(First in a series of 12,954.)
So when it comes time to publish its “Rotary Wheel” newsletter in the Times-Standard advertising pages, the Mad River Rotary Club apparently spotlights the good deeds of one of its members. I say “apparently,” because somehow the thing has escaped my eye before today.
Well, completely coincidentally, yesterday the honor fell to one Ryan Sundberg, a member of the McKinleyville non-profit organization’s board of directors.
Click the pictures below to biggify, and stay tuned for Monday’s installment! It’s a doozy!
(Note to “Rotary Wheel” editors: You have a grammatical error in your second paragraph — an increasingly common bit of illiteracy known around NCJ HQ as the “Shikuma comma.”)
This article appears in Rise and Fall of a Spam Crusader.
Who in the Rotary decides who gets highlighted in this newsletter? Is the Rotary a non-profit? What does the Rotary have to say for itself?
Rotary International must have a complaint department.
Tell Rotary International what you think of their good name when it’s used in a campaign ad:
http://www.rotary.org/en/AboutUs/ContactUs/Pages/ridefault.aspx
Great slam job Hank. Did you make any attempt at responsible journalism by calling Rotary or Sundberg before publishing this smear? Why bother getting both sides of a story anyway particularly when you are alligned with one of them. Journalism 101, I guess you were sick that day. Too bad for what used to be a decent publication.
It’s not illegal electioneering, but it is sad to see the Rotary losing its impartiality. It’s happened with the Eureka Rotary also. Matthew Owen, who is managing or is heavily involved in the campaigns of Virginia Bass, Frank Jager, Mike Newman and Marion Brady, is the member in charge of setting up the debates for these candidates and their opponents. It’s hardly an impartial atmosphere. Again, it’s sad and it causes me lose respect for the Rotary Club.
The U.S. Supreme Court allows anyone to say nice things or bad things about candidates as long as they don’t advocate a vote or against. That’s how the anonymous buyers of the “Eureka Coalition for Jobs” were able to get away with it in 2004.
If Anonymous @ 6:21 is correct about the legality of the Rotary propaganda the big question is if Hank will appropriately print a retraction and apology. Unfortunately I suspect he will not. Perhaps it will have to wait for Judy to step in and do the right thing. Btw, 5:07 points out yet another legitamate problem with the article – it is a onesided attack with no apparent opportunity for rebuttal or explanation. Not your best work Hank, you know better. While it may be shitty journalism Hank is 100% correct that it also, or at the very least seems to be, inappropiate territory for a Rotary Club.
Muthaflippa, “probably borderline” means what it says!
You want opportunity for “rebuttal”? Rebut away! Not sure what there is to rebut, tho.
luckily many voters are critical thinkers…well, about 60% of them in McKinleyville anyway. Sorry Ryan, you seem like a “nice guy,” but like Virginia Bass, I don’t like the people you hang with. That goes for HumCPR as well as the Rotarians.
I assume that Mad River Rotary is a 501(c)(3) organization – this is the IRS classification that allows donors to get a tax deduction for donating to rotary.
There are express prohibitions on any 501(c)(3) organization engaging in this type of political action – i.e. advancing the candidacy of a specific politician. Rotary should have known better. For gods sake the rotary ad included the same picture that Mr. Sundberg uses in most of his political ads.
I wasn’t very clear in my earlier post about election law. You are not subject to election law if you talk about a candidate or ballot initiative, as long as you don’t “expressly advocate” a vote for or against. In 2004 someone cough Arkley paid for an expensive negative ad blitz against Chris Kerrigan during his re-election campaign against Rex Bohn. The funder of those ads didn’t have to disclose himself because of California case law. This law is evolving right now. Google “express advocacy FPPC” if you want to know more. The Rotary piece doesn’t really come close to violating election law. It is just really poor judgment because now the Mad River Rotary has exposed itself as having a political agenda and has alienated half the community in the process. I don’t trust the motives of the Eureka Rotary either for allowing Matthew Owen to take control of its political forums. Just sad. Shame on you Mad River and Eureka Rotary clubs.
