Tilghman Times to Citizens ….
… Shut up! Your nothing but a bunch of ignorant rubes.
Three pieces, all by “Tilghman Times” personnel led me to the conclusion that this is really what the management of this paper think of the voters and taxpayers of Salisbury.
The most recent, which put everything together for me was a piece by TT Managing Editor Erick Sahler on the blog that Sahler shares with Executive Editor Greg Bassett. Titled “Honey and Vinegar“, Sahler writes that citizens should offer positive solutions regarding problems rather than to “blast away at anyone who has upset you or disagrees with you. Flame them and embarrass them as publicly as possible.”
Taken by itself, this piece would seem to offer sound advice. However, when taken in the context of the local political situation in Salisbury this would make Sahler naive at best or a hypocrite at worst. Citizens come to the Salisbury city government and ask for information. They are denied, stonewalled and finally forced to fill out a FOIA request, which the city then pays the taxpayers’ hard earned money to City Attorney Paul Wilber for him to sit on it for 30 days. Citizens come to city council meetings, ask questions and offer positive solutions. If the Mayor and her cronies do not agree with that citizen they are interrupted, cut off, and / or attacked publicly. Mr. Sahler is then happy to print these (usually) false and scurrilous accusations as “news”.
A case in point is the recent city charter change to increase the city’s property tax cap. The only options open to citizens were revolution or … to follow the law and circulate a petition to force the charter change to referendum.
What were the results? Besides the petition failing by a few signatures, the Mayor attacked the petitioners at every turn and Mr. Sahler’s paper published an editorial (on June 10, 2007) that stated “Referendums (sic) are a pathetic tool…”
It’s a “Catch-22″. If you follow the law and attempt to enact change in a proper and positive fashion you are “pathetic”. If you bring attention to problems publicly, you are “blasting away” and “flaming” those that you disagree with.
The last piece that was brought to my attention was another blog entry by Mr. Sahler from June 26, 2007 titled “Our Allegiances“. I think that this one must have been directed to me in particular since I have repeatedly criticized the TT for failing to disclose Mr. Bassett’s ties, through his spouse, to Rep. Wayne Gilchrest and Mr. Sahler’s ties (again, through his spouse) to the Wicomico Board of Education.
Mr. Sahler attempts a ridiculous argument that the lack of critical reporting regarding either Gilchrest or the Wicomico County school system can’t possibly be because of their (Bassett’s and Sahler’s) respective ties to either Gilchrest or the WCBOE. The claim that they both take themselves out the equation regarding stories about either Gilchrest or the WCBOE is in all probability true. I certainly have no evidence to the contrary. But think about this for a moment; if you knew that your boss’s wife was the Communications Director for a member of congress would you go out of your way to write a piece that was critical of that man or woman?
In the past all I have asked was for the TT to include a disclaimer that Cathy Bassett is Greg’s wife and that she is Gilchrest’s Communication Director whenever they right an article ABOUT Rep. Gilchrest (not merely mentioning him). This is common practice in just about every newspaper I know of. The same disclaimer should be printed about Tracy Sahler regarding any story about the schools that is more than a perfunctory recitation of facts.
Your coverage is whatever it is. However, by including a disclaimer you provide the reader with information and let them make a decision.
Rather than admit that they are wrong, Mr. Sahler’s response is one of the most ludicrous that I have ever read. Because Salisbury is a small town, and because their respective wives work … Please!
Contrary to what Messrs. Bassett or Sahler may believe, the Lower Shore is not populated solely by a bunch of hicks who have to be led around by the nose for our own benefit. I don’t care who you go to church with (or if you go at all). I don’t care who you are in the Lions Club, Rotary, Optimists, or the Country Club with. I don’t care who plays in the symphony or who’s husband is a cop. We are talking about your spouses. We are talking about THIS district’s congressman and the county’s largest employer. We are also talking about YOU - the two most powerful people on the news side of the house (Publisher Rick Jensen states that he stays out of all editorial decisions) There’s a big difference guys.
To talk down to your readership in such a way provides additional ammunition to those who believe that the mainstream media is staffed primarily by a bunch of elitists who have zero respect for their readers. Before informed and critical readers can trust what you print there should be some respect. Admittedly that respect should come from both sides, but it might be a good idea for you guys to take the first step.
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Comments
Wow, he got a reply to an email from the mayor. I have never gotten a response from the Barrie or any of her flying monkeys, of course C&C always send a reply, not always in agreement but they do let the citizens know they are listening to their concerns. I of course am not no the white list and do not expect to hear from Barrie or her flunkies, if I did, I wouldn’t believe a word they wrote. Anything they had to say would require hours of research to find the truth, if there were any at all.
Curious how the “Our Allegiances” piece has disappeared from the TT website now. It had been noted that Susan Parker’s husbands employment by many slumlords and developers (like Tom Ruark) had been mentioned and now the story has disappeared. I love how they only post the story chat comments when the most recent comment is pro Barrie and company, usually by the infamouse Time for truth or GaryOC.
This quote from Sahler’s blog item needs a word:
“So I wrote a personal e-mail to the mayor. Seventeen minutes later, she responded. She thanked me for my concern and told me what action she was going to take to resolve the situation. I trust her word.”
Try sending the email with a name other than your own. You’re on the mayor’s preferential treatment list. I’m surprised that the reply took that long. As for your trusting her word, talk to the thousands who don’t, and ask why, which is something totally missing from the “everybody versus the mayor” coverage by the Times, which, almost without exception, covers the story from the mayor side, not the everybody side.