Walton's reflections - ("Thomas Walton will retire June 30 as Editor and Vice President of The Blade.") Walton writes: "On the whole, I would not have traded being a witness to history for any other job I could imagine. I've met presidents and movie stars, heroes and cowards, millionaires and homeless, scoundrels and crooks, and even a king and queen. I found them all fascinating, just not for the same reasons."
"It's no secret that newspaper ownership in America has contracted dramatically over the years. There are fewer truly independent newspapers than ever, and fewer publishing families willing to buck economic downswings and the overtures of the big corporate newspaper chains."
"I have no way of knowing if those overtures came to the Block family, but I am grateful that the Blocks have remained true to their mission, which is to publish the best newspapers they can, unbeholden to outside interests and committed to the welfare of their cities - Toledo and Pittsburgh."
"Disagree with me if you like, but if our newspaper had been owned by the big boys - say Knight-Ridder or Gannett, where investigative enterprise is often viewed as one more unnecessary expense - would Toledoans' daily newspaper have pursued the Tiger Force story and won a Pulitzer Prize? Would "Coingate" have been uncovered? In fact, would we have won a Pulitzer Prize and been a finalist two other times in the last seven years without a strong commitment to investigative journalism?"
"Would Toledo have a strong-mayor form of government? Would the Valentine Theatre have been saved? Would Jeep have stayed in Toledo? Would Fifth Third Field have been built? How about the Veterans Glass City Skyway Bridge? Would a movement toward a smoke-free society have been launched, clearing the air for us all?"
Before every meal, I say a little prayer of thanks to the almighty Blade for all that they have given me. For quite a while now, I've been building a shrine in our backyard to the Blade. Some may call it a compost pile, but hey, beauty is in the eye of something.
More from Walton:
"That's part of our job, of course, to recommend candidates for public office, though we are sometimes vilified for our choices. If we had only wanted a good batting average, we'd have backed the likely winner every time. Instead we always sought to identify the candidate we thought was the better choice, regardless of his or her chances to prevail."
"I've heard it said many times that more quality people would run for office in Toledo and northwest Ohio if only they didn't have to face The Blade's scrutiny. To me, that was a handy excuse, nothing more. Would you prefer a newspaper that only offers up happy-talk stories and bland, indifferent editorials, or one which keeps shining a flashlight in the dark corners?"
Problem is, it's obvious that the Blade only shines a flashlight in selected corners.
"It would be difficult to be a crooked politician for very long in Toledo, in part because The Blade is watching. I say that's a vital public service."
In my opinion, the Blade has not done enough investigation into the Toledo Public School system and city and county government. Some stats that need explaining:
1. - "Toledo's home county, Lucas, is the only one of Ohio's major urban counties to lose private-sector professional, scientific, and technical services jobs over the latest five-year period. [1998-2003]."
2. - "Fifth from the bottom. That's how Toledo ranked in the latest national study of job growth among the 200 major metropolitan areas. The No. 196 ranking was worse than the previous report more than a year ago by the Milken Institute, a California think tank."
3. - "Toledo shrinks 13th-fastest of U.S. cities, census says; 1.1% population drop in '05 among worst in Ohio."
TPS scoring:
The 2002 report card showed TPS met 5 of 27 academic standards.
2003 = 6 of 22
2004 = 7 of 18
2005 = 4 of 23
2006 = 6 of 25
Those are failing numbers.
Explanation? Maybe in part due to the crappy recommendations by the Blade editorial board. If Walton is going to imply that the Blade is responsible for some of the successes in Toledo and Lucas County, then it makes sense that Walton and the Blade are also responsible for some of the failures.
posted by jr to media at 12:22 P.M. EST
(9 Comments)
Comments ...
I've met presidents and movie stars, heroes and cowards, millionaires and homeless, scoundrels and crooks, and even a king and queen
And that was just in the staff board room!
posted by billy at 12:32 P.M. EST on Tue Jun 12, 2007 #
LOL!!
posted by Darkseid at 05:01 P.M. EST on Tue Jun 12, 2007 #
Goodbye and Good Riddance.
posted by Darkseid at 05:01 P.M. EST on Tue Jun 12, 2007 #
Careful with that patting your own back Tom, you may hurt yourself. Since my parakeet died I no longer subscribe to the Blade.
posted by AmericanPie at 05:11 P.M. EST on Tue Jun 12, 2007 #
Maybe Tom's going to retire and move to CHINA
posted by WalterAnthony at 05:29 P.M. EST on Tue Jun 12, 2007 #
that's funny WalterAnthony.
Actually, I always found Tom Walton to be polite, direct, and honest. He was always approachable about different ideas and various positions. We didn't always agree, obviously, but I never found our conversations to be anything other than professional and respectful.
Even the one time that I had a complaint about a story (I was 'quoted' in a story, yet the reporter had never talked to me, not even to leave a message), he immediately took action with the reporter and issued a correction.
posted by MaggieThurber at 07:03 P.M. EST on Tue Jun 12, 2007 #
"Would Toledo have a strong-mayor form of government? Would the Valentine Theatre have been saved? Would Jeep have stayed in Toledo? Would Fifth Third Field have been built? How about the Veterans Glass City Skyway Bridge? Would a movement toward a smoke-free society have been launched, clearing the air for us all?"
I think I pulled a muscle from rolling my eyes too hard.
posted by TheTalentedMrC at 07:10 P.M. EST on Tue Jun 12, 2007 #
I'm not always a big fan of the Blade, but I will give them credit for a couple of things which I'm not sure everyone will agree with:
1. The Tom Noe investigation. They stayed on that story despite the vocal protests from Noe's supporters that they were just out to attack him with baseless accusations.
2. Their investigation into the clergy sexual abuse scandal. In particular, I think that their best work was on this story
http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050731/NEWS08/507310305
The Blade was the only newspaper in the country to get former law enforcement officers to go on the record about how they aided the church in concealing the sex crimes committed by priests.
That being said, I've felt disappointed and frustrated about their lack of insightful coverage of . . .
1. The Bob McCloskey scandal. I think that they knew a lot more before they printed it and I think that their slow disclosure was directly related to the election.
2. The mess with the TPS Board of Education. Something is definitely stinky over there and they seem to get a pass from the Blade ... still can't figure out why?
posted by corky at 09:43 P.M. EST on Tue Jun 12, 2007 #
To his list of questions one must ask Would Jack Ford have become mayor?
But in all seriousness we should really be wondering if he really is retiring or if the editors are trying to unionize and he's just being forced out?
posted by MikeyA at 03:23 P.M. EST on Thu Jun 14, 2007 #
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