Welcome to the First Coast Tea Party
Response to be sent to TU today
The following will be sent to the TU today. The list of those who signed off on our blog about the Tiny Union will be sent along with it. Thank you for your support of this project. Here's the letter to the TU:
To: Mr. Mike Marino, Region Editor, The Florida Times Union
There has been a major discussion going on via our community website. The conversation has focused on the Times Union’s turn from a paper of excellent journalism to one of liberal bias.
There is a lot of frustration about the only newspaper in town which at one time represented all its readers and not just a handful of special friends of the editors or owners of the paper.
One of our members wrote you asking about the article with the headline “Marquee” or “Passionate” GOP supporters giving their support over to Alvin Brown. She asked if you would also publish the list of Passionate Tea Party Supporters of Mike Hogan.
Our member forwarded your response:
Perhaps I can explain. It is not surprising that Mike Hogan is supported by tea party members. One would expect tea party members to support the Republican candidate for mayor with the same fervor as they have Republican candidates state- and nationwide. Therefore this would not, by definition, be news. It is by contrast historically significant that major Republican donors are supporting the Democratic candidate for mayor. By the same definition, this is news. Conversely, if there were major Democratic donors who were supporting the Republican candidate, that would also be news and we would write that story.
Also, please note the article in today’s Metro section about the $100,000 in cash and services donated to the Hogan campaign from the state and local Republican parties.
Thank you for your interest in the Times-Union. Mike Marino
Mr. Marino, we think you missed the point. The headline noting “Marquee” or “Passionate” indicated these people were extra special people. We could not understand what that meant so we did our own investigation and found out that many of those “marquee” supporters do NOT give to the local GOP. We were stunned and then wondered “What makes them a “marquee” supporter?”
In your response you noted that it is “normal” for tea party members to support Republicans. Please remember that Governor Rick Scott was NOT a GOP contender even though he was a Republican. We fought hard for him against the GOP and also against the TU. Did you also not read our press release from March where we endorsed two Democrats for city council? We did so because these two people voted NO to raising our taxes. You can find those endorsements on our website at: www.fctpcommunity.org. Your answer indicates even more bias towards the people of the tea party. Has your team researched those who are supporting Mike Hogan and discovered some of them are Democrats? Do you only consider it news worthy if they give a lot of money? Would it not be a news story if a Democrat gave his/her support to a Republican without the hand off of a large check? Did you know there are Democrats and Independents who are also a part of the tea party movement?
Mr. Marino, your readers are leaving. They are leaving because the TU has consistently violated the following statements from the Society of Professional Journalists code of ethic:
- Examine your own cultural values and avoid imposing those values on others.
- Act Independently: Journalists should be free of obligation to any interest other than the public’s right to know.
- Be Accountable: Journalists are accountable to their readers, listeners, viewers and each other.
Journalism in North Florida has died and it happened right before our eyes. You have made business decisions to save money by pulling articles from AP instead of doing your own research; you reduced the size of the paper; and you laid off staff. It was necessary for you to do this because readership was down causing revenues to drop.
Had you listened to those who subscribed to your paper, it would not have been necessary for you to make these decisions. The TU would be thriving if the bias had not been shown. It was and therefore the TU is what it is…another struggling newspaper trying to hold itself together.
You had an awesome responsibility afforded you by the First Amendment. Unfortunately, the TU and hundreds of other news sources across America have blown it. You can’t blame the internet for your demise. In all businesses, if you give people a great product, they will buy it.
We would have bought it Mr. Marino. We would have looked forward to walking outside in the wee hours of the morning and bending down to pick up the news of the day. We would have held it close as we walked inside and poured a cup of strong coffee. The unfolding of the newspaper as the coffee steamed from our cup was a great way to start our day. Reading the news with both sides of the story displayed in print was great fodder for work discussions throughout the day. Those days are gone for now.
But, we do know this…Wherever a gap appears in the business world – someone will fill it.
We anxiously await the filling of the gap.
Views: 106
Comment
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Comment by J.R. on May 4, 2011 at 2:00pm
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Lisa,
I would be interested in working to accomplish that. It could be done both in print and online. It would take meticulous researchers, as well as good writers, editors, and people to do marketing. It would be a wonderful way to educate the public about how government is supposed to work, while accurately providing news... and maintaining ethics and integrity in every stage of the process. During start-up, we could even have Tea Party volunteers working on advertising and doing a public relations campaign to get the word out.
Surely there are thousands of people in Jacksonville, with its more than one million population, who would be delighted to have an alternative to the Times Union and actual, verifiable, and relevant news for a change. In addition to world and national news, we could include a section for in-state news about the Florida State Legislature's actions, the Governor's actions, and the actions of Florida's Representatives and Senators in the U.S. Congress, as well as relations between Florida and the federal government and other states. Education about the U.S. Constitution would be very important, for it's not being adequately or accurately taught in the public schools. Just a few ideas, but I believe it's doable. We could also have actionable links online to help citizens communicate with all levels of government and their elected officials.
