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Health & Fitness

Fifth Estate: People Know what Times Won't Investigate at School Board

That new movie the Fifth Estate is coming out about WikiLeaks. The fourth estate is supposed to be the press. The point of Fifth Estates, such as WikiLeaks, is that the press can no longer be relied upon to report honestly and objectively which, traditionally, has been seen as the press’ role in a democracy – keeping the public informed so they can make informed decisions.

Recent polls show the press has little credibility. Gallup reports, “The percentage of Americans saying they have ‘a great deal’ or ‘quite a lot’ of confidence in newspapers has been generally trending downward since 1979, when it reached a high of 51%.” Today Americans confidence in newspapers stands at 23%.

More often than not, people have to go to alternative sources to get accurate information. One of those alternative sources is to read the comments that typically follow a main stream media ‘press’ article. Take the Tampa Bay Times for example. On September 26, Times’ columnist Sue Carlton wrote an article titled Hillsborough School Board members can learn from infighting sideshow criticizing the School Board’s annual review of and trumpeting Superintendent MaryEllen Elia.

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Some ask: Why doesn’t the Times investigate the Superintendent’s record?

A quick review of the reader comments reveals commenter Invictus 2010 writing:

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Here is an assignment for the Tampa Bay Times – do some research and stop repeating the drivel that your former colleague who is the PIO at HCPS feeds you. Will you please be intellectually honest and acknowledge that the one thing the Superintendent is really good at is bullying critics into silence while playing the docile print media like a piano. 

Has a Times reporter, columnist, editor ever asked her point-blank if she knew about the death of Bella Herrera at the time that it occurred? Why didn’t she tell the board and the public? if she did not know, why didn’t she hold the staff that failed to tell her accountable? 

As for your amazement at her ability to get supporters dispersed throughout the room wearing pink – most were staff members, paid with tax dollars, who were “encouraged” to dress accordingly or else. If Paul Tash (CEO Times Publishing Company) asked you to wear clown shoes and an orange wig, in solidarity, would you say no? 

So – here is your final assignment – get a clue before you write and stop being a lapdog for the Superintendent and your former colleagues who are getting paid by her to keep the Times on a leash.

So why has no Times reporter, columnist, or editor ever asked the Superintendent point-blank if she knew about the death of Bella Herrera at the time that it occurred and why didn’t she tell the board and the public? Why has the school Board also never asked? Bella Herrera died from respiratory failure in January of 2012 on a school bus that was parked in front of a pediatric clinic while the aide and bus driver waited and did not call 911.

And just like no one at the School District said anything for 9 months, the Times and School Board are likewise guilty of allowing the Superintendent to go unchecked as though they also work for her. Even when Elia is criticized for this conscience shocking behavior in her annual review the Times- like a district employee in fear of losing their job- instead trumpets Elia as being ‘above it all’.

We previously reported how the Times benefits from the Superintendent and the Newspapers in Education program which delivers untold thousands of Times newspapers every school day to a captive audience of students and staff (see Overt Campaigning vs Covert Campaigning). At the very least, this boosts the Times’ circulation numbers considerably. And go figure – this Times’ column lauding Superintendent Elia over the School Board was issued on Thursday, September 26 – a school day with 200,000+ students and 25,000+ staff ready for delivery of the Times’ spin on “reporting”.

Question for The Times staff: If Paul Tash asked you to wear clown shoes and an orange wig, in solidarity, would you say no? 

Lately, this seems to be the Times’ school uniform.

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