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Why the San Antonio Express-News wants to sell you the war

Newspapers are about making money these days, punto. And they are paying dearly for it, as la raza stops reading them because we see through the bias, the patronizing (16 de septiembre!) and the lack of respect for our community.

At the Dallas Morning News, reporters are being asked to leave in droves because of the decline in readership. A readership the newspapers caused by not educating the city. I maintain that If they had gone the way of fair and balanced journalism - critical to educating us about poverty, crime, the schools, health, etc., the audience they so desperately need now would be able I trto read the paper. I used to tell them this when I was there - and all I getting my butt kicked out of the editorial boardroom.

It's going to happen here in San Antonio, and if you try to read the paper, you know how weak it is, and I"m being nice. There is so much to report in this city, and it doesn't happen.

Yesterday, the Sunday San Antonio Express-News ran a column by Mr. Nickel and Dime Roddy Stinson, (not gonna link it - doesn't matter), a man who gets a nice fat check for his conservative columns and who's known for catching the donut-eating city employees sleeping on the job. While he lets the real estate developers and the polluters and the abuse of big power take the whole donut box.

This time he attacked the Esperanza Center, one of the country's most vanguard arts and cultural organizations. Roddy doesn't like them because of their politics - and though he attacked them some years ago in a virulent column about their "homosexual agenda," and the use of city funds, the Esperanza sued the city, winning in federal court - and in the process became nationally-known and recognized.

I helped the organization at that time, when people were working around the clock for years - that's what it takes to fight back prejudice and hate. Five female lawyers, led by Amy Kastely gave their time pro bono, and later, Judge Orlando Garcia himself told me that Kastely was brilliant. The Esperanza won on all four counts - first amendment and protected speech.

Now the Esperanza, approaching its 20th anniversary, has embarked on a middle east series - examining the conflicts in that part of that world as they seek to understand the war, terrorism, and what it takes to make lasting peace.

This is too much for the San Antonio Express-News. Though they were treated to every sort of invitation and information regarding the middle east series, they could not or would not convey the series to you, its readers. And, in the most flagrant abuse of journalism I've ever seen, the SAEN allowed Stinson to rant and rave - without context, balance, perspective, or giving the Esperanza equal time and coverage, a chance to respond.

The San Antonio Express-News wants to cram this war down our throat. If you polled the executive's children, I doubt any of them are in Iraq. I suspect that finally the SAEN doesn't care if we don't read the paper, as long as we look at the ads. And shop. And send our children to war to safeguard the oilfields, keep on eye on the stability of that oil via Israel, and keep us in fear of "others" so that we vote to keep the rich, richer, believing their lies.

I think that the SAEN hopes that if they publish enough stories about soldiers as heroes, soldiers getting medals, brave soldiers whose high schools have framed their photos in a wall of honor, then we will keep sending our most innocent men (warning: tragic and explicit material) and women to a war that has no ending. Because Roddy Stinson and the powerful interests behind the SAEN don't want us to know the beginning.

Even if their children and grandchildren will suffer from a world at war, a hot planet, and the inevitable fall of an empire that used to be a democracy.




Comments

Ladela, thanks for commenting. I wrote for lots of weeks about the Guadalupe, look in the archives, I went after Ruiz. This posting is about the middle east and the SAEN - the Esperanza is the messenger here. I've never been one to be only of the tribe, but I love the tribe, too. I've written in the Progressive about the Chicano! exhibit, and took on Pittman recently in the Observer. I try, and I will. I can't be the only one. What's keeping you from writing the story? andale!
If you want the world to change, you must change it. YOU must create your own 501 C-3, YOU must work 24 hours 7 days a week building your own organization, finding the people who will work with you. Do it!!! YOU must sacrifice more than you can imagine. If you think San Antonio is provincial, then change it. Don't expect others to change for you. What is your calling? Answer it. The Esperanza, like the Guadalupe, can't give you the dream job you want. YOU have to create it. I went after the Guadalupe because the women were complaining publicly and in the media. But I believe that the next bookfair or cinemafestival will come from somewhere else. The Guadalupe's status in this city, in this country, is over. YOU create the next Guadalupe. And do better. That's the lesson here. And it does no good for you to vent without using your real name.

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