Blog gets Hastings editor fired

Source: The Grand Rapids Press

HASTINGS -- Looking back, the former editor of the Hastings Banner concedes it was not a good idea to bash the Barry County United Way on his personal Internet blog or detail how he ducked out of a visit with U.S. Rep. Vern Ehlers so he could meet friends for lunch. After 19 years at the helm of a string of weekly small-town papers, David Young, 59, was fired last week when his employer said the blog constituted a serious breach of professional standards. J-AD Graphics Vice President Fred Jacobs, who fired Young, said he was warned against creating his "Compulsory News" blog long before it first appeared in August. "I told him that whether he realized it or not, when he speaks, he speaks for the Hastings Banner," Jacobs said.

In Young's Sept. 3 blog entry, he bemoans the proliferation of fundraising events and calls the United Way campaigns the "grandaddy" of them all. He describes the corporate donation drives as "arm twisting," and ticks off incentives for giving, such as pizza parties and cash drawings. "Such bribery is not found in any other fundraising campaigns ...," Young wrote, going on to list his grievances with the Barry County United Way.

In his Sept. 5 entry, Young documents how he deliberately ducked out of a visit from Ehlers, R-Grand Rapids. Young said he was about to leave for a weekly lunch with his friends when he got a call that Ehlers -- whom Young called "His Excellency" -- was on his way to the newspaper office for a visit. He wrote that as he was paged to the front counter, "I immediately and swiftly, but quietly slipped out the back door as if a bill collector had come calling." Young opined online that it was the right call. "I would rather spend productive time arguing politics with weekly 'friends' than exchanging meaningless pleasantries with someone important who just wants to be nice to the 'little people' in the district once or twice a year," adding he takes issue with Ehler's support for the Iraq war.

After keeping his opinions to himself as a newspaperman for more than 35 years, Young claims the blog was merely a way to vent his frustrations. He said he believed his words would go largely unnoticed, although he said he understands the Internet is among the most public of places. "In my position as editor, I didn't think I had the opportunity to speak out on issues I believed in," Young said. "I used to tell people that everyone had freedom of speech but me."

While characterizing the blog's content as "garbage," Jacobs said Young's firing was less about content than Young's judgment. "When you put something in a blog talking about people, in a small town, I guarantee you within days -- or more likely hours -- everybody knows about it. "A blog is a public place. He made a huge error in judgment, and it's not something we could just overlook." Young, who denied being told not to start the blog, is looking for work, although not necessarily in the newspaper business.







Read more: http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-38/119038261715140.xml&coll=6

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I wonder what the result would have been had he supported Bush's fiasco and kissed Ehler's ring?

In support of free speech , here is a link to Mr. Young's blog.
http://compulsorynews.blogspot.com/2007/08/just-what-world-need-another-blog.html

Having worked for United Way for a number of years in the past I know all about the arm twisting.

But, it was stupid for him to put all of his personal experiences and thoughts in a blog.

I think if most people really took a look at United Way and its member agencies they would stop contributing. It is really nothing more than a cash cow for overpaid executive directors, quite a few of whom are often "buddies of the board," of agencies that do little more than operate hotlines and refer to other United Way agencies in an endless cycle of runaround.

Better to give your money to community organizations that aren't United Way agencies that are actually out in the community doing something other than referring you to someone else.

I must agree with him completely on these comments and I live in NW Pa. I hear people that I know are usually decent people making racist and bigoted comments too often. It's amazing how little people understand about racism and bigotry. As I educated myself over the years, I was stunned at things which good folks around here would "joke" about and that I actually laughed at up until about 18 years ago. I was so ashamed when I finally understood how pervasive it truly is in our small city/area.

Now I attempt to kindly call their attention to it. Some of these people I love dearly, most have rarely ever even met a 'minority', often in their lives, which is why I am always so stunned by it.

The media here seems to show so many more arrests and crimes committed by 'minorities', thus leading the ignorant white folks here to be terrified by what they see portrayed.

A poster here, sorry cannot remember whom, wrote, "Ignorance is bliss, until it isn't." How profound.

Who can blame Mr. Young for ducking the politico? Why allow yourself to be used that way?

An ongoing battle continues... :grr:

Bless Mr. Young and Mr. Rather for speaking out and hopefully the many more that will speak out sooner rather than later. :hug:

That would be cool.