WHIDBEY
OPINION Page A6
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Wednesday, January 15, 2014 • Whidbey News-Times
IN OUR OPINION
Learning a painful lesson about use of slang in coverage It’s the news articles that you believe will be the least controversial that sometimes land you in the hottest of water. Case in point, our annual “Year in Review” article published in the Jan. 1 edition of the Whidbey NewsTimes. In that article, which summarized major stories from the past year, the reporter relied on the common modern slang term “haters” in place of the word “critics.” That was a big mistake. While younger people typically call one another “haters,” and you hear the term frequently on television these days, it is not yet common usage as determined by the English dictionary. For relying on slang rather than commonly accepted vernacular, the reporter and newspaper have apologized to the South Whidbey group that was offended, the Old Goats — Fully Informed Voters. Since the Year in Review was published, however, word of mouth about the article transformed the use of the word “haters” in the article to “hate group.” The newspaper received emails from people who admittedly hadn’t read the article, but were appalled the newspaper would call the Old Goats a “hate group.” We did not use that term. As I assured several of the group’s members, we don’t believe the Old Goats to be a hate group and would certainly never use that term when referring to them. Quite the contrary, we hold in high regard to any group that emphasizes civic involvement. The fact is, as a newspaper, we should employ the KISS Principle — keep it simple, stupid. Our responsibility is to avoid unecessary complexity or confusion in our coverage. This means avoiding “governmentese,” which sometimes seems to be a language unto itself. It’s our job to clearly interpret information, but to avoid terms that might lead to confusion. For example, rather than a term like “revenue revision,” it likely makes sense to say in the story that a “tax increase” is in the offing. In summarizing the news of the past year, the reporter attempted to be clear and concise, but miserably failed, offending the Old Goats in the process. It is a lesson that we as journalists have learned the hard way and are determined to not repeat.
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Published each Wednesday and Saturday from the office of The Whidbey News-Times 107 S. Main St, Ste E101 • P.O. Box 1200 • Coupeville, WA 98239 (360) 675-6611 • (360) 679-2695 fax On the Internet at www.whidbeynewstimes.com
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Jet noise
Vision for Coupeville is not one shared by all Editor, “Growler Joe” Kunzler, who calls himself “the greatest thing to happen to the pro-OLF cause – ever,” says keeping Outlying Field Coupeville open and bringing in even more Growlers will not destroy the Coupeville community. “Coupeville is not going to be destroyed,” he told me in a Dec. 14 Whidbey News-Times comment, “Just changed. Two very different things. It’ll be a Navy and county government town within a few years.” In a Sept. 8 comment to Truman Lowry, he wrote: “My support of an EIS is in part to wear them down for three to five years so buying them out becomes the star option.” And if the noise and pollution don’t wear them down, there’s always eminent domain to get rid of them. “The Navy will issue a Draft EIS in mid-2015,” Joe wrote. “By then, many civilians will beat feet and the cost of a new OLF will be more than eminent domain. The final EIS isn’t due BTW until mid-2016. Checks cut. Civilians evacuated or forced to cope.”
From his home in SedroWoolley, Growler Joe has designed Coupeville’s future. No more unpatriotic, Navy-hating, anti-American, whining civilians. Just more and more squadrons of Growlers flying, day and night, over the Island County Courthouse, Whidbey Naval Hospital and the empty shops on Front Street. Ann Adams Oak Harbor
Consider the sacrifices of those now serving Editor, While you publish both sides of the noise complaints and opinions from both or all sides on Whidbey Island and perhaps some opinions shared by those of the San Juan Islands, please allow this humble third opinion. You, all of you, who would disparage a Navy, a nation, our military in uniform and those civilians who support them because you are inconvenienced by jet noise, need to know, or be reminded of, something of which you are obviously unaware. I am writing to you from the Logar Province of Afghanistan. Here, the fallen Navy, Army, Air Force and Marines and civilians are not forgotten. Their pictures are on a wall where we eat, in a tent. They
Executive Editor & Publisher.....................................................................Keven R. Graves Advertising Manager......................................................................................Teri Mendiola Assistant Editor .......................................................................................... Jessie Stensland Contributing Editor...................................................................................... Megan Hansen Reporters............................................... Janis Reid, Ron Newberry, Sara Hansen, Jim Waller Administrative Coordinator.........................................................................Renee Midgett Advertising............................................................... Nora Durand, Phil Dubois, Gail Rognan Creative Manager.............................................................................................. Connie Ross Lead Creative Artist........................................................................Michelle Wolfensparger Creative Artists..........................................................................Adine Close, Jennifer Miller Circulation Manager...................................................................................Diane Smothers Circulation Assistant.........................................................................................Liam Graves
weren’t killed by noise, rather by an enemy armed with Chinese and Soviet weapons of old. The enemy is not in plain sight, and they are determined. They still kill even today. Every few days this forwardoperating base, FOB Shank, named for Michael Shank, comes under mortar fire. You, all of you, either keep us here by your vote and or by your silence. How are they doing? Do you even know or care, or are you consumed by the jet noise over Whidbey Island? Those kinds of articles get buried in page six somewhere. The noise we hear in Afghanistan sounds like a ship’s United States Navy General Quarters alarm, and it is loud. It happens at all hours. It is followed by an explosion which you pray will only hit thin air. You only have seconds to contemplate a possible future. As we here respond to those alarms, we all grab our battle rattle — helmets and vests — and take cover with just a few seconds of warning. During the last few months, Shank has come under attack at least 50 times, sometimes three or four times a day. Your sailors assigned to Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, your U.S. Navy and Marines, and some civilians, are here in Afghanistan, right now, reading SEE MORE LETTERS, A7
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