11:01, it’s a stretch to say it has alienated half the community. It might, or might not, offend Times-Standard readers who saw the one issue where it was published, and probably only if they live in the district.
I’m not a Rotary member, nor involved in Sundberg’s campaign. I know Rotary as the folks who give our third graders dictionaries to own, give seniors a free meal each Thanksgiving, helped fund the Sheriff’s substation in McKinleyville, helped pay for school track and park improvements and create a gift store each December so kindergartners can shop for free gifts to give to their parents.
Do I care who the Rotary endorsed, or implied an endorsement for, or profiled in their newsletter or advertisement? No, not really. If I was so easily alienated, I’d have to disown my inlaws, some aunts and uncles and my own father.
Or to think it another way, the first people to be potentially upset about this are the Rotary members themselves. I’m curious what the Journal may report in that respect.
I don’t mean to imply I’m making excuses for Rotary. I’d steer clear of the mere appearance of a conflict of interest or anything improper.
“I see two comma errors,” said blog gadfly, Jennifer Savage.
this article is because chris lehman threw a fit. is that who called you hank? you know, the guy working for cleary. how about some disclosure…
I love the smell of election season in the morning.
Not exactly a denial was that Hank.
Hey it’s fine to be biased, we all are in one way or another. You should just acknoledge it and not represent yourself otherwise. Your readers and advertisers deserve honesty. Your Publisher should be demanding more of it.
I also wonder who gets the partisan hatchet job Monday. Sundberg again? Or is it Bass’s turn? Maybe Jackson? I guess you’ll have to ask Lehman. Whatever you do don’t bother calling for corroberation.
More non-news from a non-newspaper. Sims and his sleazeball crew exist to stroke their egos and then tell us it’s how reporting is done. Sims, you suck and you know it. Without Ryan Burns you are birdcage liner. As for the Rotarians, well, I wouldn’t dare go after them. They have always proven in the past to be NOT the people with whom to f*ck.
Nothing partisan or hatchet about this job, Anon. Hank, you screw up sometimes but this is not one of them. So far we have a deafening silence from Rotarians on this issue. Anyone care to defend the ad?
Les,
That’s much of the point. We have no idea what the Rotarians or anyone else (apparently besides Lehman) has to say or what the real facts are. All because Hank didn’t do the homework before publishing. A negative article without even the typical “calls were not returned by the candidate prior to press time” BS is obscene.
If the Lehman call is true then even more shame on the Journal.
So the Journal shouldn’t act on tips?
I don’t have to read the journal but I do have to look at homeboy’s huge signs all over town. People seem to think that just because he was born here and shakes a lot of hands, that he’s the golden child for the job…but the 5th district doesn’t need to start looking like the cookie-cutter development project McKinleyville’s become (and he’s all for it). He’s on his way to becoming a typical city-style career politician. This dream of his needs to be crushed…for his sake as much as ours. He’s not the guy for this position, no way.
The current edition of Green Wheels’ “Community Wheel” lists candidates’ responses to a transportation questionnaire. Sundberg isn’t in there, but maybe he didn’t respond. Someone who did respond was Arcata City Council candidate Mark Wheetley, but his answers weren’t used, nor was he listed as a candidate. He says he can’t get calls returned from GW Director Ashley Hanson. I’ve called Ashley and am waiting to hear back.
http://www.green-wheels.org/files/shared/community_wheel/pdfs/CommunityWheelFall10.pdf
Thanks Kevin, a true journalist! Now lets see just how honest and fair minded Hank really is. How much equal slamming will Green Wheels get? Betcha Meserve doesn’t get a photo and an implied bashing like Sundberg.
Oh and Buzz, of course the Journal should act on tips. They just should make at least a feeble attempt to be fair with whatever action they take. Since that is unlikely they should simply stick to doing what they do best, Music, Events, Art, and Special Interest. They consistantly do a superb job in those areas and with the exception of self mutilation issues they would probably lose fewer advertisers than onesided politics. Think about the positive effect on the bottom line if 80% of local business wasn’t ailienated. In the alternative they should at least admit to being advocates for a particular side.
