The letter I've included below is one of the reasons why.
It's not the angriest e-mail or letter I've ever gotten, but it's the angriest e-mail I've gotten lately.
Many of you probably don't read the Free Press, so I'll bring you up to speed. Are you familiar with the Occupy movement? Well, we had our own piece of the Occupy movement in town Tuesday. Around 50 marchers or so went from Mankato's Riverfront Park to Sibley Park. It was all relatively harmless. But they'd hinted they might confront the police, and the police were there in force. So we decided it was newsworthy.
Now, like I said, I'm no stranger to angry e-mails and letters. I've been called nasty names, had my professionalism, even my manhood, questioned. I've been accused of being a communist, a hippie, a tyrant, a "member of the establishment elite," a bully, an idiot, a pagan.
So stuff like this, while it may have bothered me when I was a rookie, now makes my day. So I thought I'd share it. I'm leaving the name off. I'm sure the author is a good dude. And it wouldn't be fair to publish it without letting him know, so ...
Enjoy!
Now I know why I purchase the Free Press on occasion. Its to do the crossword, suduko and cryptoquote puzzles; not for the journalism.
I counted around 15 people in the photo of the big occupy movement.
This is the only news item that you can generate?
Using space for two large photos and three partial columns on the front page of The Valley section and even making it long enough to stretch onto another section.
What a complete waste of words.
If the news media would stop writing about these social losers-they would just go away into the woodwork.
More liberal union agenda.
Will not be buying the Free Press any longer.
Maybe you should get your sign ready to join the occupy movement.
And by the way, here was my response:
My sign was ready. Didn't you see me in the photo?
-robb
(p.s. I'm kidding. I'll pass your critique on to our publisher and editor. And seriously, thanks for writing. Even though you're clearly not reading the Free Press anymore, we actually do value the opinions of all our readers. Thank you for reading for as long as you did. We'd love to have youback anytime. And if you'd like to talk about this in person, call me at 344-6386. Or, better yet, stop on down sometime and say hello.)
Social losers? Hmmmmm. When I think of all those, "social losers", who have marched in the past...who comes to mind? Martin Luther King, Jr., Robert Kennedy, Jane Addams...to name a few. Not really losers, are they?
ReplyDeleteI love how they always include the threat that they are no longer going to buy the paper. I guarantee 90% of the people that say that aren't subscribers to begin with.
ReplyDeleteHa! Based on the comment, "This is the only news item you can generate?", the writer must be a fan of some other news organizations! I can only hope this was just a poorly phrased comment and that he really does know that legitimate news outlets cover events that actually happen and don't "generate" anything.
ReplyDeleteHere's my "Mom's eye view"- I'm the head "social loser's" mom. I would love for these people who make judgements about these kids to sit down and have a discussion with them. These are some of the smartest and most informed kids you will meet. They're also loyal, caring, love their families, spend their own money to feed others(yes- they have jobs) and let people with nowhere to go stay in their house. They are passionate about the idea that people matter more than profits. My son would and has given his last dime to someone he felt needed it more. Social losers? Really? Thanks for covering it.
ReplyDelete