Sound Off for Feb. 8, 2009
Reader: I'm a teacher at a local school and my colleagues and I are appalled that The Californianpicked this quote by Barack Obama: "This was a mistake. I screwed up."
We're appalled by the improper English and the words "screwed up," which teachers are trying to eliminate from the English language. I realize he probably said that, but do you have to put it on the front of the newspaper?
— Carmen Needham-Tyack
Jenner: After promises of "no more politics as usual," it was newsworthy enough when two prominent Cabinet appointees withdrew because they'd failed to pay their taxes.
But the fact that the new president not only admitted that making these appointments was a mistake, but that the error was his, was news in itself. And the words he used were news.
We keep a pretty close eye on the language we put into this newspaper, and guard against using vulgar or even earthy language. But in this case, I thought the use of the quote in a headline was appropriate.
I'm sorry it offended you.
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Reader: The article about Robert Kearney and his Alzheimer's disease was heartbreaking. Was it really necessary to include the episode in the doctor's office, when Mr. Kearney "became incontinent and soiled himself?" Couldn't the writer have left him with a shred of dignity? That was totally unnecessary.
— Susan Blakley
Jenner: I thought reporter Stacey Shepherd handled the story of a 52-year-old man suffering from Alzheimer's with dignity and respect. Here's why she felt that detail was relevant:
"I included that anecdote to illustrate the realities of this disease — how it impacts the person who has Alzheimer's and his or her caretaker.
"Alzheimer's isn't just worrying if your loved one will escape out the door when you're not looking and wander off. The disease eventually takes everything — including the ability to know when and how to use the bathroom.
"I thought the example of incontinence, more than anything, showed the all-encompassing effort it takes to care for someone with the disease.
"In my opinion, to leave out the messy stuff would have meant an incomplete picture of what the Kearneys, or any families that have cared for an Alzheimer's patient, have been through."
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Reader: So Verdi's opera premiered March 6, 1583. Interesting, since Verdi wasn't born until 1813! The numbers may have been transposed, and it's probably a minor error, but it's another example of what is becoming a shoddy publication.
Of greater concern to me is your, or Robert Price's, decision to replace real conservative columnists like Mona Charen or Jonah Goldberg with a pseudo-conservative like Kathleen Parker. You can put me down as another dissatisfied customer.
— E. Remington
Jenner: Giuseppe Verdi's masterpiece was first performed in 1853, not 1583. Transposing those digits was a mistake and I'm sorry we made it, but we don't deserve your "shoddy publication" label.
As for your disappointment with our columnists, Editorial Page Editor Robert Price responds:
"We dropped Mona Charen in August 2004, long before I came on board, because she didn't write regularly enough for us to count on her.
"She was replaced at that time by Kathleen Parker, whose impeccably conservative credentials had not yet been tarnished by her courageous/treasonous (pick the word that fits your worldview) decision last fall to call Sarah Palin unfit to be president, an opinion shared by many conservatives.
"Goldberg was hardly a longstanding institution on our pages. We had him for only a year or so, and he was dropped before I took the reins from Dianne Hardisty.
"We try to balance conservative, liberal and moderate syndicated columnists and will continue to evaluate the mix."
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Reader: What on earth has happened to The Californian?
We've been getting less and less news for the past few years. Now you have downsized the paper but you still include a car section that is about the same width as what the paper use to be. How about making the paper full-sized and the car section the new and improved smaller edition?
A few weeks ago in the Sunday paper you had a listing for all of the sports on TV for that day. You wasted close to 5 inches listing stuff that had already been run and wasn't going to be re-run. A few days later you had a story in Sports talking about the "ROADUNNERS." Is that a new team or isn't anyone proofreading the paper?
You have endless stories about our local "teams." We have basketball, baseball and hockey teams that might need a gun and a mask to steal a win yet we had a major motorsports event in Florida that never got a mention.
Bakersfield's Kevin Harvick had a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team going for a championship with Ron Hornaday (who called Mesa Marin his home track) driving. Not a word was mentioned about it before the event.
Then there is the Sound Off section, which I used to enjoy. Now, no matter how important the issue, Mike Jenner always seems to have a rude answer. Why is he trying to make the writer seem like an idiot?
It seems you are taking the people who understand how to write news and moving them into a position where they don't get to write. Believe me, the young staff doing most of the writing now don't have a clue.
Please get back to basics. With the way the paper is now, if another paper were to start in Bakersfield you would be out of business. Give us back our old paper.
I can't wait to see how Jenner bashes this letter.
— M. E. Helm
Jenner: We print Saturday's Drive section on the wide paper we had left over after we converted to our narrower width. While I am sensitive to your complaint about less news in the paper, I'd have to say most readers I've heard from prefer our new width to the old dimensions.
Of all the biases we're accused of having, the most important bias we shouldhave is a preference for local news over national news, and that includes in Sports. Still, I consider accomplishments by racers with local connections to be news of local interest, even if it happens on the other coast.
As for Sound Off, I truly don't intend to make anyone look like an idiot. I figure if people care enough to write and complain, they deserve a little respect. My philosophy in writing this column is to never turn a critic into an enemy.
Believe me, it's not hard to stay humble in this position. And I truly value every reader, even those who disagree with a decision we've made. So if I seem rude, please forgive me.
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Reader: The secret word is "change."
Circulation is down, Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck and Savage are up, and Combs and Gore are down. What's going on?
At least the Republicans in Congress now seem to recognize that if you take away from some to give to someone else, that change isn't secret anymore. The socializing of America must be done in some other way to really be secret. Can it be stopped?
The Californianis in the middle of all this and may not recognize the great opportunity. Real change would be to promote the real workers, the people who contribute to our wealth and greatness, the people who have changed this country into a place that everyone wants to come to. Interview and quote the right people, not bureaucrats.
If everything that moves or doesn't move is taxed, we progressively go down hill and soon there is nothing left. Our air and sunshine just are not enough.
Water for our land? The big mistake was made years ago when a one lock dam wasn't put in instead of the Richmond-San Rafael bridge. By now there would have been a surplus of water. There have been arguments ever since with no good solutions.
So where is the grand opportunity for The Californian ?
How about becoming a nucleus for real change. News, real news, about our state and county. There has to be education of our public and of our politicians. The Californiancould do it. For example, what we as a people can do with fewer taxes; maybe even a little on the conservative side, where everyone gets and uses more of what he earns, (including The Californian).
Get rid of the liberal attitudes and watch the circulation grow and the county prosper. Being an island in the middle of the state promoting what we can do wouldn't be a bad thing and might just spread with Kern County being a leader.
No more big mistakes. They cost too much for our future. Push the things we know work, not things that always fail. Make change real, not a secret word.
— Dick Darrow
Jenner: You make great points about being a nucleus for change.
We believe we need to lead the community with coverage that strengthens it.
For years we've been a "mirror" to our community, but we believe our coverage should improve and uplift the community, and not just reflect what happened in it.
You can expect more coverage that looks for solutions and that celebrates success. That doesn't mean we'll refrain from reporting "bad" news, but covering the good in our community and helping point to solutions are absolutely priorities.
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Reader: Thank you so much for the wonderful coverage of the East High production of "Grease" in Thursday's Californian .
It has made a HUGE impact here on campus and in the community! I really appreciate you getting us in to Eye Street on such short notice.
It was also a great pleasure to work with photographer Felix Adamo. He took great shots and the students really enjoyed talking with him.
— Jenna Odlin
