Sunday, July 01, 2007
Minneapolis Star Tribune Hosts
Self-Pity Party That's PAR For The Course
Ridder used to work for the St. Paul Pioneer Press (SPPP) before taking charge of the Red Star Tribune. Ridder is accused of allegedly taking SPPP proprietary corporate data with him and possibly violating a non-compete clause when he exited the SPPP and moved across the Mississippi River to his office at the Red Star.
Par Ridder: He thinks he's Sandy Burglar!
Kate Parry is the Reader's Representative of the Red Star. In her Sunday column "Uneasy readers watch the newspaper closely", Parry bemoans the fact that the Red Star - with its Par Ridder imbroglio - is becoming the target of inquiries instead being the institution asking the questions. I find this both humorous and befitting of a newspaper that appears to insist its employees pass a Liberal Litmus Test before one word of their stories or columns is printed.
Parry writes (all emphasis mine):
As fixated as the media and media watchers were on the hearing to determine if the publisher violated a non-compete contract or illegally took corporate data when he left the Pioneer Press for the Star Tribune in March, reader concerns have been less about the lawsuit's particulars and more about whether it's affecting journalism in their newspaper.
[Star Tribune] Reporter Warren Wolfe [says that because of the Ridder trial] he is [having] trouble [interviewing] sources [for stories]: "I was visiting the Minneapolis Veterans Home, which has had a string of regulatory problems. The day I visited [the Veterans Home], I asked a top official of the home if the home now was back in compliance." 'I don't know,' the official replied, 'Is your publisher?' I had no answer," Wolfe said.
Business columnist Neal St. Anthony has encountered a similar situation in the business community, saying, "Par Ridder has become the local business ethics case of the year."
[...]
Sports reporter Rachel Blount is running a gantlet of questioning each day on her beat. "Everyone I contact in interviews, before you can even ask them questions, they have to ask their questions. The Par situation, in particular, they do have questions. People are bothered by it. It's troubling to them and to us. It's embarrassing to answer questions about whether he stole these things."
Don't believe for one second that if the CEO of a private business was accused of doing the same things that of Par Ridder, that the Red Star wouldn't be all over it like white on rice. And if that private business CEO was - GASP! - a well-known and outspoken Conservative, well, the Red Star would sense blood in the water and go for the jugular.
The Red Star, one of the most Liberal institutions of the printed press, is exemplifying the typical and distinctive characteristics that all Liberals display: They're claiming "Victim"-status. They see themselves as a Victim because their status-quo is being questioned by the great unwashed. This is arrogance and smugness elevated to an unprecedented level.
And what the Red Star is experiencing is rich! Chocolaty, sweet, nougaty, caramel rich!
Star Tribune Reader's Rep Kate Parry: Promoting Socialism and Liberalism 24/7/365
Parry ends her column with:
In the end, the journalism that readers find in their newspaper has a lot more to do with the reporter on the beat than with the publisher in the corner office.
This is a story about ethics and journalism and the top executive of the Red Star. For the Red Star to pretend that it's not, or to bury their heads in the sand à la the ostrich syndrome is Par (pun intended) for the course of an uber-Liberal mentality from the institution know as the Minneapolis Red Star Tribune. What a bunch of brown-speckled, thick and gooey sputum.
Will the Red Star, its executives and staff learn a lesson from this? No! They're Liberals, they know everything, they can't be "told" anything or learn anything by rote.
So carry on with your self-pity party, Par, Parry and the rest of you who work at the Red Star...carry on, you're a "Victim"!
©2007
Additional Reading:
Editor and Publisher: The Par Ridder Case
Labels: Kate Parry
Alabama Internet
accordance and compliance with Fair Use Section 107 U.S. Copyright Code.
All other images and content © 2005-2009 David Drake.
Not responsible for content contained at linked sites.
Policy on commenting:
- Anonymous comments have little chance of being published.
- Comments made on posts 60 days old or older have little chance of being published.
- Published comments do not necessarily reflect the views of this blog author.
- Discretion of publishing or rejecting submitted comments rests solely with the owner and creator of this blog.
- Comments that egregiously "plug" (i.e. advertise or promote) another site or blog will be rejected. This doesn't mean you cannot include a link to your story, blog or to another site, but don't go overboard.
- Profanity is not a disqualifying factor, but profane rants solely for purposes of profanity are unlikely to be published.
- The owner and creator of this blog is not liable or responsible for the opinions of those who comment.
