Saturday, January 19, 2013

Westchester | Hasson's letter to readers on pulling gun data didn't cross all the 'i's or dot all the 't's

As closely read as it would be, you'd expect Publisher Janet Hasson's letter would be very carefully reviewed before it appeared in The Journal News. Here's a screenshot of how it looks right now, more than 24 hours after first appearing online:


What's missing? Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.

16 comments:

  1. Wow. This is bad. Janet, go bad to selling half-page auto ads in Detroit. Guess CynDee Royle was too stressed to carefully proof read her boss' "letter."

    Could this be any more of a disaster?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ooh, I spotted the error!

      Instead of saying, "To our readers," she should have said, "To our reader."

      Delete
    2. Gannett 2011 Annual Report states: OUR PURPOSE: To serve the greater good of our nation and the communities we serve.
      "Gannett is committed to delivering
      trusted news and information...." To the contrary, the Journal News gun permit MAP was a total violation of trust and jeopodized the safety of everyone in Lower Hudson Valley, permit holder or not.

      Delete
  2. The word "to" before "make" has now been added, Jim. Good work. Never mind journalist integrity or editorial independence. Those are immaterial for the Journal News. It has demonstrated one attribute - that it reads this blog 24/7!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sheesh. It hasn't been added to the story I'm linking to in this post.

      Apparently, there are two different letters on the paper's site. I know this because this one has 150 reader comments, and the other has 87 comments.

      Delete
    2. Jim, I'm glad you gave Janet an opportunity make careful decisions about her letter to Journal News readers.

      Delete
  3. Haha. I'm sure they are scurrying to add it to add the "to" to all versions as we speak.

    How about trying having competent senior management and editors, Journal News? Just a thought.

    ReplyDelete
  4. It's updated.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Reminds me of the bad grammar I used to see in all the flaming emails we used to get from the tyrannical executive editor.

    Remember:
    A's hire A's.
    B's hire C's.
    And Gannett executives hire...

    ReplyDelete
  6. What else would you expect from a former Circulation Sales Director. They never worry about the facts, just pad the numbers or rush out with a sales pitch.

    ReplyDelete
  7. In an effort to stay classy, the complete permit list was published at http://pastebin.com/DjU5Km6q . Poster claims it was done to punish people for harassing staffers.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Terribly written and edited, starting with that journalese-nautical cliche "In the wake of..."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It really is horribly written.

      Welcome to amateur hour.

      Delete
  9. The were also is incorrect, it should be where gun permit holders are, especially when followed by an active verb, to make

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chances are they meant 'were' because the data mining happened months ago and it took that long to have some child labor in Bangalore put all the red dots on the map....

      Delete
  10. Fire HASSON and ROYLE! They are dangerous to the community they 'serve' and dangerous to YOUR reputation. Gannett Ethic Policy states: “To affect change for the good in the communities we serve, to make life better for the people who trust us to know them and do right by them.” Your policy introdction: "Correct ethical and legal conduct is particularly at the heart of the operation of a company engaged in communications with and on behalf of the public. This is especially important as Gannett pursues a mission of providing trusted news and information and actively supporting the people and businesses in the communities Gannett serves. In all matters and in all divisions, the highest professional standards must be practiced in every Gannett activity by every Gannett director, officer and employee to guarantee the independence and the integrity of all our news, editorial, information, advertising and marketing services. We believe respect for others and our commitment to diversity represent vital strengths of our Company. In every case, necessary safeguards must be maintained to prevent any action or any association that might reflect adversely, directly or indirectly, upon Gannett." Enforce your policy; fire HASSON and Royle. Or is this just a bunch of crap?

    ReplyDelete

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