News-Record.com

How about "point out racism regardless of the color of the racist"? A fine example or black racism that will probably get buried in your newspaper or totally ignored:

"It's time for us to come together. It's time for us to rebuild New Orleans _ the one that should be a chocolate New Orleans," the mayor said. "This city will be a majority African American city. It's the way God wants it to be. You can't have New Orleans no other way. It wouldn't be New Orleans."

-New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin, Jan. 16, 2006.

Now imagine the outcry if the mayor of Los Angeles, or even Keith Holliday said the same thing, only this time substituting "white" for "black". Now is the time to put your money where your mouth is, John. You say you are the news guy, not the editorial guy. This is news. Print it. If you don't, I will assume you are either 1) afraid, 2)hypocritical, or 3)no longer credible when it comes to claims that your news division is not biased.

Remember, people will get their news elsewhere. When they see the double standard in reporting stories, they no longer want to be part of the solution. If only whites are demonized as racists when facts such as Nagin's statement show otherwise, many will throw up their hands and say "what's the point, we're the only ones being blamed and that isn't going to end, so forget about it." Bias makes the problem worse.

"Is it racial? Could be" Are you referring to the requests, or your coverage?

Have I made my point yet about how annoying it is to be obsessed with race, or do I need to continue to point out the double standards and the counterproductive obsession with race in your paper?

Sam, I don't usually agree with a lot you write but the obsession with race does seem to be a thread that runs through the N&R. I read about two dozen newspapers on line, from foreign to small and large city papers. For some strange reason Greensboro seems to be the one city obsessed by race. I found it to be true when I was a resident. Everything seems to get turned into a racial issue for some strange reason.
Certainly very sad when race has to be played to sell papers or satisfy or perhaps pacify some local "leaders".

"Stop writing about N.C. A&T State University."

I don't care about the rest of the paper, but the ads for A&T State on the front of the comics is a serious bummer. I'd loveit if you'd replace that weekly ad (or whatever it is) with the Sunday "Boondocks." {;-)

Since your editorial today was about the growth of HP University thanks to the new President I find it odd that your Sports department does not give the same mention to High Point when it has a home basketball game that it does to the other Division 1 schools located in Guilford, Alamance, and Forsyth Counties.

Still looking...nothing on the Nagin story in today's online N&R except for Doug Clark's editorial (which is not part of the news division). Hmm. Guess the N&R's news division doesn't think this is news. A lot of other media outlets have caught on. I guess the N&R news division was hoping the story would get ignored by the MSM, so they could ignore it. Wonder when we'll see it in the N&R? I wonder if Pat Robertson had said the same thing would those unbiased folks at the N&R news department choose not to print that story?

Looks like that Spagnola guy may be on to something when he points out that bias is more about what stories are printed and when they are printed than outright opinion. Here is a fine example. White person says it about black person=news, we print it. Black person says it about white person= not news, we don't print it (until we have no choice).

We think we are doing the community a favor and promoting racial healing, but we're not. Our one-sided approach to the news and the issue of race only turns people off. Too bad we are so consumed with our self-righteousness on this issue that we are blinded by the reality.

Mr. Spagnola, if you click on U.S. on our home page, you'll get a list of national stories, including this one.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/N/NEW_ORLEANS_MAYOR?SITE=NCGRE&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2006-01-17-16-40-23

That story is dated 4:40 pm TODAY (kind of late, don't you think), and I cannot access that story through your website (meaning it is buried). The only way I was able to access it was by cutting and pasting the link you provided. Contrast that with the infamous Bill Bennett comments on race, crime and abortion a few months ago. No problem finding that one.

Also, it was nice of you to print his apology (issued only after he took a lot of flack, and published in your paper somewhere only after he had taken a lot of flack and the rest of the media was catching on). Double standard- admit it.

John, I am purposely being annoying about this subject so maybe you can understand how annoying the constant harping about white racism in your newspaper is. I can't stress enough how destructive this persistant drum beat by your paper is. So many people are turned off by this.

On the business side, you have so much more competition now that you cannot control the news. Not even local news. More people can get local information from other news organizations (Rhino, HPE, etc) and from bloggers as to render the N&R irrelevant if necessary. Fox News is so popular for a reason (and yes, two very reputable studies from liberal institutions have concluded they are indeed more fair and balanced than other networks). Unless your paper becomes more honest about your agenda, or becomes more balanced, you will lose readers in droves. An internet marketing model will be much harder when the population has so many other choices. Soon, the hard copy of the paper will be nothing more than a means to deliver Sunday ads. Most people will get their news from the internet, and if you can't be trusted to be even-handed with the news, you will have a hell of a time staying competitive.

I don't expect you to print only what I want to hear (or read), but I would like to know that I'm getting the full story, and not just those stories that fit the agenda that your paper consistently denies it has.

The story about his comments was on the site all day. The story about his apology for his comments came up in the afternoon because he made his apology in the afternoon. You could access it the same way I did on the site. Click on the link called U.S./World News directly under the main story. It takes you to a list of all the national stories, including that one. Or at least it did yesterday.

I understand what you're saying. I do understand your point. I just don't agree with it. The original post was about our coverage of A&T, a school we'll continue to cover.

I think that, by and large, the newspaper reflects a long history of interesting questions about and issues relating to race in the city.

And it seems to me it's the same thing in a lot of Southern cities of this size.

It seems to me people who have a hard time seeing the complexity of race in this city either haven't been here very long or aren't paying attention. A few weeks after arriving here in the fall of 2000 I felt like the issue was everywhere - and I don't think it's become any less pervasive or legitimate.

Sam,

Any news agency in the South who reports or deals with the color of the skin issue seems to always strike a nerve among it's readership.

I wonder why?

Based on your comments, I sort of get the impression that perhaps you feel that the N&R shouldn't have reported on the Wray firing because it's subject matter deals with race which is a topic that you feel gets too much coverage by the N&R.

I agree that race is complex- all the more reason that those reporting it should be more balanced. You ignore the complexities if you consistently take a one-sided view as the N&R does. Read Jerry Bledsoe's excellent piece from yesterday about the N&R not giving the full story on matters with racial overtones and some of the great responses to it.

Further, who says the Wray matter is about race? Wray says it isn't. The people that are making it racial are 1) the N&R (of course) and 2) Hinson. At the end of the day, it could be about race, but the N&R has already taken that for granted. A fine example of a race-obsessed publication. It's like they are looking for racial angles to every story where a minority can be portrayed as a victim. That is my point about the obsession.

Joe, I've been here since 1978. Maybe the reason you felt race was so pervasive is because of the N&R's obsession with it. None of the local tv stations or other local papers and news outlets come close to the N&R when it comes to looking through a racial lense.

P.S. - John, I really did look twice yesterday for the story by navigating your website, and I could not find it. Even after you gave me the link, I could not find it through navigation. I went exactly where you told me under US/NEWS/ETC - there was a story about New Orleans students going back to school, but nothing else Katrina related. Only when I cut and pasted did I get the story.

P.P.S. - I have no problem with your A&T coverage. I don't see that as a racial thing.

I believe you about the link. I'm just saying that's how I got to it. I don't know why it would have disappeared.