A while back, I expressed surprise about actually agreeing with the Shepherd Express. In their school board pre-election articles, however, they returned to form. In an article speculating on pro-voucher money the paper expected in the election, the paper said "Bruce Thompson .... wouldn't reveal his plans for this election." I suspect most readers would interpret this to mean the paper asked me for my plans and I refused to discuss them. In actuality the Shepherd never talked to me. So I never had a chance to refuse to reveal my plans.
The reporter did leave a message on my phone but stressed that there was no urgency in returning the call. When I called back, his message said he was out of town for the week. I haven't heard from him since.
This could be racked up to sloppy reporting, but over the years I have noticed the Shepherd's sloppiness has a purpose. If a story works against the cause of reform in MPS, the Shepherd will run it whether or not it is true.
This is unfortunate on several levels, I think. First unethical journalism hurts our society whatever the ideology of the publisher. Second, there are a number of strong conservative voices in Milwaukee; it would be beneficial to have a strong, trustworthy, liberal voice to balance them.
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2 comments:
I'm becoming more enamored of the Riverwest Currents. It's very neighborhood-focused, but they remind me of what the Shepherd could be.
The Bay View Compass, which I think is related to the Currents somehow, also looks promising.
They also have a Washington Park paper and a website. I agree they look promising.
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