Thursday, August 4, 2016

Last Sunday's blaring Palm Beach Post headline: "Charles Whitman of Lake Worth: The Madman in the Tower"

Poor taste by the 'Culture' editor. "Arts & Travel" news about Lake Worth?
This headline was on page 1, above the fold, in the "Arts & Travel" section. Try to wrap your head around that one. Arts & Travel? Really?

Then, as if that wasn't enough, on page A1 above the fold was this to grab your attention:
MADMAN IN THE TOWER: In 1966, a massacre at the University of Texas by a Lake Worth man shocked the nation
Why publish this recycled garbage in the Sunday Palm Beach Post? Who knows.

Interestingly, buried on page B3 of the same Sunday paper was this article by Kevin Thompson titled:
City [Lake Worth] spruces up stop signs to prevent deaths on roadways
Here is an excerpt from the article:

     "This will keep people from blowing through stop signs,” said Nadine Burns, Rotary Club president. “There are a lot of people in Lake Worth who are on foot and who walk everywhere. A lot of families and children live in those neighborhoods.”
     Yolanda Vasquez, who lives in Royal Poinciana, said she’s glad the panels are being installed. “I’m excited that the CRA (and Lake Worth Rotary Club) are focusing on safety,” she said. “We are important.”
     In late 2014, the Rotary Club approached the CRA about the project, Chris Dabros, the agency’s deputy director, said.
     The city didn’t have the time or manpower to take on the project, so the CRA stepped in.

Now ask yourself this question: Why did the story about Charles Whitman, which you can read about on the Lake Worth Wikipedia page, an event from 50 years ago receive such attention and the work by the Lake Worth Rotary and CRA gets buried on page B3?

Remember, the story about Charles Whitman is an old, recycled one. There wasn't one single new piece of information provided by reporter Sonja Isger. On the same page in the Arts & Travel section were these headlines also:
  • Demons and doom: The Whitmans of Lake Worth
  • He killed his mother 'to save her embarrassment'
  • How many Americans have died in mass shootings since 1966?
Is it any surprise why the Post circulation numbers are so pathetic? And, if anything, this is proof why it's so important to support your local newspapers like The Lake Worth Herald. If you rely solely on the Post for 'community' news you're missing out on a whole lot.