Reader: Community groups 'get the shaft'

Comments are rolling in on my post about the Gannett Foundation's giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to charities favored by top executives -- charities often far from any Gannett paper or TV station, a requirement for members of the public seeking community grants.

"This arrogant and tacky policy stems from the top-down culture that is hurting the company and, most importantly, its many papers,'' a reader says. "In such a culture, it's totally proper that charitable donations go to top executives' pet causes as opposed to communities that really need the money. The University of Texas and Wellesley College are very rich institutions. They don't need cash. But they get cash while community groups in hard-hit places served by Gannett get the shaft."

Join the debate, in the original post.