Pokerman
Lady's Man
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the emperor has no clothes...
http://www.sptimes.com/2004/10/19/Tampabay/Newspaper_s_president.shtml
Newspaper's presidential indecision roils its readers
George Bush disappointed editorial boards at two Media General papers, including Tampa's, that picked no one.
By SHANNON COLAVECCHIO-VAN SICKLER, Times Staff Writer
Published October 19, 2004
TAMPA - They talked about it Sunday night over glasses of wine in Hyde Park. They stewed over it Monday morning during tennis matches. They rehashed it over the phone with incredulous friends calling from out-of-state.
Did you read the Tampa Tribune? They didn't endorse Bush for president. They didn't endorse anyone!
"I am still recovering from the shock," said Jack Espinosa, a lifelong Tampa resident and former Sheriff's Office spokesman who delivered the Tribune as a boy. "I want to put it over my mantel like a moose head. I've never seen anything like this. Then again, I never thought I'd see the fall of communism."
The Tribune's Sunday editorial, in which the editorial board endorsed neither Republican George Bush nor Democrat John Kerry, has caused quite a stir in Tampa and beyond.
For decades, the Tribune has been Tampa's conservative torch, endorsing Republicans for president every four years and supporting the party's emphasis on fiscal conservativism, small government and military muscle.
On the other side has been the St. Petersburg Times editorial page, with its reputation as the more liberal voice of Tampa Bay.
But this year the Tribune - led by a new publisher and editorial page editor with reputations for being less staunch in their conservativism than previous Tribune leaders - stayed on the fence.
It was the first time the Tribune didn't endorse a presidential candidate in 40 years, and it comes as the nation remains deeply divided leading up to the Nov. 2 presidential election.
"As stewards of the Tribune's editorial voice, we find it unimaginable to not be lending our voice to the chorus of conservative-leaning newspapers endorsing the president's re-election," the editorial stated. "We had fully expected to stand with Bush, whom we endorsed in 2000 because his politics generally reflected ours."
But after four years, the editorial went on, Bush disappointed board members with his "mishandling of the war in Iraq, his record deficit spending, his assault on open government and his failed promise to be a "uniter not a divider' within the United States and the world."
Al Austin, a Tampa resident who serves as finance chairman for the Republican Party of Florida, said the editorial was an unfair indictment of Bush - and an unspoken endorsement for Kerry.
"I thought their comments were just totally wrong," said Austin. "They aren't even on the fence. They took an entire page to be critical of the president, and the criticism of Kerry was very brief."
"I'm upset, and I think I speak for thousands of subscribers when I say I'm not going to look favorably on the Tribune for a long time," he said. "I expect it from the St. Petersburg Times , but not from the Tribune ."
Publisher Gil Thelen was out of town Monday and could not be reached for comment. Editorial page editor Rosemary Goudreau, who joined the paper late last year, declined to talk about the editorial.
"We're just letting the editorial stance speak for itself," she said Monday.
The Tribune piece ran on the same day that another newspaper owned by Media General chose to withhold its presidential endorsement.
Sunday, the Winston-Salem Journal ran an editorial under the headline "Bush Has Gone Astray," in which the editorial board offered no presidential pick.
Journal editorial page editor Linda Brinson said the non-endorsement was "the best decision we could make" as a publication owned by Media General, a company known for its conservative leanings.
Ray Kozakewicz, manager of corporate communications for Media General, said the company does not get involved in the editorial decisions of its 26 daily newspapers.
"Each newspaper is locally operated by the editorial team," he said. "It's a local decision in each case."
But Brinson said there is a sort of understanding between Media General and its publications when it comes to presidential endorsements.
"Whereas our editorial decisions day to day are completely our own, there is - when it comes to presidential elections - we understand that Media General newspapers have a set of values and views and a philosophy that sort of determines who we choose to endorse," Brinson said.
"Our inclination is to try very hard to endorse a Republican, but in this case we just could not do it," she said. "Bush had not lived up to our expectations. We felt he had really been a failure. But neither could we clearly come out and say Kerry stood for those values, either."
Brinson described the Journal as "the most liberal" of the Media General papers, while the Tribune has long been considered anything but liberal in its editorial stances.
But in recent years, old-guard leaders at the Tribune have left. In August 2003, Thelen took over as publisher. By year's end, he had hired Goudreau to replace Edwin A. Roberts Jr., a staunchly conservative editorial page editor who led the section for 20 years.
Austin, the state Republican Party leader, said he has noticed a shift in editorial philosophy since Goudreau took over.
"I don't understand it, and I don't like it," he said. "What do we do when the two newspapers around here don't support our philosophy?"
Patrick Manteiga, editor and publisher of the weekly newspaper La Gaceta , said Goudreau is "certainly a lot more open than Edwin Roberts, so I think she's allowing a lot more discussion.
"But the last time I spoke with her, she said the Tribune was not making a major shift and would still be a very conservative newspaper."
If Austin is worried about the editorial's impact on voters, he needn't be, said professor Scott Paine. Paine, who teaches government and world affairs at the University of Tampa, said endorsements don't have as much impact in presidential races as they do in local ones.
"Presidential races are very high-information, high-profile races," Paine said. "People already know who these candidates are, so most people aren't using the endorsement to help them decide how to vote."
Manteiga said the Tribune "probably made a bigger splash by not endorsing anyone than they would have if they'd endorsed Kerry."
