Working on this new server in php7...
imc indymedia

Los Angeles Indymedia : Activist News

white themeblack themered themetheme help
About Us Contact Us Calendar Publish RSS
Features
• latest news
• best of news
• syndication
• commentary


KILLRADIO

VozMob

ABCF LA

A-Infos Radio

Indymedia On Air

Dope-X-Resistance-LA List

LAAMN List




IMC Network:

Original Cities

www.indymedia.org africa: ambazonia canarias estrecho / madiaq kenya nigeria south africa canada: hamilton london, ontario maritimes montreal ontario ottawa quebec thunder bay vancouver victoria windsor winnipeg east asia: burma jakarta japan korea manila qc europe: abruzzo alacant andorra antwerpen armenia athens austria barcelona belarus belgium belgrade bristol brussels bulgaria calabria croatia cyprus emilia-romagna estrecho / madiaq euskal herria galiza germany grenoble hungary ireland istanbul italy la plana liege liguria lille linksunten lombardia london madrid malta marseille nantes napoli netherlands nice northern england norway oost-vlaanderen paris/ÃŽle-de-france patras piemonte poland portugal roma romania russia saint-petersburg scotland sverige switzerland thessaloniki torun toscana toulouse ukraine united kingdom valencia latin america: argentina bolivia chiapas chile chile sur cmi brasil colombia ecuador mexico peru puerto rico qollasuyu rosario santiago tijuana uruguay valparaiso venezuela venezuela oceania: adelaide aotearoa brisbane burma darwin jakarta manila melbourne perth qc sydney south asia: india mumbai united states: arizona arkansas asheville atlanta austin baltimore big muddy binghamton boston buffalo charlottesville chicago cleveland colorado columbus dc hawaii houston hudson mohawk kansas city la madison maine miami michigan milwaukee minneapolis/st. paul new hampshire new jersey new mexico new orleans north carolina north texas nyc oklahoma philadelphia pittsburgh portland richmond rochester rogue valley saint louis san diego san francisco san francisco bay area santa barbara santa cruz, ca sarasota seattle tampa bay tennessee urbana-champaign vermont western mass worcester west asia: armenia beirut israel palestine process: fbi/legal updates mailing lists process & imc docs tech volunteer projects: print radio satellite tv video regions: oceania united states topics: biotech

Surviving Cities

www.indymedia.org africa: canada: quebec east asia: japan europe: athens barcelona belgium bristol brussels cyprus germany grenoble ireland istanbul lille linksunten nantes netherlands norway portugal united kingdom latin america: argentina cmi brasil rosario oceania: aotearoa united states: austin big muddy binghamton boston chicago columbus la michigan nyc portland rochester saint louis san diego san francisco bay area santa cruz, ca tennessee urbana-champaign worcester west asia: palestine process: fbi/legal updates process & imc docs projects: radio satellite tv
printable version - js reader version - view hidden posts - tags and related articles


View article without comments

It's mind-blowing that LA Times wouldn't let guv candidate in building

by Peter Delevett Thursday, Oct. 10, 2002 at 4:07 PM
pdelevett@sjmercury. com (408) 271-3638 San Jose Mercury News

I spent part of Monday at a local high school, telling a group of aspiring writers that journalism, at its best, serves a noble purpose. The press can be a voice for the little guy. Unfortunately, that's not always the case, as the Los Angeles Times reminded us this week. The Times, which sponsored a Monday debate between Gov. Gray Davis and Republican challenger Bill Simon, turned away the man most polls show running third: Green Party candidate Peter Camejo.

http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/4243115.htm

Posted on Tue, Oct. 08, 2002

Peter Delevett: Sometimes, the media hide voters' choices

By Peter Delevett
San Jose Mercury News

I spent part of Monday at a local high school, telling a group of aspiring writers that journalism, at its best, serves a noble purpose. The press can be a voice for the little guy.

Unfortunately, that's not always the case, as the Los Angeles Times reminded us this week.

The Times, which sponsored a Monday debate between Gov. Gray Davis and Republican challenger Bill Simon, turned away the man most polls show running third: Green Party candidate Peter Camejo.

The paper invited only candidates who were backed by at least 15 percent of likely voters. Recent polls place Camejo, an East Bay businessman and activist, between 4 percent and 9 percent.

Here's what really blows my mind: The Times wouldn't even let Camejo into the building.

Simon and Davis were allowed to invite 25 people to the debate. But the Times told Simon he couldn't place Camejo on his list.

``We felt that because Camejo is a candidate, we would apply that same standard whether he was in the building as a guest or not,'' Times spokeswoman Martha Goldstein says.

OK, I'll accept that you have to draw the line somewhere about who can debate -- though a 15 percent threshold seems too high.

But the guy has to be polling 15 percent just to walk in the door?

Aren't newspapers supposed to be about the free exchange of information and ideas?

Kowtowing to Davis

``The role of the media shouldn't be to confine and limit the options for candidates to be heard, but rather to open them up,'' says James Naughton, president of the Poynter Institute, a journalism think tank in St. Petersburg, Fla.

That said, the media can fall down on the job -- sometimes with good intentions.

When the Mercury News has sponsored debates in the past, we've set a polling threshold that a candidate must meet to get in on the action. That may be necessary from a logistical standpoint, but it also narrows the playing field.

Still, ``It's hard to imagine barring someone from the newspaper building,'' says Mercury News publisher Joe Natoli.

Let's not kid ourselves: Simon, who has next to nothing in common with Camejo, was clearly seeking political advantage. Every vote for the liberal Camejo is probably a vote Davis doesn't get.

A Davis spokesman had said the governor might pull out of the event if Camejo were in the audience. And though Goldstein insists that didn't factor in the Times' decision, the paper made itself look like a Davis lapdog, kneecapping its credibility in the process.

Voters deserve better

The real crime is that, this year more than ever, California voters deserve to see alternatives.

Polls show voters are so dissatisfied with Simon and Davis that up to 22 percent are still undecided.

But Camejo, and candidates like him, are in a Catch-22: They can't get coverage if they're not polling high enough, but how will they ever poll high enough without coverage?

The Mercury News, for instance, has mentioned Camejo just 18 times this year, compared with 288 for Simon.

``Our track record shows that when third-party candidates demonstrate enough pull, we cover them adequately,'' says Mercury News Executive Editor David Yarnold. ``Our coverage is going to be proportional to the public interest.''

That's a pragmatic approach to doling out limited resources, but it overlooks the extent to which the media shape the public interest by controlling the information people get.

Pundits expect California voters, dissatisfied with the major party choices, to stay away from the polls in droves next month. And when we in the media wring our hands about that, we ought to look in the mirror.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Peter Delevett's column appears Sunday and Wednesday. If you've got a scoop, e-mail pdelevett@sjmercury. com or call (408) 271-3638. To subscribe to his e-mail dispatch, see www.peterdelevett.com.

© 2001 mercurynews and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.bayarea.com
Report this post as:
Share on: Twitter, Facebook, Google+

add your comments


I won't be staying away

by sicinius Friday, Oct. 11, 2002 at 3:36 AM

Nope. Staying away from the polls ain't my style.

Even if there's nobody really appealing to vote FOR, there's always something worth voting AGAINST.
Report this post as:
Share on: Twitter, Facebook, Google+

add your comments


© 2000-2018 Los Angeles Independent Media Center. Unless otherwise stated by the author, all content is free for non-commercial reuse, reprint, and rebroadcast, on the net and elsewhere. Opinions are those of the contributors and are not necessarily endorsed by the Los Angeles Independent Media Center. Running sf-active v0.9.4 Disclaimer | Privacy