SOUND OFF
Jenner: We received a lot of comments on our coverage of the "tea party" protest on Tax Day -- April 15.
One reader wrote: "It is a sad state of affairs when the press can only see "anti-government" when there are no signs to that effect in the photos that accompany your story. I believe that interpretation can only be attributed to your liberal bent.
"We are not 'anti-government,' we are against the way government is spending astronomical sums of money on things we do not even want. I would ask that you retract your statement and issue an apology."
Jenner: The term anti-government does not mean anti-American. Reporter Steven Mayer said there was a sentiment in the crowd at the rallies that reflected Thomas Jefferson's perspective that government is a necessary evil.
Says Mayer: "When I saw signs held by attendees that said "fire Congress," or "government is the problem" -- and one individual who carried the American flag turned upside-down -- I felt that "anti-government" was pretty close to the mark.
Reader: Mr. Mayer, were you at the same event that I was? Because I was at the TEA party downtown from 4:30 - 6:30 Wednesday. I don't know where you got your guess-timate on attendance; however, I saw several thousand people -- not "several hundred."
Also, you ended your article with the following sentence: "The state is the only (entity) that recognizes this lifetime commitment between two people," Cera said. How did you make that leap from reporting on a rally designed to express dissatisfaction with big government out-of-control spending? You tried to cram way too much into one article -- and it fell apart at the end.
-- Nick Bikakis
Longtime Californian subscriber
Jenner: Steve Mayer made his own estimate of the crowd's size for his story. After checking with the Bakersfield Police Department on Thursday, he learned they estimated the size of the afternoon rally at about 2,000 people. He reported that online Thursday and in a story in Friday's paper.
As for your second point, there were three tax protests held in Bakersfield Wednesday; our story dealt with all three. The third tax protest, held by local gay activists and supporters, was mentioned at the end of the story.
It was the smallest rally in size, and got the least attention in our story.
Reader: I love how impartial and fair Steven Mayer's article was. I read other news stories covering tea parties across the country, and there was a bias "pitch" in most of them. It was refreshing to read an article reporting it as it should be -- news.
Some of the articles I read went so far as to place blame on veterans, which was quite irritating to me. I am a veteran myself, and I lost twelve of my guys fighting the war against terror.
Anyhow I just wanted to make the point that I enjoyed reading your article.
-- Jose Espinoza
n n n
Reader: I am writing about your article "Dr. Phil helps Bakersfield siblings lighten their loads." As one of the top competitors in Terrio Therapy-Fitness' Biggest Loser Competition I was appalled this morning to learn you refused to do an article on Terrio's Program.
When approached to do an article The Californian apparently informed Terrio executives you did not want to "cover TV promotional things." How does Dr. Phil not correlate to "TV promotional things"?
If you were looking for a "family feeling" you should have done your homework as we had two brothers, two sisters and brother/sister-in-laws working together to lose weight.
As anyone who has ever struggled to lose weight knows, this is a very emotional journey and any words of encouragement are appreciated and inspiring. However, apparently The Californian chose to ignore this wonderful program because of the catch phrase was associated with TV.
The 20 men and women in our competition lost a total of 808 lbs. with an average weight loss of 40.4 lbs. As I am sure you are aware these are incredible numbers, which were achieved in only 10 weeks through intense exercise and proper nutrition! As a newspaper that apparently attempts to publish local feel-good stories you certainly missed any opportunity to inspire individuals to lose weight.
-- Mitzi Villalon
Terrio Therapy Biggest Loser competitor
Jenner: Tim Terrio e-mailed me a couple of weeks ago to tell me about a "biggest loser" program his company had produced featuring KUZZ listeners.
He invited is to send a reporter and photographer to the "reveal" presentation. I thanked him and did tell him we didn't usually cover such events. His program sounded very successful, but there have been many such programs around town over the past few years, including several here at The Californian.
A week later Herb Benham heard two siblings from Bakersfield were going to be featured on national TV because of their success in losing weight. Herb wrote a short story that appeared in Friday's edition.
Was the "Dr. Phil" program a media promotion? Yes. Is that inconsistent with my answer? Yes, I suppose it is.
Was that inconsistency a slap in the face to you, Tim Terrio or the other participants? I don't see it that way.
Every day our editors and reporters make hundreds of decisions about what to print and what to leave out. There's always much more news and information than there are reporters, time or space.
You have every right to be proud of your accomplishment. I'm sorry we hurt your feelings.
But try as we might, not every decision will be consistent, and we're never going to make everyone happy with all of our decisions.
