Emerson's The Berkeley Beacon issued an apology today for it's remarks comparing Michael Ross' keeping tabs on college students living arrangements to "Gestapo-like" acts.
The Beacon was blasted in local media outlets like The Weekly Dig and Universal Hub as well as on this blog for the reference. Calling it over-the-top and insensitive considering Ross' father was a Holocaust survivor.
The editorial states The Beacon was unaware of Ross's family history and should have done their research.
"The suffering of Ross' father is well-known in the Boston community. We should have done our research, but we did not.
Similarly, our tone and language in the editorial were hyperbolic and flippant. Ross does not plan to round up Boston's college students and put them in concentration camps, nor does he plan on tattooing us for identification by "Gestapo-like" guards. That was sarcasm and exaggeration that, in the fervor of argument, went too far.
While we still strongly disagree with the councilor's plans, our failure to acknowledge-or Google or research on his Web site-his family history with the Holocaust caused some rightful outrage towards The Beacon and, in that editorial, undermined our argument against the ordinance.
...
We regret especially that our mistake obscured honest and open debate of an important issue to college students in the Emerson and Boston communities.
I am proud of the way The Beacon handled this mistake. The editorial was certainly out of line, but I think this was a valuable learning experience for the paper. Making mistakes is a natural part of the journalism profession, especially for the "journalists-in-training" at college papers. It's important to own one's mistakes and move on. The Beacon didn't back down from its stance against the "No more than four" law , and hopefully now the conversation can return to the issue at hand.
The paper also had this news article detailing the reaction the editorial warranted last week - Ross, blogs slam Beacon on editorial - News
Ross' letter to the editor was also published - Beacon editorial in poor taste, ignored crucial facts
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment