4:58 p.m., San Francisco time: Taking an already-promising spin through a batch of public documents from the Village of Weston, near Wausau, Wis. I got them today after filing a public-records request, to learn more about how the town's appointed administrator got the name of a citizen who'd been critical of him in anonymous comments on the Wausau Daily Herald's site.When I questioned him during the annual shareholder's meeting, CEO Craig Dubow refused to say whether Publisher Michael Beck would be disciplined over the episode, which prompted an important memo, reaffirming a basic tenet: We're watchdogs -- not lapdogs.
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whatdiditsay?
ReplyDeletewhatdiditsay?
whatdiditsay?
Forums and blogs are powerful tools to let the voiceless be heard. Sometimes the debates and discussions can get heated or ugly. We have to have a high tolerance for debate while at the same time insisting on a certain amount of civility.
ReplyDeleteinteresting policy above, Jim, that you cited as part of corporate policy. Will you follow the same policy here if you see something you don't like, rather than refuse to post it?
5/06/2009 9:37 PM
You are in Wisconsin now, Jim? Mike Beck screwed up. He made a mistake. There's no conspiracy. He's a good guy who made a mistake. Corporate used that mistake to remind others to be more careful in this changing world. We all make mistakes. We learn from them. There's no there there. Go home. It's one man. One decision. In Wisconsin. It happens. OK?
ReplyDeleteAre these comments for real?
ReplyDeleteLet's let Jim read the documents to see whether it's more than just a simple mistake.
ReplyDeleteYes, indeed: "Wow."
ReplyDeleteI'm not seeing any smoking gun here. It's more like a dribbling water pistol. And in some ways, that's even worse. More later on Thursday, once I've read all the documents a second time.
ReplyDeleteThe answer really is quite simple: Most newspaper journalists and publishers despise the two-way conversation on the Web. They've always had it their way -- with very tight controls over what people can say in their own products.
ReplyDeleteWhen tornadoes rolled through my community recently, did I follow/subscribe to the updates on my local Gannett newspaper or TV Website? No. I followed Twitter. Many more updates, much more diverse information, and a lot more fun to read. For old media, the ship has sailed...
WTF? my word verification is "fockher"
10:08 PM wrote:
ReplyDeleteMike Beck screwed up. He made a mistake. There's no conspiracy. He's a good guy who made a mistake."
It was very bad judgment.
It was a good thing that corporate reminded everyone to shore up the firewall between newspaper coverage and access and personal friendships.
On the surface, it looks like Mr. Beck and the Wausau city PR guy were buddy buddy. The city guy didn't like it that he was being mocked in comments in the paper. He asked a FAVOR and it looks like Beck granted it. Doesn't that seem WRONG to YOU?
Beck is an editor and he is unlikely to lose his job over this "mistake." But what if the information had come from a reporter or mid-level editor? How do you think they would have fared at a time when corporate is pushing Gannett papers to shed employees?
What I want to see is the Wausau city council or citizens to take some action against a sleazy city employee who tried to bully a private citizen by threatening him with a lawsuit because he suggested that a fat guy was disagreeable and fat.
Anonymous Anonymous said...
ReplyDeletewhatdiditsay?
whatdiditsay?
whatdiditsay?
5/06/2009 8:43 PM
Anyone else recognize this as the writing of a certain editor at Wausau who has an unnaturally close relationship to Zuleger and was apparently desperately afraid of being exposed? (Hint: How many tools other than those at the New York Times or places like Wausau use their middle initials???)