The Plain Truth

As sent to the Dallas News government editor today--

11/01/2008

Dear Mr. Rusak:
I read your "Quick Take" commentary in today's Dallas News with interest.
Like many readers, I am dismayed at the paper's editorial decision to
endorse the aging, out-of-touch McCain and his ethically challenged, naïve
running mate with limited political, educational or cultural acumen. A
casual query of several staff editors at your paper produced embarrassed
cringes when I asked them about the endorsement. Clearly, they weren't
consulted, even though they have to face the public daily and account for
the paper's decisions. Awkward, in blue-leaning Dallas.

If seats on the Obama campaign plane are at a premium, it's easy to
comprehend the rationale behind Dallas News' exclusion at first glance.
Bye-bye, McCain endorsers. But your piece seems to conclude the endorsement
played no part in the decision.  I think the issue goes deeper than that, in
the form of pervasive regional discrimination by national media and
policy-makers. We Texas citizens just "don't count."

I've had a similar experience. I'm a freelance journalist, 2008 Mayborn
Conference winner and NEA fellow in theatre criticism. I'm definitely left
leaning. When I first signed up to be an "Off the Bus" reporter for the
popular on-line Huffington Post's blog-site (where "citizen journalists"
post articles of regional interest, relevant to the on-going national
campaign), its editors —Amanda Michel and John Tomasic— seemed truly amazed
that anything of progressive note could actually take place here in Dallas.
Still, they accepted and posted my first few articles.

But when I submitted a piece about burgeoning liberal trends in Dallas,
using the attendance at Obama Watch parties at the Angelika Film Center and
the diverse, enthusiastic participation at the Anti-Palin Protest at the
Fairmont Hotel as key elements, the on-line editors refused to publish it.
"We've already covered that debate," I was told. When I objected, urging
them to re-read and post the article as "beyond debate coverage", I got no
response. I wrote again, re-submitting the article, asking if they were
prejudiced against Texas as it's not a "swing state" and will probably go
for McCain. No response. It appears I've been truly thrown "Off the Bus".
Regional bias? The local North Texas Progressive newsletter and national
leading liberal on-line OpEdNews were delighted to publish my piece.

I suggest the Dallas News reporter got "offed" for both reasons—the McCain
endorsement and for writing from and for an unwelcome region that doesn't
figure into the national scene. It's a rude awakening to learn that some
Americans are more important than others. I no longer read the Huffington
Post on-line and don't mind sharing my enlightening experience of "democracy
in action".
Regards,
 
Alexandra Bonifield
Get Critical: Rants & Reviews
NEA/Annenberg Fellow in Theatre Criticism
The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present.
The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the
occasion.
As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew.
Abraham Lincoln