Bad Journalism + Biased Editor = The Gray News

Friday, August 11, 2006

Gray News decline disappoints its first editor

Excerpts of a letter written by Pat Mundy, one of the first editors of The Gray News, and her opinion of what the Gray News has become.

There was a time when I proudly served on the Board of Directors of The Gray News. That time waned when the Gray News stopped its policy of gathering the news itself, which allowed it not to be tainted by political motives, and adopted the policy of printing only what someone submits. It waned again when the policy went from printing what someone submits, to printing what certain people submit. It stopped when The Gray News went from trying to report the news to reporting personal attacks on people who spoke in public and with whom the Gray News did not agree. It is these policies, which have led to hateful, hurtful, divisive, immature, deceitful, accusations, which it never seems to run out of. It allows, and encourages, citizens to be treated unfairly, and that pierces my tolerance level.

And I have some insight about what I call the "love in" letters. If you, the average reader or the newer reader are wondering why the letters to the Gray News are all in favor of the Gray News, it's for 1 of 2 reasons: Opposing letters frequently do not get printed; or opposing letters are degraded by an editor with sarcastic, usually erroneous comments in his abuse of his "don't forget, I have the last word," philosophy, so the letters don't even get submitted anymore. ... Even worse, there is no room for opposing views without sarcasm in The Gray News. This is hit home very soundly, in the new column called Gray Matters, where they invite personal viewpoints by Gray people...to write a piece...which they offer in print, depending on space and our whim. And the Gray News reserves the right to edit, of course, end of quote.

The Monument, and rightly so, will not engage in public warfare of one business against another. And that is what it has become, one business who constantly attacks another to get readers to 'take sides' and a second business who refuses to volley back, but instead sticks to its originating purpose and reports our government's news to us in objective manner.

Pat Mundy

6 Comments:

  • I am confused ...please help me here

    Where does Pat Mundy's quote start and end?

    Where does Elizabeth Prata's quote start and end?

    You have purposely misled the public again
    You have vastly embellished the truth
    You have diminished Pat Mundy’s good name here
    Shame on you!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5:59 PM  

  • That is a letter from Pat Mundy. Sorry you didn't like it.

    By Blogger Gray Maine, at 6:14 PM  

  • And...how does it diminish Pat's name when she herself wrote it? I don't get your anger...

    By Blogger Gray Maine, at 6:18 PM  

  • Sounds like you found something they can't counter again...here come the persoanl attacks

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5:41 AM  

  • Why dost thou converse with that trunk of humours, that bolting-hutch of beastliness, that swollen parcel of dropsies, that huge bombard of sack, that stuffed cloak-bag of guts, that roasted Manningtree ox with pudding in his belly, that reverend vice, that grey Iniquity, that father ruffian, that vanity in years?

    Taken from: Henry IV, part I

    .... Just thought if the mud was slinging again, anonymous, that we should find some intelligent insults to hurl at each other. I've no idea what you're talking about, but this seems to fit okay. Especially the grey iniquity part...... Don't you love Shakespeare... or you probably think that Ben Johnson penned this and that this is a personal attack?

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:59 PM  

  • I don't know who you are anonymous 10:59, but I love you.
    That was brilliant.

    By Blogger Gray Maine, at 4:41 AM  

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