What New Faces?
By Debbie HoltzGood thing I’m not a betting person.
If you’ve been reading the Gannett dailies over the last couple months, the odds-on favorites would be this year’s legislative challengers. That’s what we’ve been led to believe by the investigative reports exposing incumbents, headlines calling for reform, and the editorials lamenting the need for new faces. There was Gannett’s week-long series dubbed "Profiting from Public Service". Next there were these editorials at the Courier News: “Reform won't happen without some new faces” (Courier News, 10/7/07) and “18th District needs new faces in Trenton” (Courier News, 10/21/07). In fact, the Courier News summed up the need for “new faces” this way: "As New Jersey voters consider their ballot options in November, they should begin by asking two questions about incumbent legislators: Are they part of the problem? And if not, can they be part of the solution?" (Courier-News, 10/21/07).That's pretty much been the "party line" with the Gannett chain this election season.
So what happened at the Home News?
The Home News called its political endorsement of state Senator Bob Smith “easy to render”, (10/11/07). In it, they credited Smith for his past commitment to the environment and for promoting public education funding changes. A valid rationale perhaps– but what about Gannet’s singular focus on reform? Maybe the editors at the Home News aren't reading the same newspapers.
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Syndicate
Missing one distinction, Debbie:
Gannett only advocates reform when it comes to replacing Democrats. Not when it comes to replacing Republicans. Their rate of Republican endorsement is incredibly lopsided this year-- certainly above 80 percent across all franchises in the chain.
They don't even believe the Speaker of the Assembly merits another two years of representing the people of his district.
I, for one, would be very interested in an analysis of whether overt partisanship is a valid ethos of journalism.
blinded by partisanship Commonsense
Of course if you take the angle that reform is necessary you are going to advocate voting against the ruling party. How ridiculous would Gannett be if the called for reforms and then said re-elect the Democrat Majority as they successfully stalled and blocked meaninful reform last round? Always interesting how objective the press is when it endorses democrats and how dispicably partisan it is when it endorses republicans.
Common Sense
Try to use some common sense. If we at least turn over the Legislature or the Senate to the Republicans we can start to have some checks and balances at the State level, I believe that is what the paper is striving for. Codeys' been there the whole time too and he is part of the problem as well.
Oh, I get it now!
So it's just like not going to the local hardware store around the corner anymore because there's a Home Depot several miles away?
Individual candidates don't matter-- the chain's big idea does?
Just like individual newspapers don't matter any more when you can get all the news you need from some corporation with the only agenda you need concern yourself with?
Silly me!
The are consistent ...
Gannett - at least the Asbury Park Press - has called for reform at the county level in Monmouth by endorsing the entire Democrat ticket (from Clerk to Freeholders) over the Republican ticket (even when some Republicans are more qualified than their opponents) in the Press' attempt to get control into Democrat hands.
Although, the Press endorsed Republicans in Ocean County Freeholder races (even though Republicans control Ocean County government) .... I guess that goes to show just how bad the Democrat candidates for Freeholder are in Ocean County.
Overall, though, it just indicates Gannett is single minded in trying to show they have some influence and can set the agenda, rather than a positive agenda they endorse. What type of agenda is it where you just want change regardless of what that change will bring?
Commonsense makes no sense
Yes, I would go to the Home Depot if my local hardware store was driving up their prices and not providing value for the cost...much like the ruling party in Trenton has done for the past decade. Reform is change, and change will only occur if we elect new officials
amusing really
socialists love to use examples of capitalism to try and drive home their point. Commonsense's analogy of competing hardware stores isn't really appropriate to the discussion he started but it does make me wonder if some screws are loose.
Right wingers love to call others socialists
when they disagree with them. Shows a narrow mindset.
Right wingers love to call others socialists
when they disagree with them. Shows a narrow mindset.
Right wingers love to call others socialists
when they disagree with them. Shows a narrow mindset.
come again?
Liberals like to say things two or three times because no one listens to them.
As for the others?
What about the rest of the state's paper?
Pretty funny Aldo
Wish I could say I was going for a dramatic effect. ******* technology.
Gannet Papers
In all the above comments here it is today and this RAG OF GARBAGE called a newspaper in Camden County endorsees the incumbent pig’s in Gloucester County with, if he could have his way, "Iron Head Sweeney", with his "Band of Idiots" he’d be sucking at the public troth with more titles but his head is so far in the CRAP he wouldn’t be able to breath.