of roving hippies was seen in the area”
I think it speaks to motive (if it really was attempted murder) and the profile of who R&J are. They could have said Ronnie was being a bit paranoid, but they didn’t. Ronnie should be grateful for that.
Got anything else?
I do, I do, how do you get the brown stain off yer nose Mark?
Mark: Here is the link
http://theworldlink.com/news/local/charter-activists-someone-is-trying-to-kill-us/article_032f0eb1-fe85-5011-b881-d08831c8db10.html
Sorry, Jack, I don’t see the problem. The last statement is entirely true and completely relevant to the story.
What is your objection?
Actually Mark The World’s reporters check in on Mgx quite often. She scoops them on a regular basis
I get it now. Jack, Mark is not responding to YOU, he’s strutting in front of Clark at The World, preening comes to mind, as to garner favors when he runs for public office-again. Found a way to get that brown stain off yer nose Mark McKelvey?
Must be sad to be Mark, it even makes me sad to watch him.
Right. Like Clark checks in at Mgx before he goes home. Get a grip, Kay.
Hey Kay.
I saw “Lincoln” last night and was reminded of your charges about my lack of a “moral compass.”
I don’t think I’m giving anything away to relay this scene. Lincoln and Thaddeus Stevens, a highly partisan, radical abolitionist are devising strategy to eliminate slavery after the war. Lincoln wants to compromise in order to get it done. Stevens wants to hold out for a perfect policy. Stevens questions Lincoln’s moral compass. Lincoln responds:
A compass always points to true North. But a compass is not a map. It does show the swamps, the cliffs, the deserts that lie between where you are and where you want to go. What is the point of heading true North if you end up stuck in a swamp?
Smart guy.
Great movie too. Everyone should see it. Really makes you appreciate how much progress we have made.
Mark: Looked up malfeasance & found it probably does’nt apply in this talk. Also we are’nt working in a court of law but in the court of public opinion. The question is “Is THE WORLD a good or a bad newspaper.?”. When I look at the paper I see that the sports section is fairly accurate & if a bias is shown it is to be expected. Same w/ Cuisine ,& Outdoors. However when it comes to local news a higher standard is to be expected. News should be reported in an even handed manner & not express the editorial veiws of the managment. I used Ronnie & Jay as just the most recent example of editorialising in a news article. Also your response did not address the idea that what a paper chooses to print as news can be a form of editorialising. Finally when The World decides to insult or belittle certain members of the communiy (nattering nabobs ect.) I refer you to the quote you posted on 10-11. “Insults are the argument of those in the wrong.” So maybe we can agree that most of the paper is presented well. That would include all of the sections except section A. News & editorial are to often mixed and therefore make The World a poor paper . Jack
Jack,
I brought up the unreliability of eye witnesses to illustrate the slipperiness of objectivity. You and I and a World reporter could attend the same event and come away with three different impressions of what happened. That difference is heightened if one of us is the subject of the event. Stories you feel like were covered inadequately or inappropriately may well be viewed by other observers to be very accurate. Objectivity is in the eye of the beholder.
Overall, I think the World does a very good job of being thorough, comprehensive, and objective. It bends over backwards to be fair to those it covers. That has often been the case with me personally when I’ve been the subject of a story.
I’m not familiar with the R&J story you’re referring to.(Can you post it?) It was a news story with commentary, you say? If so, that’s not appropriate. Wasn’t “nattering nabobs” in an editorial? If so, it may not be elegant but it’s in the right place. Remember when the WSJ called 47%ers “Lucky Duckies”? Same thing. It was in an editorial where such license is allowed. You’d never find that kind of language in the news or business page.
When I meet and speak with World reporters, I find them to be well informed and very earnest about doing their jobs well. They promptly follow up with requests for more information, and they work extremely hard to get stories right.
Regarding what’s covered and not covered, you make a fair observation, one I’ve raised myself with World reporters and editors. They respond that while there’s much going on, there are few inches available in a paper. True, but I contend they could easily print more stories in the web version at very little if any additional cost. For a while some reporters had blogs for unprinted material. Good idea. Bring it back.
But I understand the point that they cannot print everything they might like. So they have to make a call of what goes in and what is left out. One would hope they would be motivated by “Keeping the Community Informed” moreso than by “What Will Sell More Papers” but at the end of the day the paper is a business, not a public entity. Maybe it should be, but that’s another topic. For now, I can’t blame the World too much for wanting to sell papers. I wish it had more space to dedicate to local news; I think it would be a better business model. It’s a shame the World does cover county politics better, but I understand why it spends inches on state and national news. I certainly don’t think it is part of a plan to keep the public ignorant so as to push through a particular agenda.
Most of the time when I hear people complain about coverage in the World, the complaint regards something that is very important to the complainer and the coverage didn’t go their way. You may argue that speaks ill of the World, but I think it says more about the complainer.
