Re: Birmingham cheating: Artilce #4 - Blaming the Victims

["Allen Flanigan." <Allen.Flanigan@USPTO.GOV>]

Bob Schaeffer's points regarding the absolute legality of the newspaper's
telling one side of a story are of course true, but I can't imagine that
even the most unabashedly biased newspaper would not be willing to at least
give someone so specifically and explicitly villified a chance to tell their
story.  Even a letter from the most hated criminal would probably be
published if it made any sense at all.  Why would they run the risk of
appearing to show favoritism, particularly if it is not a one horse
(newspaper) town?

So yes, my comments about insisting that it is your "right" to be heard are
based on morality and fair play, not strict legal rights.  And as Rich
points out, with broadcast media it is the law.

Allen Flanigan
> -----Original Message-----
> From: bobschaeffer@EARTHLINK.NET [SMTP:bobschaeffer@EARTHLINK.NET]
> Sent: Wednesday, June 21, 2000 12:01 PM
> To:   ARN-L@listsrva.cua.edu
> Subject:      Re: Birmingham cheating: Artilce #4 - Blaming the Victims
>
> "Allen Flanigan." wrote:
> >
>  "If you are being publically fingered by state or local officials in a
> > newspaper, they are obligated to give you equal time.
>
>    If this were only true . . . .The way the First Amendment has been
> interpreted, a newspaper has no obligation whatsoever to provide
> balanced treatment of an individual or an issue. They can legally refuse
> to publish your letter and even decline to accept your paid advertising.
> And they can criticize you in print every day (within the very broad
> constraints of the laws against defamation) without printing a word on
> your side.
>    Remember, "Freedom of the Press" belongs to everyone who owns one!
>
>
>  Contact the editor
> > and tell him or her you want to submit a letter stating your position.
> Tell
> > them it is your right since you have been named in their publication.
>
>    I agree that you should press hard to get a letter published, but it
> is not your "right" in a legal sense.
>
>
> > Insist that any editing be done by you, since you want the letter to
> tell
> > your version of the story IN YOUR OWN WORDS.  Then just make the points
> you
> > have explained to us.
>
>    Again, this may be a good advocacy tactic but _all_ newspapers
> reserve the right to edit copy they print.
>
> > If they are unwilling to allow you to speak out and tell your side of
> the
> > story, they don't deserve to call themselves journalists.
>
>     A great sentiment. By this definition, there are a lot of
> "non-journalists" publishing newspapers.
>
>     Don't get me wrong. We strongly support the work of Alabama
> activists in exposing the cynical attempt to boost test scores by
> screwing kids out of an education. However, we need to be realistic
> about the tools we have at our disposal.
>
> Bob Schaeffer, Public Education Director
> FairTest: National Center for Fair & Open Testing
>
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