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Home > Blogs > Butler County News and Issues > Archives > 2008 > October > 02 > Entry
‘Stop the hate’
Update: Allow me to be unequivocal: I do not agree whatsoever with Julia Ward’s comment below.
I do not normally respond to comments on this blog, because I aim to facilitate discussion, not control it. But I was troubled by the comment posted by “Jennifer.” If anyone read this article (link below) and thought the newspaper was agreeing with this sentiment, then either it was misread or poorly written. I can assure you everyone at this newspaper, from the publisher down, would like to see a world where race doesn’t matter.
But our job as journalists is to reflect the world as it is, not as we’d like it to be. This is why it was important for this comment to be in this newspaper in the context of an article about racism, sexism and ageism in this year’s presidential election.
So now the question this newspaper sought to explore with this article: Do you belive Sen. Barack Obama’s race, Gov. Sarah Palin’s gender or Sen. John McCain’s age will play a major role on Election Day this year?
Some food for thought:
- Here is an article by Bloomberg focusing on race and the Obama campaign in “Middletown, USA.”
- Here is how local residents responded to this same issue on fellow reporter Dave Greber’s blog.
- Here is the latest age-related attack on McCain.
- Here is Palin on whether she believes media coverage of her has been sexist.
Original post
That’s what was written on a sign taped to the Hamilton Journal-News front door this morning. Here is the photo (click on it to enlarge):
The sign is a response to a story we ran Sunday, Sept. 28, on the role racism, sexism and ageism could play in this year’s presidential race. Here is the story and here is a blog post I wrote with more polling information on the views of Americans on these issues.
The paper has received a lot of comments - and criticism - for this part of the story, namely for quoting Julia Ward of Middletown, who said:
“Black people aren’t smart enough to rule the country. No one should vote for Obama. They just don’t think like the white. I would hate to see (Obama) in office because blacks just aren’t qualified.”
Some say we shouldn’t have allowed such hatred in the newspaper. My view was that some people feel this way, and ignoring it won’t do anyone any good. If we’re going to have a frank discussion on prejudice, we have to first admit that prejudices exist.
Gary Hines, local NAACP president, told me that his one regret about this year’s presidential debate is that it hasn’t spurred an open, honest debate on race in America. I hope we’ve helped bring about that discussion.
Permalink | Comments (3) | Post your comment | Categories: Presidential race
Comments
By JENNIFER
October 1, 2008 9:10 AM | Link to this
I AM SHOCKED THAT THE JOURNAL NEWS IN HAMILTON WOULD POST A VERY IGNORANT 84 YEAR OLD WOMAN’S COMMENT. I KNOW SHE BELIEVES THIS BECAUSE OF HER AGE, BUT WHAT IS SHOCKING IS THE FACT THAT A NEWSPAPER WOULD POST THE IGNORANCE AND THINK IT IS OK. I THINK JOSH YOUR INTENT WAS TO PROMOTE RACISM AND NOT HELP IT BY PRINTING THIS AND YOU HAVE JUST SHOWN HOW RACIST YOU ARE AS WELL AS THE OWNERS OF THE JOURNAL. I WILL BE EMAILING THIS ARTICLE THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY JUST TO SHOW WHAT A NEWS JOURNAL IN BUTLER COUNTY DOES TO PROMOTE THE IGNORANCE AND RACISM AMOUNG THEIR RESIDENCE. AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THIS COUNTRY SHOULD BE INSULTED TO KNOW THAT A DAILY NEWSPAPER WOULD PRINT SUCH AN ARTICLE AND EVERY DECENT PERSON SHOULD BAN PURCHASING YOUR PAPER.
By JENNIFER
October 1, 2008 9:12 AM | Link to this
I AM SHOCKED THAT THE JOURNAL NEWS IN HAMILTON WOULD POST A VERY IGNORANT 84 YEAR OLD WOMAN’S COMMENT. I KNOW SHE BELIEVES THIS BECAUSE OF HER AGE, BUT WHAT IS SHOCKING IS THE FACT THAT A NEWSPAPER WOULD POST THE IGNORANCE AND THINK IT IS OK. I THINK JOSH YOUR INTENT WAS TO PROMOTE RACISM AND NOT HELP IT BY PRINTING THIS AND YOU HAVE JUST SHOWN HOW RACIST YOU ARE AS WELL AS THE OWNERS OF THE JOURNAL. I WILL BE EMAILING THIS ARTICLE THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY JUST TO SHOW WHAT A NEWS JOURNAL IN BUTLER COUNTY DOES TO PROMOTE THE IGNORANCE AND RACISM AMOUNG THEIR RESIDENCE. AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THIS COUNTRY SHOULD BE INSULTED TO KNOW THAT A DAILY NEWSPAPER WOULD PRINT SUCH AN ARTICLE AND EVERY DECENT PERSON SHOULD BAN PURCHASING YOUR PAPER.
By Matt
October 2, 2008 9:48 PM | Link to this
Josh, The problem with you folks who “just put stuff out there” like this is that you refuse to accept responsibility for it. If you don’t want to have an open and honest discussion, then don’t ask the question. Journalism has become far too tabloid to be taken seriously anymore. You have a responsibility and you are shirking it for whatever reason.