Two weeks ago I cancelled the delivery of the print edition of The Palm Beach Post after receiving a notice they were raising their rates. Interestingly enough, they did this just as the last of the Snowbirds left for home back in Canada and elsewhere up north. Our Snowbirds had already cancelled their subscriptions until they come back in the Fall. The Post is keeping their fingers crossed they won’t notice the increased cost when they return.
Frankly, paying more for substandard local news reporting just didn’t make any sense. How many articles can you read about Code Enforcement here in the City of Lake Worth and meanwhile other cities in Palm Beach County are struggling with many of the same issues and that goes unreported?
Click on image to enlarge. Ending of letter from the “Director of Audience” at the Post:
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| The letter from Mr. Mark Sasser, the “Director of Audience”. “The cost to you” is going up because “we need to make adjustments to our delivery rates.” Reply with an email to “Dear Audience Director”: msasser@pbpost.com |
Anyhow, earlier this week readers of my blog asked me if I’ve seen this item below in the Post, here’s the opening paragraph from a blurb last Tuesday in the print edition:
LAKE WORTH — The Lake Worth Pioneers’ Association will be honored at the Historical Society of Palm Beach County‘s annual meeting Tuesday at the Richard and Pat Johnson Palm Beach County History Museum, the old county courthouse at 300 N. Dixie Highway.
Two little problems with this item: No time was given for the meeting and the Palm Beach County History Museum isn’t in Lake Worth. The museum is located in West Palm Beach. How many people drove up and down Dixie Hwy. in Lake Worth looking for the museum last Tuesday?
It’s great that my readers care enough to notice false and inaccurate news reports; however, going forward it’s time for the City to step up and get more involved in monitoring the news media and the press. So. . . If you see a false, inaccurate, or misleading news report about our City here is what you do: Please forward that information to:
- Mr. Ben Kerr, the City’s Communication Specialist
- 561-586-1631
- Email: bkerr@lakeworth.org
The actual “City of Lake Worth”. A mysterious concept for a lot of reporters:
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| Why do reporters such as Julius Whigham at the Post and Charlie Keegan at NBC5/WPTV understand municipal borders and so many other reporters don’t? Use this link to find out. |
Another option is to contact your City commissioner or even the mayor if this topic is a concern of yours. Not satisfied with the response or received no response at all? Then go up the chain of command and contact the City Manager, Michael Bornstein.
And don’t forget this. Journalists should:
- “Encourage the public to voice grievances against the news media.”
- “Make certain that headlines, news teases and promotional material, photos, video, audio, graphics, sound bites and quotations do not misrepresent. They should not oversimplify or highlight incidents out of context.”
- “Disclose unavoidable conflicts.”
- “Clarify and explain news coverage and invite dialogue with the public over journalistic conduct.”
![Dr. W. H. Cotton’s ode: “Oh, My Lake Worth, Florida!” [circa 1920].](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUL75cv6zJQFjX15ojOIIz9AjnbqH4asHJTYSDhnGnYr7rJZRha1NcNTirj2xPcId158vkz5Hw-wXgOfrlztj8Zr8jLFFCfuEN6PyV44ZlpMRmJ68xbtFL9vzxNiG7xDs_HJvm/s1600/LakeWorthPioneers.JPG)
