News Media

We have two men running for the same congressional seat in this district, Ben Chandler, the incumbent and Andy Barr, the challenger. Each have a political advertisement currently running on TV.  Andy Barr has a gentleman in his ad who claims to be a coal miner. Ben Chandler's ad says he is lying and he is really not a coal miner and doesn't even live here, but in reality is a big contributor to the Republican Party. One of these men is lying.  In the last general election, more than 200 “investigative reporters” were sent to Alaska to look for “dirt” on Sara Palin.

Dear Editor, I am appalled how insensitive our news media have become in today's society. Our community suffered the loss of a toddler which affected parents, family, friends and those involved in the accident. On Sunday, as I drove home from church , I passed the accident site on U.S. 127. I immediately became angry as a Lexington news vehicle was parking at the side of the road, across from the accident site, and home where the child and his mother were staying. I cannot imagine or comprehend how this family and friends felt.

Dear Editor, Do we have all the facts from the sheriff's office concerning the resignation of Deputy Sheriff Merl Baldwin? It's easy to jump to conclusions with what little the newspaper has told us. Surely there's more to the story than what has been given to the news media. I think it would have been better if Mr. Baldwin had been fired or laid off, instead of resigning. At least he could have signed up for unemployment compensation while looking for other employment.

The state's first-ever open records audit was conducted last fall by newspaper reporters and journalism students. They were the ones who showed up at city halls, jails, and school superintendent and county judge-executive offices across the state and asked to see public documents. But the right the journalists were exercising - "the right to know" - and the law they were testing - the Kentucky Open Records Act - exists for the benefit of the public as a whole, not just the news media.

Dear Editor, I agree with the recent letters from Randall Russell and Rick Serres that we need a mature decision before we vote in the next presidential election. Our very lives as a free nation are at stake. The Republican and Democratic parties have abused their powers for the last 16 years, and we are on a downward trend to total chaos if mature, God-fearing men and women do not get involved in the governing of this nation. The news media recently reported that there are 86 million evangelical Christians nationwide.

Dear Editor, I want to hit on a couple of topics. The first is the arrogance of our leaders. They voted on a big $5 billion package to give themselves raises and bonuses for 2010, while the rest of the country is struggling to pay their bills with no increases in their pay. They're even taking away the cost-of-living increases from seniors. Plus, they want to cut $405 billion from Medicare. Why not just do away with Medicare and tell the seniors they're on their own? That's what it amounts to. Seniors have the power to stop this madness before it escalates.

It's great to see that a local citizens group has made the commitment to having an "observer" at all Danville City Commission meetings and that the group - Citizens for Good Government-Danvlle/Boyle County - is committed to making its views known on the various issues facing the commission. Such citizen involvement in local government is sorely lacking. For many years, our reporters have noticed the lack of public attendance at government meetings except on those rare occasions when some momentous issue is on the agenda.

Dear Editor: I do not believe you will find accurate, unbiased information on network news, PBS or in the conventional media (including The New York Times) regarding the current issues in our country or Iraq. It is obvious that many of these media sources are only interested in destroying President Bush and his agenda. I recently read an article from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about U.S. Rep. Jim Marshall, D-Ga., who just returned from a fact-finding trip to Iraq. His response was that what he witnessed and came back with made him very angry, not with the progress that's being made, but with our news media and the inaccuracy of what is reported daily.

Maybe it’s the influence of springtime, but with the change of seasons there seem to be positive signs of a renewal of spirit in the nation’s free press. In a meeting of the nation’s top news editors in San Diego, and at a panel discussion at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Ill., experts last week expressed new hopes about the future of journalism — citing new technology and new approaches to funding news operations. In part, the positive signs may be amplified because they come after years of negative news and forecasts about the future of traditional news media: major reductions in staffing, the failure of long-profitable business models based on a once virtually assured combination of circulation and advertising, and reader defections from print, radio and television to exotic new-tech devices.

Dear Editor, A recent letter in your paper from Mr. Roger Bowman came to my attention. I am very disappointed in people like this. I would hope that you permit me to respond to him. If we are to follow the "will of the people" as you suggest, Mr. Bowman, we no longer need a government to make decisions. If Harry Truman had followed the "will of the people" with liberalism running rampant as it is today, the atomic bomb would not have been dropped. Wise up, the "will of the people" is driven by the news media with their reckless comments and liberal opinions.

