One of the typical posts in the N & O Blog run by their executive editrix, Melanie Sill. She's getting her brains dashed out...
http://blogs.newsobserver.com/editor/index.php?title=duke_lacrosse_comments_1&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
Comment from: joan foster [Visitor]
06/14/06 at 20:17
Has John in Carolina been banned?
I've missed his thoughful, well written and researched posts. And yes, he was always civil. Discussion can be pointed here, but John was always polite. John is no more frequent or long-winded a poster than..., dare I say it....Joan! And here I thought I had just emerged from the shadow of impending deletion. I hope he will be invited back.
Melanie, have you noticed more and more people are posting at this site, I would assume your blog is growing in its readership. That means that you are successfully communicating with your customers , readers, and yes, critics. Even occasionally contentious discussion is better than none at all. We need to understand the N&O point of view. And you need to hear what is being said about your coverage. If you were able to explain some of these issues in depth, perhaps you'd even make some conversions. I do not believe you just came to work one day and said, "Let's help destroy those three kids from Duke." Not at all. Emotions run high here because good people can not help but be buffeted by the incredible pain in this story...on all counts. I know you feel it too.
Have you noticed the number of posts on the Duke topic vs.the REST of the board in total? And the posts are growing. It's the elephant in the living room.
Thanks for this start of hashing it out with you. You need to keep giving us a place where it CAN be discussed...where we CAN be on topic. This paper's coverage is being discussed EVERYWHERE. But HERE, you get a chance to rebut. Keep the Duke topic up for the sake of the N&O. Let's all keep trying to understand each other. Let's listen to each other.
May John in Carolina please come back?
http://blogs.newsobserver.com/editor/index.php?title=duke_lacrosse_comments_1&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
Comment from: Anne Whitney [Visitor]
06/15/06 at 11:31
The following quote, but for the bracketed section, was written about the Scottsboro Boys series of trials in AL in the 1930s. Those too subjected "Southern justice" to ridicule:
"Evil rarely comes in the form of monsters, but rather in the form of relatively normal people who, for reasons of careers, ideology, or a desire for society's approval, are indifferent to the human consequences of their actions. Because of indifferent jurors, [journalists] and career-motivated prosecutors, the self-serving and groundless accusations of a single woman were allowed to change forever the lives of [three white boys] who found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. "
Ms. Sill & Ms. Sheehan evidently seek by their conduct to obtain social approval from a certain sector of their acquaintance & the greater populace. They are unwilling to risk disapproval from these groups, even if by their inaction they contribute mightily to injustice. Facts, logic, pleading & data from hundreds of posters will not sway them. They are fighting for a way of life, just as segregationists once did. Perhaps they rationalize that they are brave for continuing to toe the PC line, even as it becomes clear that this case is sounding the death knell for PC pandering -- a larger, very interesting issue in itself that is not being addressed by the media.
Regrettably, we are still waiting for the Judge James Horton of this case - someone who says, "Let justice be done though the heavens may fall."