H&R Admits DMH "Punished Them"
During yesterday's SHOWDOWN at St. Mary's Hospital, H&R Publisher Todd Nelson and Editor Gary Sawyer were reportedly grilled on many topics, all of which related specifically to the Herald & Review's assumed bias towards DMH.
When asked why the H&R would not print the "Press Release" letter to the community, they both said it was because their lawyers counseled them that there was a potential "libel" in one paragraph. (See second sentence in second paragraph in the Letter.) In addition, they stated that is the policy of the H&R to NEVER publish a story, local or from the wire, that is based on "anonymous sources."
From what others have said, the general tone among those who attended was "concerned" to "angry." There were many who did not agree with the newspaper's stance that they are not biased. There were many who said they had stopped their subscriptions because of this perceived bias, and would not re-start these subscriptions until the H&R proves they are not biased.
Of note, both Nelson and Sawyer have only been with the H&R for a few months, so much of H&R's history in this battle is not well known to them. I think before this is over, they will know it very well. Evidently before Nelson/Sawyer joined the H&R, a particular story in the paper concerning "healthcare" did not set well with Mr. Smithmier, so he pulled ALL advertising from the H&R for almost two weeks. He re-started it, only after the paper printed a "clarification" (retraction) of what the original story had said.
The big question is this, then: If the H&R is so afraid that DMH will sue them for printing this letter, what will they do when St. Mary's turns up the heat with more and different ads in the paper? And, what will they do if the H&R bigshots implement changes as a result of yesterday's meetings? Will we see more ads pulled from the paper? Probably not.
The DMH employed docs will need a lot of advertising to keep their numbers up after the BIG EXODUS. Stay tuned.
When asked why the H&R would not print the "Press Release" letter to the community, they both said it was because their lawyers counseled them that there was a potential "libel" in one paragraph. (See second sentence in second paragraph in the Letter.) In addition, they stated that is the policy of the H&R to NEVER publish a story, local or from the wire, that is based on "anonymous sources."
From what others have said, the general tone among those who attended was "concerned" to "angry." There were many who did not agree with the newspaper's stance that they are not biased. There were many who said they had stopped their subscriptions because of this perceived bias, and would not re-start these subscriptions until the H&R proves they are not biased.
Of note, both Nelson and Sawyer have only been with the H&R for a few months, so much of H&R's history in this battle is not well known to them. I think before this is over, they will know it very well. Evidently before Nelson/Sawyer joined the H&R, a particular story in the paper concerning "healthcare" did not set well with Mr. Smithmier, so he pulled ALL advertising from the H&R for almost two weeks. He re-started it, only after the paper printed a "clarification" (retraction) of what the original story had said.
The big question is this, then: If the H&R is so afraid that DMH will sue them for printing this letter, what will they do when St. Mary's turns up the heat with more and different ads in the paper? And, what will they do if the H&R bigshots implement changes as a result of yesterday's meetings? Will we see more ads pulled from the paper? Probably not.
The DMH employed docs will need a lot of advertising to keep their numbers up after the BIG EXODUS. Stay tuned.
posted by Watcher2300 at 9/22/2005 12:16:00 PM
1 Comments:
I refuse to purchase the H&R, strictly for this reason. I remember a couple of years ago when an editor and a staff writer were being jailed in order to protect their sources. I was so impressed with the professional integrity of those individuals. But now, I have no use for the H&R. Well, I take that back. I am thinking about getting my kids a puppy. :)
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