Personal triumph, international tragedy and a suggestion to help airport security folks were on the minds of Bee readers this past week.
A sports fan watched the Paralympics on television and wondered why The Bee didn’t report on the events at Salt Lake City this past week.
“Why doesn’t the Bee cover the Paralympics?” she asked. “I have searched the sports pages and I have found nary a mention. These athletes are every bit as talented as the ‘regular’ Olympians … even more so because what they do is even more amazing due to the various disabilities.”
The reader missed one story that ran March 7, a profile of Paralympian Jennifer Kelchner of Truckee. She is a champion downhill skier.
Then last Sunday The Bee published a brief item reporting that Candace Cable, another champion skier from Truckee, had finished eighth in Nordic skiing sit-ski competition.
The outcome of Kelchner’s race was not reported at the time this was written.
It was not clear at mid-week whether other Paralympic athletes from the region were competing, or how other events and competitors fared. There was no daily reporting of events.
The athletes are accustomed to getting little attention, according to quotes in the earlier Bee story. The newspaper was consistent.
Fighting the war
One unhappy Bee reader asserted that recent coverage of the daily carnage among Palestinians and Israelis has been consistently slanted to favor the political position of Israel. The Bee reflects “the longtime Bee posture: uncritical acceptance of anything Sharon and his co-conspirator Dubya decide to do next,” the reader said.
Another reader saw the same stories but had the opposite reaction.
“I question anything from AP or Reuters,” he said of the wire service reports from the Middle East. “After being on the Web, their pro-Arab view of a news event is obvious. I check many Israeli sources to see if the AP and Reuters is like events that Ha’aretz reports. Not even close.”
Ha’aretz is a newspaper published in Tel Aviv. You can check it out on the Web in English or Hebrew at www.haaretzdaily.com.
The Bee’s national editor, Mark Melnicoe, understands the reactions the war evokes.
“People on each side are so passionate,” he said. “…I do feel our coverage has been and continues to be fair and objective, as we on the wire desk can see there is plenty of blame to go around in the current spasm of violence. We will continue to strive for fairness while being as thorough as space allows.”
Comment: I’ve checked back across days and weeks of coverage and believe the stories published in The Bee reflect events in the Middle East and developments in Washington, not some anonymous editor’s bias for one side or the other. A chart of how many people have died from both sides of the dispute was published this week on Page 1. It would be hard to argue that was slanted.
Considering the tragedy for everyone involved, one of the more reasonable comments I found came from an opinion published in Ha’aretz: “Instead of fanning the flames and sowing hatred, it [the government] must increase its efforts to achieve calm and a return to the political track.”
The same advice could apply to everyone who wants the suffering to end.
Security suggestion
After still another story about an airport being tied in knots because a security machine came unplugged, Bee reader Randy Forsland made this suggestion: “How come they don’t just wire in a light bulb on top of the scanning machines. The light is lit for everybody to see when the scanner is plugged in. If the plug is pulled, the light goes out.” He believes avoiding cancelled flights could easily cover the costs.
Then a reader from Folsom didn’t know “whether to be amused or appalled” after reading a story about a man who was shot. The story reported his name being withheld pending notification of his next of kin, but then identified his sister by name and quoted her. What gives?
A follow-up story identified the man, whose last name was different from his sister’s. This sort of oddity occurs once in a while when authorities do not provide the names of people involved in an incident. Then others talk about the incident to the press. It might have been less confusing to readers had a sentence been added to the story explaining precisely why the name was missing.
Another reader, this one from Davis, was puzzled by what he sees as a common journalistic practice.
“Why does The Bee (as well as print and electronic media) report on the president’s speeches in a way that suggests that he is the author?” he asked. “Wouldn’t it be more accurate to report that the president delivered a speech, noting in some way that he was not its author?”
I suspect most stories about presidential speeches note the president “delivered” the speech. Rarely does the issue of who wrote the speech come up.
Perhaps it should, and this might make a good story in the future.
Virtually all senior government officials retain speechwriters, but few use their skills in exactly the same way. Some pick up the speech as written by a hired hand and deliver it unchanged. Most participate in the process, either by suggesting or writing drafts or by polishing the proposed language. Some throw away the prepared text and wing it.
Whose speech is it when it is completed and delivered? I believe most people understand that speeches made by the president may originate with staff aides, but the president remains responsible for what he says and accepts the accountability for his remarks.
Quality stuff
“The Sunday TV magazine does not hold together … since you changed from staples to glue,” a reader wrote.
The outside printers have been notified by The Bee’s production folks to fix the problem. (If this is widespread, or happens again, please let us know.)
Another reader pointed out that the ink from the newspaper still rubs off on his hands and his kitchen counter, prompting him to ask if any changes are in the works.
A series of tests should be conducted in the next few weeks to try new a formula for ink. No one knows for sure how well this will work, but we will report back on the results.
Another reader pointed out that the color registration on the Scene section was very fuzzy in a recent edition.
“My first thought was to check for a set of 3-D glasses enclosed,” he said. “Then I discovered I was entertaining myself in trying to determine which plate slipped (blue). Not exactly the entertainment intended, but entertaining nonetheless.”
Whom do you call?
Readers frequently call the ombudsman’s office to find out how to get copies of information that has been published in The Bee. It may be a prized picture you recall from the past or an obituary important to family research.
Everything printed is not always available, but here are some suggestions as to make your search easier:
- If you are searching for an article from an old copy of the paper, your best bet is your local library. No matter where you live, the library can get copies of The Bee on microfilm for you to scan. That way, you do the research yourself and all it costs is the price of the copy paper and your time. Only staff-written articles are available.
- If you don’t want to do the work yourself, contact The Bee’s research office, Bee Search, at beesearch@sacbee.com or at (916) 326-5566. Be as precise as possible with dates and names, which will save you money. Bee librarians do the work, and there will be a charge, but you’ll be given an estimate of the costs up front so there are no surprises.
- If you want a copy of an article from a wire service or syndicate, you need to contact the appropriate service directly.
- For copies of recent editions of The Bee (within about 75 days) call the front counter at 321-1540 . Copies can be picked up at the front desk.
- Some, though not all, photographs that appear in The Bee are available for purchase. Call 321-5286.