We have two men running for the same congressional seat in this district, Ben Chandler, the incumbent and Andy Barr, the challenger. Each have a political advertisement currently running on TV.  Andy Barr has a gentleman in his ad who claims to be a coal miner. Ben Chandler's ad says he is lying and he is really not a coal miner and doesn't even live here, but in reality is a big contributor to the Republican Party. One of these men is lying.  In the last general election, more than 200 “investigative reporters” were sent to Alaska to look for “dirt” on Sara Palin.

What do you say to a journalist who asks your advice on how to avoid his own murder? Some background before you respond: The question was real, and came during an international discussion about a free press and the First Amendment. It came from a soft-spoken, middle-aged man, a participant in a U.S. State Department-sponsored gathering in Washington, D.C., of some 160 journalists from 105 nations. “I have heard you speaking today about freedom of the press and the power of writing the truth,” the Pakistani journalist said.

Maybe it’s the influence of springtime, but with the change of seasons there seem to be positive signs of a renewal of spirit in the nation’s free press. In a meeting of the nation’s top news editors in San Diego, and at a panel discussion at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Ill., experts last week expressed new hopes about the future of journalism — citing new technology and new approaches to funding news operations. In part, the positive signs may be amplified because they come after years of negative news and forecasts about the future of traditional news media: major reductions in staffing, the failure of long-profitable business models based on a once virtually assured combination of circulation and advertising, and reader defections from print, radio and television to exotic new-tech devices.

Dear Editor, In today’s news outlets, from the Internet blog-o-sphere and printed news to cable news and the “Big Three” TV networks, American viewers and readers are being manipulated, hoodwinked and duped. To steal a phrase from the previous federal administration, it’s all about “shock and awe.” If we shock them, they will be in awe of us. News editors are no longer editors in the historic and educated sense of the word. They are now slice and dicer’s, cut and pasters.

Dear Editor, I want to hit on a couple of topics. The first is the arrogance of our leaders. They voted on a big $5 billion package to give themselves raises and bonuses for 2010, while the rest of the country is struggling to pay their bills with no increases in their pay. They're even taking away the cost-of-living increases from seniors. Plus, they want to cut $405 billion from Medicare. Why not just do away with Medicare and tell the seniors they're on their own? That's what it amounts to. Seniors have the power to stop this madness before it escalates.

A few weeks ago now, memorial services took place for two men. These two lived different lives, accomplished different things, and met their deaths in different countries, for different reasons. And their memorials and the manner in which they were remembered were different as their lives and their sudden and untimely passing. When Michael Jackson died on June 25, news of his death rightfully made headlines around the world. In the days that followed, we watched an outpouring of emotion from millions of his fans.

The general notion is not really open to dispute today that the news media of tomorrow will be very different from the news media of yesterday - but the specifics are. The challenges of operating a successful news business while maintaining an independent First Amendment role are encapsulated in the recent kerfuffle over "salons' ? small gatherings of journalists and others ? tentatively offered, but now withdrawn, by The Washington Post. As it turns out, similar gatherings have been conducted for six years by Atlantic Media, publisher of The Atlantic magazine and the National Journal group.

Dear Editor, I am a close friend of the mother, grandmother and great-aunt of Mason William Michael Castle. I wanted to thank Charles Cox for being the only one to "get it right" when the story was published about little Mason's death. Myself, along with several other family friends were upset and outraged with the way that the media handled this tragedy. All of the news channels, WLEX-18, 27 News First and Action News 36 did a terrible job with this story. Their tones and the way they broadcast the story were disgusting, saying that the police were investigating the death without any reasonable explanation as to why. My thanks to Mr. Cox for pointing out to everyone in the world that it is standard procedure for an investigation and autopsy of any sudden death of a child under the age of 1. He portrayed the devastation and grief over this loss, unlike any of the other media forms that covered the story.

Dear Editor, I just finished reading the article on the outraged parent; you know, the one about Steve Meadows. I'm sure you'll get quite a few responses from folks on this issue, many of which - I hope - are from former students of Mr. Meadows. As a former student myself, I feel I must respond, if for no other reason than to voice my support of Steve Meadows in the court of public opinion. Mr. Meadows is a stellar teacher who has the best interest and highest achievement of his students in mind.

Dear Editor, I agree with the recent letters from Randall Russell and Rick Serres that we need a mature decision before we vote in the next presidential election. Our very lives as a free nation are at stake. The Republican and Democratic parties have abused their powers for the last 16 years, and we are on a downward trend to total chaos if mature, God-fearing men and women do not get involved in the governing of this nation. The news media recently reported that there are 86 million evangelical Christians nationwide.