So, is the World a good newspaper? Well it’s not the NYTimes to be sure. But for a small town paper with limited resources in a tough, tightening business, I think it does pretty well. I know we could do a heckova lot worse. And as soon as the World was gone, we would miss it terribly.
http://theworldlink.com/news/local/group-opposes-toxin-study/article_7bd1451c-0d6f-578b-95e2-1f64d9ce8909.html
To Mark M:
Mark I am extremely disappointed in your response to Mary’s blog. You asked for proof of malfeasance in The World’s news reporting. The above link will take you to an article printed on May 5, 2009 by Jo Rafferty. The headline is absolutely incorrect. BWCA did not dispute the toxin report but embraced it. It proved what we had said for years, that hexavalent chromium was being generated naturally in the environment.
As for the idea that news is not mainipulated to match the editorial rhetoric of The World, one has to look no further than the recent article on Ronnie and Jaye and read the last line. You will see that it has nothing to do with the content of the article, but rather is an editorial stab at Ronnie and Jayes’ charter. The World has used quotes out of context to further it’s editorial stance on several occasions.
The News can be presented in such a manner through selective wording or creative writing so as to adhere to the editors opinions. Also, the simple act of chosing what gets printed and on what topics is an editorial manipulation of the news. The World is more a tabloid than a newspaper.
Jack,
I see your point about the headline, although it does not prove malfeasance in the least. I find the article to be very thorough and comprehensive.
I meet people all the time who object to the way the World covers a story about them. Is that an indictment of the World’s objectivity? Or their own? In a courtroom the least credible evidence is the eye witness.
I won’t argue the World is perfect. It is most assuredly not. But does that indicate a larger plan at work behind the scenes? No. Absolutely not.
The World is a small town newspaper. Don’t ascribe it powers it clearly does not have.
Apparently, the same paper that insults its readers by assuming their are ignorant and even calls them names said Bob Main was “tacky” for not speaking with their reporter Tuesday evening…
Susan P is right, most of us ARE news junkies, or we wouldn’t be here. My guess is every one of us would be paying for the World if it were worthy of the price, it is not. It is no better than high school journo class and we all know it. Nothing but school sports and industry propaganda, supported by those industries who are profiting from public welfare. Schools closing, teachers leaving, quality of life deteriorating, and still, still after all that, sycophants like Mark McKelvey continue to carry water for them. Mark doesn’t mind being called Fredo, he doesn’t have time, scurrying about trying to be somebody in Coos County. Sorry Charlie, you aren’t, you’re a tool, nothing more, like a stone sharpened by a stone age dweller, you simply don’t matter to either side, kind of like a fly in your bedroom on a hot summer morning.
As usual Kay, when you can’t argue the point you call me names. You are so predictable.
You disappoint me, but I accept your concession.
Poor Mark McKelvey, trying so hard to be somebody, he takes an insult as a concession, anything to git ya through the night skippy.
Reminds me of Fox & Friends after Obama’s landslide victory saying “Let’s hope this taught Obama to be more conciliatory to the Republicans”
“Insults are the argument of those in the wrong.”
Jean Jacques Rousseau
” Go get me some water boy/mark.”
Jon Walrus Barton
Dear Mr. MarkM:
No person who has read a newspaper would consider The World a newspaper.
Sincerely yours,
That may be your opinion, but it is a verifiably false statement.
By what criteria do you consider a newspaper a newspaper? How has the World failed?
Glad to see the First Amendment is alive and well at the Mgx Country Club.
Apparently I’ve challenged a supposition no one can defend. The bubble here is often as strong as the one at Fox.
What part of STFU do you not understand Mark? You do nothing but string words together, and it seems other posters as well, are tired of you speaking to yourself, just to hear yourself talk.
You add nothing to the conversation.
What “current policies” do you object to? Here’s how a “real paper acts:”
It has two divisions — news and editorial. There is a firewall between them. The news division writes the news; the editorial board writes the opinions. There is no crossover. That is true at the World — unless you have evidence otherwise. Some have implied that Daniel R-S has written the current editorial. I doubt it, but if you have evidence for this you should post it.
Editorial boards are free to opine any way they want. Just like bloggers, posters, or people. You are free to disagree with them, but that doesn’t mean the paper is “not a real paper.” For instance, the Wall St Journal publishes some editorials that I strongly disagree with, but the WSJ news division is one of the best going.
So if anyone has knowledge of journalistic malfeasance at the World, please produce it. That’s a story. But if you just disagree with the editorial board’s opinions, ho-hum. There never was an opinion printed anywhere that everyone liked.
You live in your own world, Mark, where words have a separate meaning from the rest of us. Let me suggest you go and converse with a mirror
Unsubscribing helps but the real power is with the paper’s advertisers. Tell them you will not support their business if they continue to support the paper’s current policies and let them pressure the paper to act like a real paper.
The garbage can liner has hit a new low. Unbiased campaign manager for Messerle. Bless those who have cancelled their subscriptions.
So interesting to see commenters on The World yahoo’ing the train crossing the bridge, and almost to a one, they say, “yahoo, as long as it isn’t using public monies”. These poor schleps, because The World never tells them, don’t even know the monstrous blood letting machine that is The Port of Coos Bay is completely supported by their hard earned dollars. That is how this cabal of movers and shakers sucks this county dry decade after decade.