YELLOW JOURNALISM"Yellow journalism, in short, is biased opinion masquerading as objective fact. Moreover, the practice of yellow journalism involved sensationalism, distorted stories, and misleading images for the sole purpose of boosting newspaper sales and exciting public opinion. "
We're sure y'all have noticed lately, that we've been behaving in regards to Mr. Lemmon. Well children, not today. His column with his Gloria Estefan " interview" is extremely fishy and another prime example of the Press Journal's continued political propaganda. Buckle those seatbelts hunnies, it's gonna get rough.
It is so unfortunate that we are subjected to receiving news from a single source with a definite agenda. Miss Vero's watchful eye has notice the all too obvious pattern of the PJ endorsing candidates and then a week or so later releasing a "story" that tears down the rival.
Not only is this practice irresponsible, it is dangerous. The (limited) local news has a obligation to inform and educate it's community, yet the Press Journal continues to look more and more like a special interest flier. The process of reporting political information related to upcoming elections, should be fair and unbiased, yet the PJ continues to push their spin forward. The Press Journal not only disappoints, but miserably fails it's readers.
Not to mention that local business is being held hostage. How can a newspaper that relies on advertising alienate merchants who may disagree with the paper's politics? It certainly makes us wonder where the true source of the PJ's revenue well is located.
THE LEMMON ISSUE
Let's take a good look at the "interview" that Mr. Lemmon reports with Mrs. Estefan.
First- Mr. Lemmon writes "In a recent interview at her Costa D'Este Beach Resort..." Which suggests to Miss Vero that Mr. Lemmon did not conduct the interview himself. Please correct us if we are wrong. No where in the article does ole Russ say "when I spoke with" or "I asked" or any other language that he so often enjoys using and would verify that he actually talked with Mrs. Estefan in person or, even with his much used "via phone" tag.
Second- If the PJ and Mr. Lemmon's intent was to serve the public, somehow it turned into a comment posting riot beginning at 2:36 AM and will likely continue to grow, what a wonderful way to generate interest in your rag. Heck of a job there, Brownie.
Third- "A special-call meeting on Nov. 10, 2004, will live in infamy." how 'bout postin a link to that reference? No, that's all right, allow us to get that:
Fourth- According to those minutes it was Mary Beth McDonald and Not Sandra Bowden who suggested that the concert be held outside of Vero. Mrs. McDonald's valid concern was that the event was overwhelming for the city. Mr. Lemmon's article asserted several misrepresentations.We ask that you please read the minutes and FORM YOUR OWN OPINION.
Fifth- Yes, Miss Vero has previously stated our disappointment with the local gov for not accepting the gracious offer of Mrs. Estefan, but let's be realistic. The city of Vero Beach knows nothing about large scale entertainment production and the stipulation by Mrs. Estefan that the concert be free for attendees would have brought perhaps tens of thousands into the hurricane ravaged county. It would have been like hosting a cotillion an hour after you'd been mugged.
And Finally- If you were living here in the fall of 2004 (we believe Mr. Lemmon, that you were not), you'd remember what it felt like to be a zombie. After weeks of no electricity (ours was out for a month), unbearable heat, curfews and the sight of military occupation distributing food, water and ice, it was a wonder that more people did not break down. It's so easy for an outsider to look at that time and tell us what we were experiencing, but if you find pleasure in that task, we politely ask you to go back to where y'all came from.
Miss Vero is very happy that Mr. and Mrs. Estefan have chosen Vero Beach as a second home and should be rightfully proud of the Costa D'Este. We only hope that their privacy will be respected and not continued to be sensationallized by the likes of Lemmon.
We will now officially medicate with a strong libation.
MWAH!
missvero@live.com
7 comments:
Thank you for the link to the minutes of the meeting. Sometimes knowing what actually happened is a good thing before forming an opinion. It looks like Ms. Bowden is getting a bad rap. She needs to clear this up.
Posting this link only highlighted the how ineffective the entire process was handled. Ms. Bowden apparently was more concerned with the Garden Club's pre-set dates, so much so she highlighted three times in the link you provided. What I failed to see was Ms. Bowden offering any assistance to the cause. Rather, she was shoved the responsibility of pulling this off on others. I did not read anywhere in the link where she offered any assistance or directive to those she questioned.
Lastly, her comment about the Estafan band being "an international group and not from the United States demonstrates the frame of reference you are defending. Had that comment been made in corporate America Ms. Bowden would be in litigation. Just like she has been twice before and our tax dollars gone to settle incidents she has created, at our expense.
Congradulations hunney, you passed the test with flying colors!
Miss Vero does not provide a safe haven for Mrs. Bowden or any other politician, we simply ask that y'all read the minutes and form your own opinion and not rely on the PJ for tainted information.
Miss Vero pull your wit out of the arguement for a moment. What I failed to see Ms.Vero is Ms. Bowden offering any assistance to those trying to put the concert together. As previously mentioned, Ms. Bowden was more concerned with the Vero Garden Club and it's reserved dates than making any attempt at balancing an international recording star's offer of a free concert. Taking a page from your wit for a moment "Lets see..do we keep the Vero Beach Garden Club's preset dates in an attempt at returning to normalcy or do we find a way to host what will be an internationally covered world wide event held in our own back yard?". As stated accurately Vero City gov't is not equiped to handle anything on this scale themselves. Yet they made no attempt to seek out any help beyond their own internal framework. And if we are not ready when do we become ready? When another opportunity like this gets flushed away because our city leaders simply have no idea how to handle it and hopes nobody realizes the opportunities they give squandered?
This isn't Vero from the 1980s or even the 1990s. The community is moving forward into the international arena and we are totally unprepared for it. We have city leaders who habitually treat city government like some back water family rule. Ms. Bowden let her personal sensibilites get in the way of her judgement and that is just as bad if not worse than her lackluster attempt at pushing the Estefan concert forward.
Lastly, hunney..there is a world much larger than Vero and if we don't maximize the opportunities we are given, they'll go somewhere else.
Y'all want to know the really funny part? We actually agree with you.
Oh, and P.S. - we never pull our wit out in public.
well, didn't anonymous just say what Ms. Bowden said, "international?" ooooh, I guess he's a racist, too. or maybe they meant the same thing, that it was going to be a huge crowd, and in 2 months [when even stoplights still didn't work, for gosh sakes!] how the heck were they gonna put that together for people from all over the world. And from the State -- did you notice that Gubna Jeb had asked that it benefit the whole State?
we'll give anonymous the benefit of the doubt, even if we don't let Ms. Bowden off the hook, and only read into her comment the bigotry and prejudice, just 'cause it's more fun that way.
but I'm prejudiced about something, I'll admit -- I was here when it all happened, and beach house friends, just like Miss Vero said, everyone was so fried crispy and beat up from the hurricanes, it was all we could do to find our shoes in the morning. and our [warm] allkeehol at night.
my wit [and my wits] were sorely lacking.
I do know they did discuss hiring a professional to do the work [that glimmering star of Mesa Park infamy offered himself up], but that, too, was going to take time. and money.
as I read it, the vote was FOR the concert, they were going to continue working it out, and by golly, that is politics. It is regrettable that the city was involved at all, and that anybody considered anything other than the fun. Fun and party! forget your tax dollars and all the work the city was doing putting streetlights and power and airports back together again. how dare those stupid elected officials take their jobs so seriously!!
See, I'm losing my wit again. sigh . . .
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