08/20/08 Sara takes exception with an "astonishing piece of drivel from Greenwich Time Managing Editor Jim Zebora"

Jim Zebora learns that
"Hell Hath No Fury Like A Woman Scorned"

Sara Reviews her former editor's latest column

Methinks he doth protest too much

Saramerica

I canceled my subscription to the Greenwich Time when they canceled my column. So I didn't see this astonishing piece of drivel from Managing Editor Jim Zebora until the link was forwarded to me by several irate people.

Here's some of Zebora's defensive crap verbatim:

Supporters of Himes questioned why the media, this newspaper in particular, would give Whitnum a forum to speak her mind and make her ideas known. Their candidate was the one with the sane and sensible positions in this campaign, they said, and we should be telling that to our readers.

We didn't have to. Or readers could see for themselves - in the candidates' position statements, their speeches on important issues, their one-on-one debate - what each contender was about. All we had to do was report what they said and did.

Well, therein lies the rub, Mr. Zebora. Because you DIDN'T report what they said and did. Let's take, for example, the press release Ms. Whitnum issued about Jim Himes' trip to Israel - a long anti-semitic rant, in which she made such inflammatory statements as blaming Israel for 9/11. Your paper didn't even bother to report on that press release. That's why I felt compelled to write a column about it, the column that you decided was the reason to silence my voice in the paper. If you'd been doing your job reporting all the facts, I wouldn't have had to write that column. But no. You were too busy presenting a sanitized picture of Ms. Whitnum's extremist views, until my column and her performance in the televised debate made it impossible for you to cover up for her any longer.

You state:

Our job is to convey the information, the electorate's job is to make the choice.

The philosphy behind these has never been stated more elegantly than by Abraham Lincoln. I keep his words posted on a bulletin board near my desk.

"I am a firm believer in the people," the 16th president said. "If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts."

Maybe you should re-read your bulletin board a bit more often. Because in your reporting on Lee Whitnum you failed miserably in bringing the electorate the real facts. Why did readers not hear how she consistently failed to file her FEC reports in a timely fashion, and when she did there were irregularities in the time periods reported, plus she hadn't included known campaign expenses such as the Google ad campaigns she's been running for over a year (the ones that also promote her book "Hedge Fund Mistress - so dignified for a prospective Congressional candidate).


But it's your lies that show you up for the partisan hack you really are.

Here's what you said: "The Himes camp was upset - nay, offended - that Whitnum, using the existing democratic process, had petitioned successfully to force a primary against the party's endorsed candidate."

And here's what you actually reported in your OWN FREAKING PAPER!!

Neil Vigdor article "Dems ready for showdown" 8/10/08

Himes, 42, who has never run for office outside of his hometown, said the primary gives him a chance to build name recognition and promote his platform of tax credits for the middle class, development of alternative energy sources and universal health care.

"It created a real conversation with voters in the middle of August, which never would have happened otherwise, Himes said. "I said all along, it's a great thing. I think every aspect of the Democratic process is healthy, so I've always embraced this."

So much for reporting the facts and letting the voters decide. You're basically calling Himes a liar in advance of an election against Shays. Yep. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see your bias.
Makes me glad that I'm going to be working with people with more integrity. More on that in the next week or so. Stay tuned.

Please Also See:

08/19/08 Zebora explains how Lee Whitnum became the best friend Jim Himes had in the democratic primary campaign

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