Here's the story the public editor wrote about Voisin doing straight reporting, partially spurred by my email. I like that the other guy who wrote in is an elderly crank. Of course, my letter and my intentions in writing it were only partially to say she's the wrong person for the job, and partially to say that the Bee needs to provide more balanced coverage of this important issue, but when the public editor called me he was clearly steering me towards quotes about Voisin. Oh well, at least she had to answer for it...by saying that she's a completely unbiased reporter. Way to do some soul searching, Ailene. Hopefully the reader comments he's soliciting will echo my opinion. It will be interesting. On sunday, Ailene once again doffed her reporters fedora, let her opinions flood back into her cranium and wrote another urgently hysterical column headlined "Sacramento has an identity crisis" about how we need a new arena. OK, listen up folks, if we don't get a new arena the Eagles may never play here again. I know, you probably feel a little nauseous and woozy as you're reading this. Take a deep breath. There. Better? *** If you feel strong enough, go ahead and read the column, it's pretty entertaining. It contains lots of strong, declarative statements such as:
Sac is big league or it's not.
Sac gets a new building or gets out of the game.
Sac builds an arena or the blue collar comedy tour passes us by.
I wrote that last one, actually. But her point is, terrible stuff like that could happen.
The Bee printed my letter in its entirety, too.
***I know something that will make you feel better, her statement about the Eagles is comlete speculation. They played at Arco on their last tour. This statement is based on the new city manager's "sense" that "we are in jeopardy of losing the Eagles and other entertainment to other places." Why because of bad acoustics. So Voisin's new tack is to pretend it's about the acoustics.
that would make a good slogan: 'it's all about the acoustics.'
ReplyDeleteheckasac is doing some badass bird-dogging. blog of the year 2007!
ReplyDeleteWay to go, Heckasac. This was a good catch, and you got Acuna's attention. That's a good thing.
ReplyDeleteStill, I doubt it will do much good. The Bee, like News10, is "partnered" with the Maloofs, which means they have a financial incentive to pander for the arena.
And the town is full of Kings fans who can't see beyond the purple that Voisin & Co. are waving in their faces.
Good job, Becks. That article on Saturday made my blood boil. An interesting sidenote is that in Sunday's paper, there was a story about a State representative spearheading a bill to provide more equitable online ticket sales. The motivation - his inability to buy tickets to the Eagles concert on his office computer. Without the Eagles, would anything get done in this town?
ReplyDeleteThey're why I get up in the morning, and the reason that I take it to the limit every single day. One more time.
ReplyDeleteY'know, poor acoustics ruining Eagles shows at Arco was actually the reason I moved out of Sacramento. Really though, outstanding work -- you even landed a phone interview. And got to stick it to Voisin twice.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure old crank Ernie Carboni is the father of one of my sister's good friends in high school. Small world.
How do we know the Bee ain't biased? The Bee says so, that's how.
ReplyDeleteThe Sunday piece was a nice example of the ombudsman c-ing his a. Consider that he calmly and easily lied when I spoke with him about a different story. Also consider that there is no other regional paper to provide balance in terms of covering this story. All they have to do is write an oped about how unbiased they are and presto! readers can now sleep better about bias in reporting.
The Bee is in bed with Channel 10, which is tight with the Maloofs. What conflicts could possibly arise?
Ed
Voisin isn't the only person who regards "younger brother" George as the "family" brains/brainchild behind the casino "operations".
ReplyDeleteFrom (paragraph 14) of 3/7/2004 LA Times Magazine 'Cow Town' Cool by Bill Davis:
"While the Kings are run by Joe and Gavin, the franchise as well as the Palms and all other holdings are owned by the family. Younger brother George, the brains behind the Palms, runs the casino's day-to-day operations. ... "
Voisin's 7/10/2006 Arena financing talks revived:
"Joe and Gavin Maloof, co-owners of the Kings and Monarchs, initiated Tuesday's session and suggested they be held in Las Vegas to ensure the presence of George Maloof, the younger brother and brainchild of the family's hotel-casino operation."
I noticed that the ombudsman failed to address the sports columnist as urban planning writer angle. Maybe Marcos Breton will be available to answer readers' questions about invisible panty lines and lip gloss if Leigh Grogan becomes ill.
-norm