George Rebane
A new editorial policy has descended on The Union. Since former editor Brian Hamilton left, several columnists, including regular Other Voices columnists Terry McLaughlin and Manny Montes, have had their submitted columns edited to the point of being shredded. Specifically, the newspaper’s new line editors not only have removed entire sections of pieces that contain major points, but also have decimated submissions by eliminating critical citations included to substantiate important arguments made by authors.
Most recently Ms McLaughlin’s 7oct20 column ‘Trump’s tax cuts and deregulation’ had its print edition abbreviated, and the online version was restored only after the author’s complaint to the new acting editor Alan Riquelmy. Mr Montes’ 10oct20 column had an entire section cut out of the print edition that contained the main thrust of his piece. The supposed 750-word allowance for Other Voices columns was reduced to 440 words. Given Mr Riquelmy’s response to Ms McLaughlin, we may presume (hope?) that he has also responded promptly to Mr Montes’ concerns.
As a former Union columnist and now a some-time Other Voices contributor, I add this concern to those that I have noted here over the years. The previously already left-leaning newspaper has recently taken some noticeable steps toward presenting itself as an unabashed outlet of all things progressive. Its nods toward conservative views have become more disproportionate.
Readers may recall that back in 2015 my bride Jo Ann (before becoming a member of its editorial board) did an extensive survey, lasting several months, of the Union’s op-ed page contents that quantified a definite liberal bias, and reported the results to its management. The Union acknowledged this through an ‘Editorial Page Challenge’ inviting readers to corroborate the findings. Only Jo Ann and one other (liberal) reader responded to the challenge with their results that covered the contents of January 2016 (more here) As expected, both surveys gave opposite results. Jo Ann’s results were 40 conservative, 56 liberal, 46 neutral. This showed a 40% liberal bias in that month’s op-ed page contents. The liberal lady’s results were 34 liberal, 40 conservative, 71 neutral – a 17.6% conservative bias. No doubt according to her lights a good portion of her neutrals were seen as liberal by Jo Ann.
But that was then and this is now. The beat toward the Left has continued, and I’m willing to bet a pretty penny that what we see in our beloved Union is now overwhelmingly left-leaning. But please don’t interpret this as my having a hissy fit about what appears in the newspaper. There are no complaints against the motivations of their management and staff – they are good people and our neighbors. And we must never forget that the newspaper is a private enterprise and news outlet, one which its owners and editors can tilt in any ideological direction they desire. No blame, no shame there as long as we all understand which way its winds are blowing and filling the sails of Nevada County voters.
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