This politics stuff is fascinating, but my real worry is that there’s a recurring grammatical error with my name attached to it.
I’m no expert on local election laws but about a month ago, News Corp., parent company of Fox News gave 1-million dollars to the Republican Governors Association. This week they gave another 1-million to the National Rotary Club.
Thanks to Citizens United vs. U.S.A., it is evidently legal to do that. I’m not sure how that plays out with specific candidates or local elections.
Just trying to understand Hank’s take on this. As a part of this monthly program the club president highlights a member, as in the past, and the member is running for office, should the President not recognize the work of that member? I do not see a problem, but would if it mentioned the electon, which it did not.
Sly enough, Mad. And it’s okay for Virginia Bass to browbeat the Elections office into changing the supervisorial district she votes in, right? Whatever it takes, right?
No kidding – the staff probably has a whole list of freelancer offenses and related drinking games to go along with them.
They get ripped and dance on the comma key.
first they drive after getting ripped, THEN dance on comma key
HanQ says:
“Click the pictures below to biggify, and stay tuned for Monday’s installment! It’s a doozy!”
And????? What is the doozy?
Sorry! Game delayed on account of work!
Mad Not A Rotarian 8:07am; Prove what you say about V.B. are did you just read it on H.
If Pat Cleary ever DID anything in the 5th District, he could get his mug in the paper too. Ryan’s hard work has produced some awesome improvements for McK’ville and the surrounding community. And Hank, If you can stand some REAL journalism, show some guts and check the new Sentinel election interviews. Good stuff. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mM83fwlqZ1A and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2BCsQNiPzE
Yeah Hank, man up and let Chuckles take you to journalism school.
Hmmm, do I smell a little snark here Kevin? Remember when Humboldt actually had real newspapers? Those were the days. Has anyone done any kind of a pro-bing story about the new political consultant kid in town and the folks he’s connected to? Sorry state of affairs.
Great. Douglas is pro-Bing while the rest of us wallow in Googleville.
Bing the Humboldt Sentinel for some sensational graphics and breaking news… such as top-o-the-fold breaking news of Mike Wilson’s re-election last November and Zepparella’s triumphant return to the Red Fox in September 2009.
Brought to you by Grandma B’s fudgery, closed since Fall 2009.
It’s about quality, not quantity.
“It’s about quality, not quantity.”
That’s what she said!
What does Jen have to say about the constant profane language? How does that compare in relation to the placement of comas when it comes to journalistic quality?
Placement of comas? That’s the fuckin’ ultimate in journalistic quality.
Just ask U.S. News and World Report — America’s most trusted news source and, simultaneously, its best-selling soporific.
brief review of Sundberg website states he wants to “see language in the plan” as to how the county will increase employment opportunities. Pull yourself off the barstool!! That’s not what GPU is about – and that’s one of the many reasons RS is not leadership material.
there is an economic development section.
It not role of GPU to spell out how to increase employment opportunities.
“This optional element provides an overview of the economy, characterizing the trends, land, and infrastructure needs that will shape the future.”
“see language in the plan” is not “spell out how to increase opportunities”. dummy. principally permitted uses, zoning for industry, setbacks, all are major factors in job creation. how can a plan characterize the trends that haven’t happened yet? you must work at the planning department. in many general plans they have goals like, “increase the number of manufacturing jobs”. you won’t see that here. dummy.
” I would also like to see language in that plan that clarifies how the county intends to increase employment opportunities.”
RS dumber than me, and probably as dumb as U R DUMB. None of the factors listed by 1:22 will clarify how the county intends to increase employment opportunities. The point is, how will Sundberg increase jobs? RS has no clue. Cleary has actually created vibrant jobs in Humboldt – lots of them.
i don’t understand what you have a problem with. the guy wants to create jobs, he wants to see the plan reflect that instead of a subjective narrative on “industry clusters” and prosperity.
7:09am could read: “he wants to see the plan reflect his subjective ideals of industry and prosperity instead of an objective look at the physical reality of the situation.”
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