If there’s one thing I’ve learned as public editor, it’s that readers are passionate about the paper.
They are quick to point out its shortcomings, real or imagined, and less inclined to dole out praise. That’s not a complaint, just an observation.
Some see the paper as part of a grand media conspiracy that churns out biased political and government stories. Others are are more myopic, minutely scrutinizing coverage of their pet issues, such as the River Cats.
And then there is the vast middle ground, populated by readers without an agenda. They have earnest and legitimate concerns, questions and complaints. Some are focused on a single story, others on recurring problems.
Today, I’d like to give you a glimpse of this potpourri of criticism.
A few readers complained about the lack of coverage of a pro-Israel rally on the west steps of the state Capitol last Tuesday. Susan Skeer of Granite Bay attended the rally — which she estimated attracted 1,000 to 1,500 people and was part of a nationwide event.
Skeer, a retired telecommunications analyst from New Jersey who’s lived in the Sacramento region for nine years, called the lack of coverage a “blatant omission” and part of what she contends is a Bee bias against Israel in its current battle with Hezbollah in Lebanon. More broadly, she said, the paper “doesn’t respond to Jewish causes … and is not sympathetic at all.”
J. Eastus Evans said in an e-mail that reporting on the battle has been one-sided, “with Israel being the ‘Big Bad Wolf.’ ”
“Many Sacramento families have close ties to Israel. … Perhaps The Bee could focus attention on their fears and heartbreaks as well as those who have Lebanese ties.”
The paper’s city editor, Deborah Anderluh, said that’s what the paper is trying to do. As for the rally, she said she was not aware of it. But even if she had known about it, there’s no guarantee there would have been a story.
Her concern is that such event coverage would have provided a one-sided view. There apparently was another rally the next day opposing Israel’s position in the conflict. The paper, she said, would have been obligated to cover that rally, too.
There’s much more to this story than covering dueling rallies, Anderluh said. The paper is working on stories she hopes will be more comprehensive, conveying the personal emotions and frustrations of local residents who have close ties to the Middle East.
While the question of whether the paper should have covered the rally is fair, the more far-reaching claim about an institutional bias against Israel and the Jewish faith does not stand up to scrutiny. There is no evidence for such an allegation in my close reading of the paper.
On a different subject, a handful of readers have complained about the return of Gold Club Centerfolds’ ads in the Sports section. The club provides topless entertainment.
“I was discouraged to see an ad for Gold Club Centerfolds in the Sports section this morning, especially on the same page as Kings news,” said reader Kurt Austin in an e-mail. “Surely you must know that there are many people, including kids, who read all they can regarding the Kings. … I don’t want to have to explain to my kids what Gold Club Centerfolds are any time they want to read about the Kings.”
There is a little history here. The Gold Club ads were removed from Sports a few years back after readers complained about the ads appearing next to stories about high school sports.
The ads eventually found a home in the Friday and Sunday Ticket sections, along with the ads for bars and restaurants. Now they run there and in Sports.
Steve Bernard, the paper’s senior vice president for advertising, said the ads returned to Sports about three months ago at the request of the club. He said this time, however, the ads were restricted.
They can’t promote topless entertainment, or mention dancers or promote the club. The ads are relatively small and include only the club’s name, address, phone number and its Web site.
The ads also are a bit of an experiment. “We want to see if readers will accept them or not,” said Bernard, adding the ads will be dropped from Sports again if there is significant negative reader reaction.
And like a faucet that won’t stop dripping, complaints continue to arrive almost daily about the small size of the print in some Sunday comics.
Here’s a typical one:
“At the age of 76 I need glasses only for long distance (and) driving, but find many of the Sunday comics very hard to read since you downsized them,” wrote reader David H. Grafft. “I refuse to use a magnifying glass to aid me in this. I wonder if in your understandable desire to economize, you have not forgotten the strength of your loyal readership — the older-than-60 crowd. We grew up buying and reading daily newspapers and deserve more consideration than you are presently showing us.”
Other readers complained about the following:
• No story in the paper about President Bush’s surprise neck rub of German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the recent G-8 talks. The incident became fodder on the Internet, with some accusing Bush of sexual harassment. The San Francisco Chronicle put the story on the front page above the fold. (The Bee finally did run a story about the incident in Friday’s paper.)
• That the paper’s coverage of the Mexican presidential race was one-sided in favor of Felipe Calderón, who narrowly won the disputed election.
• The use of statistics in a recent A1 story about high school dropouts in the region. The reader pointed out that the paper’s dropout statistics included students who actually graduated at midyear. Not only was that unfair, the reader said, but caused the dropout statistics to appear worse than they really are.
A reminder: The question posted last week seeking readers’ responses about the paper’s coverage of the arena proposal is still open for comment at www.sacbee.com/forums.
