Did An Area Newspaper Cross the Line?
By: Tim Kelchner
Updated: March 8, 2013
Bloomsburg, Columbia County- 75-cents will get you a copy of the Press Enterprise during the week...
But it wasn't the headline...
It was a word in a story that grabbed people's attention...
Calvin Musser stepped down from the Benton School board for a racial slur on his face book page...
...the Press Enterprise published the word - - uncensored.
Many people were startled to see the slur in print.
Michael Lester used the word twice in his column...Both times in quotes attributed to Musser and his Facebook page and for some that's more than enough...
Press Enterprise Editor Jim Sachetti declined our request for an on-camera interview and a phone interview, but did agree to answers questions via email...
Eyewitness News asked if he understood that some people may find the word insensitive?
Sachetti Responded via email
"When 50,000 people read your newspaper every day, someone, somewhere is going to find something to criticize. If a news organization reacts to every critic, eventually it loses sight of its job, which is telling the truth."
Sachetti said due to the word's importance to the story, they felt it necessary to use it in an uncensored form, adding that in the last five years, they've used the same word in at least 8 stories..
But it wasn't the headline...
It was a word in a story that grabbed people's attention...
Calvin Musser stepped down from the Benton School board for a racial slur on his face book page...
...the Press Enterprise published the word - - uncensored.
Many people were startled to see the slur in print.
Michael Lester used the word twice in his column...Both times in quotes attributed to Musser and his Facebook page and for some that's more than enough...
Press Enterprise Editor Jim Sachetti declined our request for an on-camera interview and a phone interview, but did agree to answers questions via email...
Eyewitness News asked if he understood that some people may find the word insensitive?
Sachetti Responded via email
"When 50,000 people read your newspaper every day, someone, somewhere is going to find something to criticize. If a news organization reacts to every critic, eventually it loses sight of its job, which is telling the truth."
Sachetti said due to the word's importance to the story, they felt it necessary to use it in an uncensored form, adding that in the last five years, they've used the same word in at least 8 stories..
Comments
What is the big deal? I didn't see the word printed, was it? Besides, [censored] say [censored] ALL THE TIME.
ray a.
March 9, 2013 at 7:15 pm
So its okay for a newspaper to use that word? Sometimes on Facebook people say something that they really dont mean. But then the public or the media blows stuff way out of view. I truly dont think that this is news and the newspaper is at fault also for using that word...
Kelly K.
March 9, 2013 at 10:19 am
Slow news day?
Jeff J.
March 8, 2013 at 7:13 pm
