Letter To The Editor – Opinions

To the Editor:
I am a BCS alumna. I have a master’s degree. I am a Berlin taxpayer. I am the mother of a BES student. I am a BHS teacher. It is in this complex capacity that I write today in order to address two concerns: the editorialized straight news articles and the unqualified and unquantified statements made in a recent letter to the editor.
First, I would like to ask the reporters, including the editor, to stop editorializing straight news articles. I noticed when I first moved back to the area several years ago, picked up this newspaper, and read coverage of town board meetings that this was a problem. It has continued, which I have recognized lately especially in coverage of school board meetings. For example, a reporter recently wrote, “It would make for an interesting election if all the voters decided to write-in names on their votes against candidates they were opposed to,” an implicative comment that has no place in the straight reporting of this process. There are many more examples, such as the description of a video as “a delightful short film.” Some of these opinions are conveyed in a style suited more for a literary periodical, as shown by the reporter’s use of similes and metaphors: “This building, that is the Berlin Elementary School, seemed like a ghost in the room. Nobody could see it, but its chilling gloom was felt in nearly everything that was spoken of.” This may be more entertaining to read, yet entertainment is not the purpose of a straight news article. I could find examples like these in every issue. I would like to be able to trust my local paper to present unbiased facts, not to embed assumptions, suppositions, and conclusions within the language. “We work hard to make The Eastwick Press online edition the most informative news site in Eastern Rensselaer County’s region,” the website purports. “We” need to work harder.
Second, I would like to ask the writer of the May 6 letter to the editor entitled “I Did Not Sign the Petition” to qualify and quantify three statements. In the explanation of his understandable concern about the fiscal fitness and future of our town, he cites the “incredibly selfish and short sighted actions of the teachers’ and administrators’ union.” The writer continues to protest that “the school district does such a great job educating the dwindling numbers of students. Right.” obviously indicating that the school does not do a great job educating the students. Related to that same idea, he hopes that newcomers “will demand better performance from the district employees.” This exhibits an abysmal view of our entire district and everyone in it. I would also call, then, for those who have evidence to the contrary to present it, whether it be in the form of facts, statistics, examples, expert testimony, personal experience or a combination thereof.
I am grateful to live in a democracy (there is so much we take for granted), and I look forward to reading and hearing responses to this letter.
Cristi L. Lamontagne