EDITORIAL – Paul Frommelt
IN MY OPINION, one reporter in The Roundup appears to be single-handedly doing more to damage the reputation of The Roundup than any outside criticism ever could.
In Friday’s January 10th edition in the article titled “Town manager form of government explained:” The reporter states …”the council majority forced the retirement of town attorney Hector Figueroa.” Forced? Really? Where is the proof? In the Roundup’s August 23rd article by the same reporter, titled “Town attorney abruptly retires:” in she states, “…“We went into executive session to address a personnel issue, and when we arrived we discovered that Town Attorney Hector Figueroa has offered his decision to resign – to retire – “. There was no mention in that article about him being forced to retire. So why the change now?
In another Roundup article dated September 2nd Titled “Posting on postboxes illegal” this same reporter stated “…On Tuesday, Sept. 24, residents in the southeast quadrant of Payson saw a note from Payson Mayor Tom Morrissey posted on their mailboxes.” Yet there was never any proof that (1)Tom Morrissey wrote the note. (2) knew of it’s existence. (3) Placed them there. Anyone could have done it. Heck, even the author of the article may have placed it there. the point is, NO ONE KNOWS! Again, where is the proof. The article has since been edited online removing the unfounded portions.
And in a Roundup article dated August 13th. titled “Park on east side of town needed:” this same reporter again inserts her personal bias. In it she states:…Already Mayor Tom Morrissey has expressed negativity.” Not, ‘he appeared skeptical.’ Or not even ‘the mayor show concern.” She constantly uses subjective terms in articles that are supposed to be factual, objective, and PROVABLE news articles.
In an article from Via Writing, it states in part, “Anything that is subjective will contain personal opinion, assumptions, and beliefs. You’ll most commonly find subjective information in newspaper editorials, blogs, and comments on the internet. If something is subjective, it’s not suitable for decision making or reporting in the news.” …Objective statements, as opposed to subjective ones, are backed up by fact. If someone makes an objective statement, they can show you the evidence to support it. Objective statements often contain statistics that can be verified if needed.” https://viawriting.com/subjective-vs-objective/
IN MY OPINION, this reporter can never be considered objective or unbiased in her writings when it comes to local town politics. The same is true with her ability to back up most of what she writes with any proof. I’m beginning to think she just can’t help herself! Or perhaps it’s what they are teaching at UC Berkeley, which is where she received her education, but it wasn’t in journalism. I continually see and hear the following types of comments online, ” If there is proof to the contrary he [she] may want to make changes to his [her] behavior.” Perhaps it’s time for the citizens of Payson to demand the truth. Keep supporting the Payson News.
And perhaps in future articles, this reporter for The Payson Roundup should begin all of her “news articles” with….IN MY OPINION! ★
