You know, Harvey Johnson told the JFP once that The Clarion-Ledger was still institutionally racist, and doesn't even know it, and they have done little—consistently, any way—over the years to prove that it's not true. After Lumumba's historic (whether you like him or not) win, http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20130605/NEWS04/306060003/Metro-mayors-Can-they-get-along-">THIS was the front-page news story this morning. And we can all be pretty positive that it wouldn't have been there had Johnson or Lee won the election.
Beyond the negative slant, it is filled with Eason's analysis of whether he thinks the mayors can get along with the emphasis on Lumumba. I went and looked at it because I saw a lot of people complaining about it on Facebook, and I see why. There is a good story to be done about regional cooperation, but this ain't it. And it's bad timing, to boot. The question I keep asking about their city reporter is: Does he have an editor!?!
Of course, if you scroll down and read the comments, you can see who such a piece is likely pandering to. Shudder.
https://jacksonfreepress.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/img/photos/2013/06/05/Screen_shot_2013-06-05_at_2.15.43_PM_t491x400.png?a386f4b39ee5651eba28f09848eb0ab1ed21afe3">The top story on The Clarion-Ledger's website the morning after Chokwe Lumumba's historic mayoral win. by Donna Ladd
Comments
Enlightened1 10 years, 10 months ago
The shenanigans continue and therefore, the Struggle continues!!! When will we learn?
donnaladd 10 years, 10 months ago
OK, I respect reporter Geoff Pender immensely if not his current newspaper, but did he just commit the Republican political trick of http://jacksonfreepress.com/users/pho...">misspelling Democratic ... on purpose? That's a nonsensical http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democrat...">political epithet. Remarkable.
Come on, media. It's one thing for Republicans to try to dumb down the language, but we really don't have to go along with it.
I must stop looking at The Clarion-Ledger again. Seriously.
833maple 10 years, 10 months ago
Soooo glad I just cancelled my subscription. I don't have to support this - I just need an occasional coupon.
kingkeylion 10 years, 10 months ago
I am certain that there was a better, more professional head shot of our mayor-elect, instead of one catching him mid-word. Editorial tom-foolery, I tell you!
nr786 10 years, 10 months ago
And they could have found a better one of Mayor Mary than one where her eyes make her look possessed by demons...or could they?
The article eemed to take a pro-Jackson standpoint, to me....correctly making Mayor Mary look bad for the JSU snub, portraying the suburbs as being unsympathetic of Jackson's struggles, and noting that the Sam's Club move was not business-based, at all.
Not sure what the criticism is--other than speculation that it wouldn't have appeared had someone else in jackson won. The CL is so desperate for stories, I have little doubt it would have.
I presume that the JFP will provide the same watchdog mentality for Lumumba's tenure that they did with Melton's and continued to do so well with Harvey Johnson. I know you guys would never play favorites or cheerleaders for certain politicians while specifically targeting others, so I look forward to you holding Lumumba accountable the same way you did Harvey Johnson for his ineffectiveness.
skantman 10 years, 10 months ago
My reaction when I read the first paragraph and looking at the the photo:
by skantman
donnaladd 10 years, 10 months ago
Of course, we're going to cover Lumumba closely. He's probably already sick of hearing from us! But, unlike Melton, he has not avoided us or demonized us, which Melton and his supporters did during his campaign, and it continued into his term. Despite the concerns we addressed about Lumumba when we endorsed Johnson, he and his team have so far been very forthcoming to us as media. And we hope that it continues.
nr786 10 years, 10 months ago
"But, unlike Melton, he has not avoided us or demonized us, which Melton and his supporters did during his campaign, and it continued into his term."
I hope that Melton's snubs toward you and your staff had NOTHING to do with why you went after him the way you did.
Likewise, I hope that if Lumumba were the nicest guy in the world to you and your staff, you wouldn't hesitate to go after his policies the same way you went after Melton's.
donnaladd 10 years, 10 months ago
Nr786, Melton snubbed us because he had lots to hide and didn't want scrutiny, which we were giving him. That is usually the case when politicians refuse to talk with media, and it's always clue that we need to watch closer. And, in fact, Melton started being very nice to us about 14 months of refusing to talk to us, and that didn't change how we did our job. That is something else that politicians and others do to try to keep stuff hidden: place nice with the media.
So, no. Our coverage is not based on whether they are being mean to us, avoiding us or trying to charm us. We've seen it all, and it hasn't stopped us.
And I've been in this journalism game long enough to tell when someone is trying to charm us into good coverage—we call it "access journalism," and it's bad--or are willing to be forthcoming with information and transparency. I don't know yet where Lumumba falls. He did a pretty good job during the campaign and as a councilman, but for filing those campaign finance reports so late, which I find really disturbing. So we'll see.