March 16, 2006
What the readers say...
My apologies for not posting this sooner, but better late than never. This is last week's highlights of readers' comments to the Ombudsman about stories (or lack thereof) in the Globe. This compilation is distributed to all of the Globe's journalists and executives via email. I may not necessarily agree with a particular argument that a reader makes, but think it's important these comments are seen.
What They Say
March 11, 2006
More than a few readers wondered angrily why the Globe didn't cover last weekend's large conference of Catholic women and men at the convention center. Others commented on a James Carroll op-ed on Hurricane Katrina. Some readers had questions and observations on the Globe's coverage of the Catholic Charities' decision to end adoptions.
And, as always, there were comments about the Sunday comics. Here come the highlights, some of which have been lightly edited.
No coverage of the Catholic conference
How dismayed I was to read the Sunday Globe (3/5) and find no mention of either the Catholic Women or Catholic Men's Conferences held in South Boston on 3/3 and 3/4!! The paper had plenty to say on the Bishops gay ban on adoptions and included many letters on the subject but not a mention of these well-attended conferences. How could this be?? How quickly negative comments are included regarding the Catholic Church but when over 3000 Catholic women and over 5000 Catholic men attend these conferences, not a paragraph was printed on it in the Globe. Perhaps some people would like to hear that Cardinal-elect O'Malley received a ten-minute standing ovation-or that you could hear a pin drop each time Fr. Corapi spoke or that Scott Hahn interpreted the Our Father for all explaining it like no one else could. We get so tired of all the negative press and comments when there is so much positive going on in the Catholic Church. Why don't you try reporting on this?
Carol Brown
Marshfield, MA
By neglecting to cover the 2006 Boston Catholic Women's and Men's conferences, which took place at the convention center in South Boston this weekend, you missed an opportunity to serve your readers. Over 8,500 men and women attended this year's conferences. The featured speakers, Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, Dr. Scott Hahn and Fr. John Corapi, were all great. I would not be surprised to see the attendance at next year's conferences approach 20,000 men and women. It will be a great marketing opportunity; you should buy a booth.
Bill Redmond
Massachusetts
A few hundred dissident Catholics from across the country gathered in Indiana last July for the Voice of the Faithful national convention, and the meeting received prominent coverage by the Globe. Yet when 8,500 faithful Catholics men and women of all ages gathered Friday and Saturday in Boston to hear some of the best Catholic preachers in the world talk about defending the faith, not a word appeared on the pages of Boston's most widely-read daily newspaper. Are the Globe's editors and writers only interested in criticizing the Catholic Church and reporting on dissent? The Globe owes those of all faiths an explanation for this egregious oversight.
Mary Jane Davis
Brookline, MA
Every time I begin to wonder if the Globe is going to do something that will help it shake its well-earned reputation for anti-Catholic, anti-Christian bigotry-- the Globe does something that makes it supremely easy to convince even non-Catholics and atheists of the Globe's inherent twisted attitude toward the NEWS.
Let's see, front page headlines with clearly slanted pro-gay coverage smacking of editorials for days, BUT not one reporter available to go down the expressway to see over 3000 Catholic women and well over 5000 Catholic men meet in support of traditional Catholicism at the South Boston Convention center.
Of course the Herald's coverage was no bargain. Everyone from our parish who was there is now convinced by their own eyes and ears that when it comes to coverage of Catholic events, the media is either totally incompetent--as reporters--or steeped in an abysmal bigotry that keeps them from reporting accurately.
Oh well! a few more people convinced to go to internet sites and drop their purchasing of sources that can't report the NEWS fairly or evenly.
Deacon John M. Bresnahan
Holy Family Parish
Lynn, MA
Catholic Charities and adoptions…
The stories about Catholic Charities dropping their adoption services are missing some important information that would help the reader get perspective Story here. How many adoptions take place per year in the state, how many of those have been handled by Catholic Charities, and who handles the rest of them? Are some of them handled by a state agency? How much does it cost taxpayers (Federal and state) per adoption for Catholic Charities to arrange them? If the state is doing some of this work, how much does that cost per adoption? Has anyone studied the results of adoptions handled by whatever agencies, to see if religious groups and public agencies get similar results in the longer term?
Robert Walsh
Hingham, MA
I am wondering if you believe that the Globe bears any of the responsibility for those hard to place foster children who will no longer be placed in adoptive families due to the decision by the Catholic Church to stop their adoption services. Catholic Charities was placing children with gay parents for years. By the Boston Globe's account, they represented less than 2% of the adoptions placed.
Because the Globe wanted to be provocative and draw attention to it, the end result is now that hundreds of children will not have access to adoptive parents.
I fully understand and support the public's right to know and the press' responsibility to protect that, but with that right comes the responsibility to not report in a reckless manner. There was no public interest served by exposing this story. the only interest was the Globe's financial interest. I am sure you can assuage the Globe's collective conscience by claiming there is some higher journalistic purpose served by what you did, but at the end of the day, each of you is responsible for making many children's lives worse.
Sleep well
Andrew Brennan
No location given
Bush, Carroll and Katrina…
I sent this letter below to the editor today concerning a column by John Carroll. I will not repeat what I said in the letter, but I will note again, that the column contains several serious misrepresentations of facts that should be corrected. Column here. The Associated Press which originally released the videotape that Mr. Carroll discusses, recently (Saturday, I believe) issued a correction to its original story about it. In the original story, the AP said the video shows the President being informed that the levees were vulnerable to being breeched, or broken, contrary to what Bush later said. After many people, including AP newspaper subscribers, complained that the video demonstrated no such thing, the AP issued a correction, admitting that no official on the video presented such a warning to the President. Instead, Max Mayfield was only heard saying that water might overtop the levees, much as water might flow over a bathtub, not break or breech them. The President, therefore, did not "lie," as Mr. Carroll claims.
