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Election took some local twists
(by Dave Lange - November 26, 2008)
COUNTY LINE, BY DAVE LANGE
Election took some local twists
In the days following the historic national election, readers of the Times newspapers learned that another Newbury school levy had been rejected, but a renewal levy for Berkshire schools had passed. They learned that rezoning issues to permit the construction of a new police station in Pepper Pike and an expansion of the Solar Center shopping plaza in Solon had been approved. They also learned that Republicans had swept to victory in nearly every Geauga County office up for election on the ballot.
But they did not read about Democratic Sen. Barack Obama's victory over Republican Sen. John McCain for the nation's presidency in the Times.
That did not sit well with a few anxious readers who protested what they considered a snub of historic proportions. My explanation that our papers, like most community weeklies, do not cover national politics was unconvincing. It was irrelevant that we did not report on George W. Bush's victories in 2000 and 2004, they said. This was different.
When national politics comes to our communities, as Mr. Bush did with a campaign stop in Chagrin Falls four years ago, however, our reporters are there to cover it. In fact, we had a front-page story in early October, after Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle visited Chagrin on behalf of Mr. McCain and her friend Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential nominee. We also ran a page-one photo Nov. 6 of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who was in town to stump for the GOP ticket.
On Oct. 17, our Geauga County paper printed a front-page story about a Chester resident who had joined in the "Barns for Obama" promotion in which barns were painted in support of the Democratic candidate. On Nov. 7, we had a page-one feature about Chardon residents hosting out-of-town volunteers working on Mr. Obama's campaign.
In addition to a report on voting trends in the Chagrin Valley, we followed up the election by visiting the predominately African-American Chagrin Falls Park neighborhood in Bainbridge for reactions to Barack Obama's victory. That story, which topped the front page of our Chagrin Valley paper on Nov. 13, included glowing comments on the historic nature of the election, its inspiration to youth growing up in America today and how it reflects on the progress of race relations in this nation.
Several eloquent quotations included in that story came from Lee Phillips, the properties manager for the Chagrin Falls Park Community Center. "I never thought this day would come in my lifetime," he said, exemplifying the feelings of many Americans.
That story was completed on a Friday. On the following Monday morning, our Bainbridge reporter learned that Mr. Phillips had been charged by police in connection with the theft of about $2,800 and a van from the community center.
It was an inopportune juxtaposition of events. We briefly considered the possibility of removing Mr. Phillips' contributions from the reaction story on Mr. Obama's election because of its potential to detract from its otherwise upbeat tone or even provide fodder for those who capitalize on negativity. But we quickly concluded that journalists should make every effort to avoid managing the impact of their stories.
Mr. Phillips' comments remained in one story, and his arrest was reported in another. Readers have a right to draw their own conclusions.
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