For start-up, we would necessarily need some financial backing, but it could be started online first, where people all over the state could read it. Online isn't as costly and paid advertising on the website could help pay for the site. We could also do fundraising there for the print paper. Later, when ready to roll out the print edition, we could have Tea Party volunteers help with publicity, circulation and subscriptions at first and give the roll-out a lot of publicity on the website. Later, papers could be placed in convenience stores and elsewhere, and eventually in newspaper boxes where people could buy new editions at various locations around town. With growth, bulk mail or delivery could be an option.
These are just a few ideas, but you have to start somewhere
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Comment by Barry Lee Phillips on May 4, 2011 at 1:41pm
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Good letter Billie. I like the way you do not mince words.
However, I am somewhat amused at other comments excoriating the TU for its liberal bias. I remember many years ago some on the left excoriating the TU for being a right-wing rag!
We should all remember that no newspaper is going to make all of its readers happy with its content. Maybe the true test of objective reporting is to count how many people get upset on both sides of an issue that is reported in a newspaper.
Can one be objective while trying to determine how much objectivity exists in a newspaper article? Maybe yes. Maybe no. If one has personal prejudices (and we all do), then those prejudices are going to color what one thinks about an article, the reporter who wrote it, and the editor who approved the article for publication.
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Comment by Alyce B. Thacker (Lisa) on May 4, 2011 at 12:48pm
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I am very proud to be a Tea Party member and this is just one of many reasons why...thank you for speaking on behalf of all of us with intelligence.. anyone interested in starting a rival paper here in Jacksonville? Haven't taken the TU in years!
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Comment by Susan Burke on May 4, 2011 at 12:19pm
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Excellent letter, Billie. I hope it does some good. I like the idea of distributing flyers and also note that many stores have their flyers available at the door. It's not as easy to go from store to store reading each flyer, but it's better than supporting the TU. Maybe when the whole paper can be printed on a single page they will get the idea we are not happy with them.
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Excellent article; very well written and thought proving. I hope it gets printed!!!! As fairly new Floridians from Georgia, we had subscribed to the Times Union for newd of Jacksonville and the Nation. After several months of reading from the editorial pages and opinion columns from staff writers, we cancelled the paper. The whole story reflecting both liberal and conservative views were currently being reported by a few national newspapers, never by the TU, and only on 1 or 2 television stations. We have received numerous calls from the circulation staff of the Times Union almost begging us to subscribe again. Each time we were called, the question was asked why we cancelled and our reply was always the same. If the TU reported ALL of the facts regarding (usually politics) what was the news of the day in Washington which affected our American citizens, instead of being blindingly biased, then we would have continued with the paper. We finally told them to take us off of their call list.
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I would only have to change the "names and places" in Ms. Tucker's letter and it would perfect to send to the Gainesville Sun.
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Comment by Robert Douce on May 4, 2011 at 9:58am
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I canceled the TU on Monday after 42 years because it no longer met my expectations of balanced journalism. I have turned to reading news from reliable and accountable news sources. Many people have shared with me over the years that they only get the Sunday Paper because of the sale ads!
I thought about their need and will toss out this EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY. The possibilities are endless and it will save people money and could severely diminish the TU Sunday paper market. In a nutshell - Contract with retailers to assemble and distribute their flyers by zones in Jacksonville without the Sunday paper. Special needs organizations could be employed and contracted to assemble the flyers in plastic bags. Retailers pay to get their product. People would sign up to receive the flyers each Sunday for less money than the TU paper. This could be round 1 of competition to the TU! Round 2 is a company to start a balanced newspaper that provides the news and allows the readers to make their own decisions. This could be started at retail locations only until readership picks up. The TU would eventually lose this market as well.
We can unsubscribe, we can complain and voice our ideas, but what do Americans do best - WE CAN GO INTO COMPETITION.
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Billie - excellent response to the response to the response, etc. I feel, like you, that a "higher power" continues to provide you with ideas, words and phrasing. ONWARD CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS!!! (and anyone else that shares "Tea Party Values"). We also love all these very positive comments from us First Coast Tea Party members and supporters.
Gratefully, Tommy & Jane Entenza
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Comment by Kate Svagdis on May 4, 2011 at 9:41am
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I stopped buying TU when local director said 5000 people at the FCTP TEA Party at the Landing was NOT newsworthy.
Good work, Billie
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TUnion's had to lay off people, cut back on its quality of newspaper because of its liberal turn. I used to buy one every day, I haven't bought one in months because of the liberal bias not only in the news stories but also on the editorial page. Their circulation is apparently so bad they were giving away free copies at Winn Dixie in Macclenny couple of months back to encourage subscriptions.
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