Mr. Carroll, unfortunately (or perhaps deliberately) relied upon the first AP story and ignored the correction, leading one to believe he never saw the video and just regurgitated the AP's discredited original story. This clearly demands a correction on the Globe's part.
Opinions are one thing. Factual misrepresentations or falsehoods are another.
Jerome L. Sternstein
Hawley, MA
I wish to protest Mr. Carroll's irresponsible and mendacious article today in the Globe. The president has been widely reported in all quotes on the matter as having been briefed that levees in New Orleans were "vulnerable" so there is one small item of truth to this hatchet job. What they were vulnerable to depended on the exact track the hurricane took and it's strength when it reached the vicinity of New Orleans - and the main concern was overtopping. This, in turn, is certainly one mode of failure, but distinct from breaching.
I cannot in honesty tell you this lowers my esteem for your paper. I have none.
R.C.Edwards
The Bush videotape does not show Bush not knowing about the levees breaking. He is told that there is a possibility they may be topped, but that NO was OK. What in this narrative does James C. want Bush to do, go and say STOP WATER??? By the way, levees topped are not the same thing as being breached. Please look both words up in the dictionary so you will know the difference. AP has apologized for getting the story wrong. I think the Boston Globe needs to do so also.
Ada Costey
Massachusetts
More on Sunday comics…
Not sure you are the person to contact, but I want to voice my complaint about the new format of the Sunday funnies.
The Globe is compromising the integrity of the illustrations with the change of the proportions. The distortion is disturbing and the stacked layout is choppy and harder to follow as well.
Ann Desmarais
Amherst, NH
This is the second Sunday in which four comics were squished sideways to fit two across in the comic section. Please Stop This! It's really irritating to look at and read.
Stonewall Ballard
Concord, MA
Bring back At Home…
I think it would be well worth considering returning to the At Home section rather than Style, which seems to validate a sort of empty consumerism that has grown in our time. What I liked especially about At Home was the advice on child rearing, and the Confidential Chat. As a career counselor for many years, I have witnessed the social change that has brought women into all levels of the workplace. If the child is father to the man, the father, or grown-up adult, often behaves and thinks much the same way as s/he did before Barbara Meltz arose to explain us to ourselves, and to help us help children understand themselves and the world.
And Confidential Chat recreates the old-fashioned sense of neighborly advice swapping. How about resurrecting Tips for Teens?
Who has time and motivation to follow Martha Stewart? Many, doubtless, or she wouldn't be where she is. But please reconsider At Home.
Diane Neal Emmons
Manchester, MA
Who speaks for youth?
A few months back, I wrote to you about an op-ed piece from an Endicott College student who wrote about apathy and how owning an iPod makes you uncaring Op-ed here. In publishing this piece, I believe the Globe misrepresented youth and as a young adult I was angered and dismayed by this portrayal.
Well, in the publishing of the recent op-ed about Jon Stewart destroying politics for youth, I believe the Globe once again misrepresented young people by printing such a silly contribution from a recent college grad. Op-ed here. Who makes the decision to print a contribution that claims Jon Stewart and his fans "Sit upon an ivory tower", but the author himself comes off so incredibly arrogant, the result is just ridiculous. He quotes Alexis de Tocqueville for crying out loud. For the past 4 days, I have not talked to one person that thought that this guy has a point. Obviously the Globe wanted to print something about Jon Stewart because he was hosting the Oscars, but this?
Please tell the Globe editorial staff to be fairer to young writers by printing thoughtful and insightful pieces. Not ones that are timely to an awards show.
Adam Reinke
Massachusetts
Settlers or Squatters?"Settlers" are people who live on land legally. "Squatters" are people who live on land illegally. Since Israelis who live on Palestinian land are there in defiance of International Law, they are properly called "squatters." Every country but Israel thinks that they are squatters. Every time you or articles you print misuse the word settlers to refer to these squatters, you and they validate and, in effect, lobby for Israel's self-serving and illegal seizures of another people's land. Is this what you want to do?
Bob Krasnansky
Ellicott City, MD
The War Chest…
I don't understand the Globe's use of the term "war chest." Story here ) It is often used whenever political campaigns are described and was used on to describe the political assets of Marty Meehan. Why is it a war chest? Is there a war?
Josh Violette
Sedona, AZ
The Microsoft advertorial…
When the Globe began its NEW policy of allowing corporate folks to use the editorial page of the Globe as their personal blog what we got to today was bound to happen - Microsoft flogging us with a personal appreciation of how wonderful they are. When you gave the space over to New England Home, etc I had no problem but when you give the space over to Microsoft - and I assume they paid for the privilege - we have reached a low. What's next? Philip Morris telling us how much they are doing to end lung cancer and keep children from smoking? This is the problem when you rent your front porch.
Microsoft has enough money to buy a full page ad anywhere in the Globe. When Bill Gates gives his fortune to helping with medical issues such as AIDS/HIV or malaria through his foundation that is one thing, but this editorial page selling is another.
Jeff Seifert
Medford, MA
Something good?
I know that the front page "sells" papers and therefore your paper covers all the "nasty" stuff of the day on that page. What I would like to see is at least one page devoted to good deeds and good news like the man blinded when a youngster and sightless for 17 years --with the help of modern science using stem cells regained his sight--wonderful uplifting news. I am so tired of the negative news that occurs in the media --not only in newspapers but on TV as well. Help bring some of the good that goes on in the world to the public who are sick and tired of the downbeat approach presently in use.
Bob Milstone
North Andover, MA
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rchacon | TIME: 02:40:53 PM |
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