blogsNH - Just when you start to think................................. - Comments

Thanks Clay.....

Bill Bunker — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 22:27:18 -0400

Thanks Clay,

You learn new things every day. I have read Ray many times but did not realize that; most of the time, there is not that much of a personality interjected.

I agree that opinions belong on the opinion page and half of the enjoyment of reading the Monitor comes from reading the opinions. The other half comes from reading local news stories, most of which are pretty neutral.

I do not think that the opinion pages dictate the news BUT I do think that the way some of the news (primarily political) does bleed through some belief and opinion.

Now, the Hodes franking piece by the Monitor was really responsible and that is how it should be every time. Other stories have been slanted in ways....but once again I don't find that the stories appear with agenda. It is the writing of the stories.

The thing that bothers many of us (and I know many people who think this) is that the slant on opinions and in some news stories has been more flamboyant of late. My belief is that opinions are fine to express and the one thing that the Monitor does well is allow response.

If a person writing a news story calls a liberal an "activist" and a conservative a "neo-con", that is slant right there. Similarly crafted language has been woven into stories, that is all that I am saying. Not necessarily those terms but others that show bias. It happens more frequently than you think as I read every story two or more times.

If you read the state house news I see that sometimes. Just a few thoughts.

Bill: Perhaps I can answer a

Clay McCuistion — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:47:08 -0400

Bill: Perhaps I can answer a couple of your questions.

Ray's column was just that, a column. It's a piece meant to highlights the personality of the writer, along with the story. Like well-known columnists of the past, such as Jimmy Breslin or Mike Royko, Ray's voice as a writer is one of the reasons that folks like him.

And, as is true for the vast majority of newspapers, the opinion pages at the Monitor are prepared separately from the main news report. And, as is also true at the vast majority of newspapers, the opinion pages do express opinions. You may disagree with them, but you can rest assured that they do not, nor have they ever, dictated news coverage.

Recipé for Real news

C. dog e. doG — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 20:10:45 -0400

Bill -

Here's my recipe for deciphering real news from the various slant machines (news organizations): read a liberal rag like the Monitor (which is definitely better than the fiction house of the NY Times), listen to 96.9 FM or maybe Glenn Beck, and Rush if you're desperate and don't have access to the prior two, then use your brain to figure out which one is lying, and when, because of their partisan goose stepping. I know it's like making sausage, but it's a far cry better than being beholden to one news source. A tip off that they are lying or trying to push an agenda on the masses of asses: they ask, nay demand, that you suspend critical thought and just agree with what the "experts" are saying. I recall hearing eerily similar proclamations by Za Party and the Third Reich. No thanks, for me, I didn't give my brain at the office, or "public" school.

In the end, there's little to nothing you can do to change what you here in the news. Instead, the most effective steps you can take are changing what you do and how you interface with the apparatchik, your neighbors, and more importantly, your friends and family. Poly-ticks will continue to do what they do: suck the lifeblood out of those they rule over, so do the best you can to avoid their sting. That's why I lay low in the shadows of the White Mtns, so they can't steal my money or my soul. Good luck to you with yours. If enough followed suit, the corrupt house of cards would fall, but alas, poor Yorkis, the ratio of sheeple to people is to steep.

- C. dog e. doG

Just when you start to think.................................

Bill Bunker — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 15:00:10 -0400

Just when you think the Monitor editorial staff has come to their senses, reality hits you like foul ball at the baseball park.

I read the latest editorial: “A day to measure the health of democracy” in the Monitor and Ray Duckler’s opinion piece masquerading as a news piece: “In public, he hears whining”.