Ray Kest blasts The Blade - Ray called the Blade "yellow journalism." Kest was on Denny Schaffer's radio show on WSPD for at least an hour Friday afternoon. On Thursday, Kest sent Denny a 10-page letter, refuting the Blade's slanted articles about Kest. Ray said he will give a final version of his rebuttal to Denny, which will be displayed on the WSPD website. Ray said a new Blade article about him was due out on Friday, but it was delayed, because the Blade heard about Kest being on Denny's show. Ray claimed the Blade probably wanted to hear what he had to say before publishing the next article about him. Ray said he will edit his letter to reflect the next imminent slam from the Blade. Well, the latest Blade assault on Kest was in Sunday's fishwrapper.
Ray said the Blade was involved in making policy. That's probably not a shock to some area residents. Ray said government officials, including himself, meet with the Blade's editor-in-chief, John Robinson Block, in Pittsburgh. Block Communications owns the Pittsburgh paper too.
Ray said that if a politician or a business owner goes against the Blade, that person runs the risk of being assaulted in the Blade's pages. Ray inferred that local politicans kiss a lot of Block and Blade ass.
Ray's letter and interview on Friday contained a lot information, which creates a different picture of Ray than the one the Blade has painted. It's good that Ray, through WSPD talk radio, had an outlet to get his message out. Even if it doesn't change your opinion about Ray, at least the public gets both sides of the story, instead of just one, which the Blade prefers.
Ray said the Blade wrote that he will not run for re-election this fall for Lucas County Treasurer. That's not true. Ray has not decided yet. He has until March 1st, I believe, to decide. Hopefully, Ray will run again. He has his supporters. He has several accomplishments to his name, which, hopefully, will be detailed here. The Blade shouldn't be the who decides political issues.
Most journalists don't lie. Some are dishonest. They only give the facts that support their agenda. They conveniently omit facts that would give the true story. This is how public opinion is influenced.
I'm reading the small but detailed book The Elements of Journalism. I learned an interesting fact:
"Hairdressers have more continuing education than journalists."
The book's authors garnered that tidbit of info from Betty Medsger, "Winds of Change: Whither Journalism Education," a Freedom Forum study, July 1996.
Final notes:
During the Kest interview Friday, a caller talked about the smoking ban with Ray. The caller said Mayor Jack Ford has dinner in Sylvania and sits in the smoking section, so his wife can smoke. I wonder if that's true? Ray only supports a smoking ban if it's implemented statewide. He said he personally knows bar owners who are suffering from the ban.
Denny announced Thursday afternoon that Ray would be in the studio on Friday. Denny talked with narrow-minded morning show host Bob Frantz about the upcoming interview with Ray. And predictably, Bob was not interested in Ray's side of the story. In his court of public opinion, Bob had already convicted Kest without hearing Kest's testimony. Obviously, Bob believes the Blade is the final word on the subject.
Bob thinks Kest should resign, instead of letting the voters decide. That's no surprise, since Bob, along with the Blade, also supports Toledo's smoking ban, which was implemented without a public vote. Apparently Frantz and the Blade have a problem with democracy. They don't like citizens having the power to decide issues via the vote. The Blade and Frantz appear to be against certain fundamental freedoms. Their type of thinking is dangerous and needs to be throttled as much as possible, which is why Kest should run for re-election.
posted by jr to politics at 9:57 P.M. EST
(6 Comments)
Comments ...
Are you really suggesting that anybody's *thought* should be controlled (throttled) because you don't agree with it?
Do you also truly believe that Mr. Kest running for re-election would change the way the Blade or Mr. Frantz operates, or are you suggesting it because it would aggravate them?
It would also be fair not to paint journalists with such a wide brush. If you disagree with a reporter or an editor, it would be more effective for you to address that on a case to case basis without generalizing on the education or honesty of an entire profession.
It's easy to take pot shots when you have the ability to publish as I hope both you and the Blade now understand.
-Dan
posted by photodan at 02:16 P.M. EST on Mon Feb 23, 2004 #
Oh no, I don't want to stifle anyone's opinions. That would be wrong. Throttling would be Kest firing back like he has done. To defend himself, instead of just crawling into a hole and quitting or leaving town, like some prefer he do. It's good that Kest or anyone has another means to respond to someone's accusations. I think Kest running again would aggravate the Blade's editors.
I believe most journalists are honest, and journalism would be a fascinating profession to be in. Some would like to see the Blade go, but I don't. We need a daily newspaper. It provides a community service. The good points of the Blade, such as local sports, religion, events calendar, the arts, food, and business, outweigh the few bad parts, which receive most of the attention.
A newspaper is not all about investigative journalism and op-eds. Even without the front section, the Blade is still a good paper when we can get excellent articles like the one in today's Blade titled A taste of India. I'm a fan of Indian cuisine. Sunday's blade had a fine article on the local poetry/spoken word scene. I've attended a few open-mics, and it's cool experiecene, so it's nice that it's receiving some pub. And we need local sports and business coverage. I'm a big fan of outdoor writer Steve Pollick.
WSPD is reporting that the Blade could be for sale "someday."
"More talk about selling the Toledo Blade, and this time it comes from the Blade's managing director Alan Block, who in a letter to the employes says the attitude that the "Block's will never sell the Blade" is "unrealistic" because of current market pressures which could force a sale to a large chain."
"Alan Block says in that letter, that the "days are over" when one division, the cablevision division which he runs, will send profits to rescue the other and the Blade hasn't turned a profit since the early 1980's. Block informed the employes in that letter that the Blade "isn't healthy" and that no job will be secure until it is."
Hints of the Blade being sold surfaced last August.
posted by jr at 11:33 A.M. EST on Tue Feb 24, 2004 #
The letter from Allan Block to Blade employees earlier this month. You may have to click on the images to enlarge them.
Part 1
Part 2
posted by jr at 01:55 P.M. EST on Thu Feb 26, 2004 #
Ray Kest said today he will not seek re-election. He also said he would fulfill his current term as treasurer and will not resign.
posted by jr at 09:25 P.M. EST on Fri Feb 27, 2004 #
According to 13abc, "Ray Kest is firing back and now saying that he will leave Toledo when his term is up."
Actually what Kest said today on Schaffer's show was that he didn't really know for sure what he would do after his term was up. I think Kest has his Masters degree in economic development. Kest said he would work on his PhD. He also said he might split his time between Toledo and Florida.
posted by jr at 09:36 P.M. EST on Fri Feb 27, 2004 #
The blade does have a problem with free speech. There was an online forum to post about a number of topics and news stories on the blade website but the "opinion" portion has slowly gone away. Up until 2 months ago it was a "free posting" meaning unmoderated and no login. After they made people register and snagged their info the blade stopped letting us post.
posted by Guest at 07:56 A.M. EST on Thu Mar 18, 2004 #
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