- Oct
11
2012
Pat Powers and I share distaste for the Rapid City Journal's recent and numerous bad editorial decisions. So does Occupy Rapid City:
A protest of Rapid City Journal’s policy decisions is being organized for Saturday, October 13, 2012. The protest issues include the Rapid City Journal's:
- rejection of articles and letters to the editor relating to historical and ongoing Native America issues
- decision to charge a fee to publish political letters to the editor resulting in suppression of political speech through this, ultimately, discriminatory practice (http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/opinion/letter-to-editor/)
The protest will meet at the Seattle’s Best meeting room at the Alex Johnson at 11 AM and then march to the Rapid City Journal Building for a one-hour demonstration [Occupy Rapid City, press release, October 10, 2012].
In this press release, Occupy Rapid City reminds its local paper of the "Principles for Quality Journalism" published by RCJ corporate owner Lee Enterprises:
- Focus on understanding and serving the needs and wants of the people in its community, including those who are most vulnerable, such as the poor, minorities or elderly.
- Identify and aggressively cover the most important issues to the local community.
- Play a leadership role and be a force for change in the community through coverage, editorials and civic involvement.
- Show courage and independence in faithfully reporting both good and bad news.
- Inform, educate, explore solutions and give readers information on how they can take action or get involved when appropriate.
- Encourage and involve the community in journalistic efforts, including promoting public contact with staff members, editors and the publisher.
- Provide a regular opinion page with local editorials, plus local and national content reflecting a wide variety of views.
Maybe Pat should have more sympathy for those "wacky Occupy hippies." We are the 99%!
9 Responses to “Occupy Rapid City to Protest RC Journal’s Abdication of Quality Journalism”
Owners of media in South Dakota care only about the Benjamins. News is an inconvenient object that shrinks while being draped over ad blocks. If there is a screw-the-facts redneck policy to the editorial page, it should come as no surprise to anyone who's been a regular reader of the RCJ when you consider who is the editorial page editor. If the RCJ fired its news staff tomorrow and declared it's mission now will be to serve as a shopper, it would be seen as a small step.
Unfortunately, this is the trend among daily newspaper, particularly in South Dakota. When the mighty RCJ slides down the drain hole, the Argus and the rest will not be far behind.
Bill are you marching? Could I sit in front of your place and watch them wander by to the assembling place?
Though the RCJ seems to have a self annihilating plan, it is their property to do as they so choose.
Buy them if you don't like their plan.
We have all seen this coming for a long time now, and it is a sad deal for sure. The Rapid City Dailey will find itself being like the Kadoka Press and other weekly news. In other words, no national news or really any state news. But by golly, we will sure know who visited Aunt Mary's place for some chicken and taters. The Journal added to their own demise by turning its back on the place that could have actually helped them, on line readers. It is not so much what the readers said or did, it was the advertising dollars that will be lost. Oh well, Lee strikes again, what a business plan they have.
This is what happens when bean-counters rather than journalists run things.
RC Journal is charging for political letters to the editor? I am appalled. As a former newspaper editor and reporter, I know that the first amendment has always protected political speech, regardless of the political party affiliation. These letters should be published free of charge. It is, as OB Rapid City points out, a suppression of political speech if there is a fee to publish them.
While I wholeheartedly disagree with the RCJ's decision, I can understand their frustration with every astroturfed politician and organization that sends their lemmings scripted LTE's and tells them to sign and send them in.
I do wonder if those that pay for the political LTE will be stamped with *PAID EDITORIAL CONTENT*
Just sad to see the editorial page for sale...and at such a cheap price... that an organization could buy out a full page of scripted letters and have people think that it is really just another group of individuals expressing their opinion.
Just think, one of the best read sections of the newspaper is now valued at around $3 per column inch! Let's see...a politician could buy a full page ad for $5000 or they could submit 25 LTE's for $375 and get the same space, but in a better placement and get online exposure as well!
They might want to rethink this one.
The RCJ appears to be holding the Varilek/Noem debate hostage behind a paywall.
The Journal won't have to worry about comments suggesting their editorial page is mostly "malarkey" to use a term Biden used to make a polite expression of disgust with lies and distortions coming from Lyin Ryan and Rotten Romney.
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