posted by Mike Madison at 8:51 AM /
Back during the Margery Sable debacle, a former member of the School Board said to me that he thinks that Tribune-Review just has it in for Mt. Lebanon, regardless of what happens out here. Maybe so, maybe not, but sometimes the criticism is deserved.
These days, the Trib certainly thinks it has a tiger by the tail in its coverage of the Zamagias TIF application. Last Friday's teaser, though, may have been a little unfair:
Link: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/opinion/archive/s_474723.html
Truth be told, no one ever confused Mt. Lebanon magazine with a forum for serious conversations about public policy. That's not the mission of the magazine. Laurels & Lances shouldn't be about bullying. The Trib should pick on someone that has the tools to fight back -- say, the Mt. Lebanon Commission, or the Post-Gazette.
What's more, it's not so difficult to get a dissenting voice heard in Mt. Lebanon. Why doesn't the Trib print the piece itself? Or I'll print it here. Jake, feel free to send it on.
These days, the Trib certainly thinks it has a tiger by the tail in its coverage of the Zamagias TIF application. Last Friday's teaser, though, may have been a little unfair:
Pittsburgh Laurels & Lances
Friday, October 13, 2006
On the "Watch List": Mt. Lebanon magazine. The house organ of the South Hills community has been pushing hard for a tax-increment-financing package to help the developer of a tony condominium project. But will it publish a dissenting point of view? Jake Haulk, president of the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy, has penned such a dissent, dated Oct. 5. Will the magazine publish it? We'll be very surprised if it does.
Link: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/opinion/archive/s_474723.html
Truth be told, no one ever confused Mt. Lebanon magazine with a forum for serious conversations about public policy. That's not the mission of the magazine. Laurels & Lances shouldn't be about bullying. The Trib should pick on someone that has the tools to fight back -- say, the Mt. Lebanon Commission, or the Post-Gazette.
What's more, it's not so difficult to get a dissenting voice heard in Mt. Lebanon. Why doesn't the Trib print the piece itself? Or I'll print it here. Jake, feel free to send it on.
3 Comments:
From Jon Roland’s Principles of Tyranny
The methodology of tyranny … it is surprising how those who have no intention of perpetrating a tyranny can slip into these methods and bring about a tyranny despite their best intentions. Tyranny does not have to be deliberate. Tyrants can fool themselves as thoroughly as they fool everyone else … it begins with withholding information, and leads to putting out false or misleading information. A government can develop ministries of propaganda under many guises. They typically call it "public information"...
The key (to avoiding tyranny) is always to detect tendencies toward tyranny and suppress them before they go too far or become too firmly established.
Hail to the Free Press and Blog-Lebo!
You may or may not see this in "The Trib" but kudos to Jo Posti, Mt. Lebanon school board member, for making Pittsburgh magazine's "40 under 40". It's nice to have positive press about a Lebo native :-)
In case there was any doubt, I think the Magazine's coverage of the TIF fell short of its stated mission "to inform and entertain, taking a constructive approach to community and regional issues ..."
The Magazine has a very important role in the community and is generally held in high regard. But when it is off track, it is fair game for criticism.
If we can't at least count on good information from the Magazine, we should not waste the ink.
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