/Bill_Dixon.jpg)
Mailbag
Letters From Our Readers
Hi John,
I enjoyed your comments in "From the Editor". I had
just recently watched a "Super Nanny" that involved parents of
a young girl, who had no idea that their daughter was chatting with older
men online. The girl was told that if she wanted to visit her
friends or use the computer that she had to show them everything she was
doing online.The pc was taken from her room and put in a traffic area of
the home were everyone could see what was going on.
Parents need to know who their children hang out with, and those children’s parents.
Gerry G. (submitted via email)
Dear Editor:
I failed to write in sooner to express my concern about the June cover of
Good News Tucson, but sensed an obligation when I read the MAILBAG section
in the July edition. I was relieved, at first, to see what looked like
an apology from you with the word "Oops" over a reduced image
of the prior months cover page. But I became grieved as I read the
letters and your response. It seems that you are justifying a very
poor choice with the explanation that one of your teenage readers was impacted
by the story. Read the letter from Dixie S. again. She expresses
that she identifies with the points of the article, not the image on
the cover.
Your reason in your response - "Our goal, as a family-values publication,
is to reach as many people as possible with stories and issues that affect
their daily lives".
What that statement communicates to me, in the context of explaining the use of that image, is that you believe that it is okay to exploit the body of one young lady to "reach" another. You explain in your response - "While it is never our intention to offend, we also know that the image chosen is a fair representation of many of today's teens". What that statement communicates to me, in the context of explaining the use of that image, is that Good News Tucson believes that attractive, white, well-dressed, smiling young people (with cleavage showing) is indicative of some - most - many of our kids.
It does not represent our kids very well in many respects and your statement shows a considerable degree of ignorance, on your part, of the audience you wish to reach.
If you were attempting to apologize for poor judgment, you didn't. Your
readers were expressing concern over the image and you basically told them
that this type of offense is necessary in reaching out to people. The
only positive letter that you shared on the issue never mentioned the cover
- only the content of the article.
I certainly do not write this in hopes that it will show up in the August
edition - it's too long and probably too much to the point for that. Rather,
I write it to let you know that there are those of us out here who are not
so easily consoled by a few not-so-well selected letters and a lame response.
Please try to be more careful with the responsibility and privilege you have.
Jeff R. (via email)
Dear Jeff,
Thank you for taking the time to write to us regarding your concerns. As
you so accurately pointed out, it takes quite a few words to appropriately
address feelings in matters such as this. Space was
an issue for our printed July reply, so we instead hoped
that the letters would speak for themselves. Our goal, was to
add the question mark after the word "Oops!?", in an effort to
get people thinking about the opinions printed.
Obviously, we had readers that were disappointed by the cover -- however, we
also had 15 year old Dixie S. who thanked us for the article -- and
was the only reader who did NOT say that she was disappointed
by the cover. This is what prompted our reply that we "felt
we had reached our target audience". I am not trying to justify
our use of the photo, but instead ease your concerns that we were completely ignorant
of the audience we hoped to reach.
Additionally, the reality of the situation is that Good News
Tucson has the same resources to choose from in selecting photography, etc. as most
other forms of main-stream media. Sometimes this can be more than challenging. Of
the hundreds of options available, most had a very similar
theme and many of the youth were "attire challenged" (to put it
nicely). Although we selected the most conservative option... it
also made us realize that the resources available to media know
that this particular "image" of our children is what sells
-- so this is primarily what they offer. I have to question if
they are accurately portraying the truth about our children, or if they
are trying to affect the image our children have of themselves?
Did GNT fall into the same trap as "main stream media" by using
the photo we selected? Honestly, I am not entirely sure. We
have been called to a responsibility that we do not take lightly. Our
responsibility is to keep people thinking about the difference between right
and wrong. Although it may not have happened the way that we had anticipated,
this discussion has caused me, our staff, many of our readers, parents ...
and yes, even some kids ... to re-evaluate what is appropriate and what
is not. Maybe THAT was the bigger picture here?
Regardless of our internal struggles with selecting appropriate material
for a publication like GNT in a less than conservative world, your
point is well taken and we truly appreciate you sharing your concerns.
Sincerely,
Jacqueline Harrison-McAbee
Publisher, Good News Tucson Magazine
GNT Staff -
Love your new format of magazine! Outstanding.
Kay W. (via email)
© 2008 Good News Tucson™