-- Times staff writer Amy Scherzer and researcher Cathy Wos contributed to this report. Shannon Colavecchio-Van Sickler can be reached at 813 226-3373 or svansickler@sptimes.com
http://www.sptimes.com/2004/10/19/Tampabay/Newspaper_s_president.shtml
Newspaper's presidential indecision roils its readers
George Bush disappointed editorial boards at two Media General papers, including Tampa's, that picked no one.
By SHANNON COLAVECCHIO-VAN SICKLER, Times Staff Writer
Published October 19, 2004
TAMPA - They talked about it Sunday night over glasses of wine in Hyde Park. They stewed over it Monday morning during tennis matches. They rehashed it over the phone with incredulous friends calling from out-of-state.
Did you read the Tampa Tribune? They didn't endorse Bush for president. They didn't endorse anyone!
"I am still recovering from the shock," said Jack Espinosa, a lifelong Tampa resident and former Sheriff's Office spokesman who delivered the Tribune as a boy. "I want to put it over my mantel like a moose head. I've never seen anything like this. Then again, I never thought I'd see the fall of communism."
The Tribune's Sunday editorial, in which the editorial board endorsed neither Republican George Bush nor Democrat John Kerry, has caused quite a stir in Tampa and beyond.
For decades, the Tribune has been Tampa's conservative torch, endorsing Republicans for president every four years and supporting the party's emphasis on fiscal conservativism, small government and military muscle.
On the other side has been the St. Petersburg Times editorial page, with its reputation as the more liberal voice of Tampa Bay.
But this year the Tribune - led by a new publisher and editorial page editor with reputations for being less staunch in their conservativism than previous Tribune leaders - stayed on the fence.
It was the first time the Tribune didn't endorse a presidential candidate in 40 years, and it comes as the nation remains deeply divided leading up to the Nov. 2 presidential election.
"As stewards of the Tribune's editorial voice, we find it unimaginable to not be lending our voice to the chorus of conservative-leaning newspapers endorsing the president's re-election," the editorial stated. "We had fully expected to stand with Bush, whom we endorsed in 2000 because his politics generally reflected ours."
But after four years, the editorial went on, Bush disappointed board members with his "mishandling of the war in Iraq, his record deficit spending, his assault on open government and his failed promise to be a "uniter not a divider' within the United States and the world."
Al Austin, a Tampa resident who serves as finance chairman for the Republican Party of Florida, said the editorial was an unfair indictment of Bush - and an unspoken endorsement for Kerry.
"I thought their comments were just totally wrong," said Austin. "They aren't even on the fence. They took an entire page to be critical of the president, and the criticism of Kerry was very brief."
"I'm upset, and I think I speak for thousands of subscribers when I say I'm not going to look favorably on the Tribune for a long time," he said. "I expect it from the St. Petersburg Times , but not from the Tribune ."
Publisher Gil Thelen was out of town Monday and could not be reached for comment. Editorial page editor Rosemary Goudreau, who joined the paper late last year, declined to talk about the editorial.
"We're just letting the editorial stance speak for itself," she said Monday.
The Tribune piece ran on the same day that another newspaper owned by Media General chose to withhold its presidential endorsement.
Sunday, the Winston-Salem Journal ran an editorial under the headline "Bush Has Gone Astray," in which the editorial board offered no presidential pick.
Journal editorial page editor Linda Brinson said the non-endorsement was "the best decision we could make" as a publication owned by Media General, a company known for its conservative leanings.
Ray Kozakewicz, manager of corporate communications for Media General, said the company does not get involved in the editorial decisions of its 26 daily newspapers.
"Each newspaper is locally operated by the editorial team," he said. "It's a local decision in each case."
But Brinson said there is a sort of understanding between Media General and its publications when it comes to presidential endorsements.
"Whereas our editorial decisions day to day are completely our own, there is - when it comes to presidential elections - we understand that Media General newspapers have a set of values and views and a philosophy that sort of determines who we choose to endorse," Brinson said.
"Our inclination is to try very hard to endorse a Republican, but in this case we just could not do it," she said. "Bush had not lived up to our expectations. We felt he had really been a failure. But neither could we clearly come out and say Kerry stood for those values, either."
Brinson described the Journal as "the most liberal" of the Media General papers, while the Tribune has long been considered anything but liberal in its editorial stances.
But in recent years, old-guard leaders at the Tribune have left. In August 2003, Thelen took over as publisher. By year's end, he had hired Goudreau to replace Edwin A. Roberts Jr., a staunchly conservative editorial page editor who led the section for 20 years.
Austin, the state Republican Party leader, said he has noticed a shift in editorial philosophy since Goudreau took over.
"I don't understand it, and I don't like it," he said. "What do we do when the two newspapers around here don't support our philosophy?"
Patrick Manteiga, editor and publisher of the weekly newspaper La Gaceta , said Goudreau is "certainly a lot more open than Edwin Roberts, so I think she's allowing a lot more discussion.
"But the last time I spoke with her, she said the Tribune was not making a major shift and would still be a very conservative newspaper."
If Austin is worried about the editorial's impact on voters, he needn't be, said professor Scott Paine. Paine, who teaches government and world affairs at the University of Tampa, said endorsements don't have as much impact in presidential races as they do in local ones.
"Presidential races are very high-information, high-profile races," Paine said. "People already know who these candidates are, so most people aren't using the endorsement to help them decide how to vote."
Manteiga said the Tribune "probably made a bigger splash by not endorsing anyone than they would have if they'd endorsed Kerry."
-- Times staff writer Amy Scherzer and researcher Cathy Wos contributed to this report. Shannon Colavecchio-Van Sickler can be reached at 813 226-3373 or svansickler@sptimes.com
