"Put your money down, buy your paper, but own it, man."
Mark Pazniokas
Frustrations over a lack of media transparency, New England-naysayers, and negativity made the list of year-end grievances for panelists on WNPR’s weekly news roundtable last week.
Below are some of the issues the panel of journalists listed as their main gripes of 2015. For more reflections on the year in news, listen to The Wheelhouse's "Farewell to 2015."
Mark Pazniokas of The Connecticut Mirror: Media Transparency
“One of them, and it comes to me lately, is the erosion of the importance of transparency in public life, in media life.
"If Sheldon Adelson wishes to become the Rupert Murdoch of Nevada and buy a newspaper, then God love him. Put your money down, buy your paper, but own it, man.
"We have a publisher in Connecticut named Michael Schroeder, of The New Britain Herald, whose name appeared somehow on that LLC agreement to purchase that paper.
"Mr. Schroeder, despite being in the news business, doesn’t seem willing to explain at all his role, nor is he willing to explain how a hit piece that the Adelson family seemed to commission — they tried to get reporters out there to put together an investigation of judges who were deemed unfriendly to Adelson some business interest — and how that piece ran in The New Britain Herald under the byline of a person that Matt Kauffman, an investigative reporter at The Hartford Courant,has been unable to authenticate his existence.
"We don’t believe we can do anything. I’d like to see a little less of that."
Susan Bigelow
"And Mr. Schroeder basically said it’s no one’s business."
Susan Bigelow of CTNewsJunkie.com: Naysayers
“My big grievance this whole year has been the sort of people who have been constantly naysayers about everything in Connecticut.
"And this is not just a Connecticut phenomenon but it seems like it’s really bad here, that whenever we try to do something in Connecticut that might make our lives a little bit better, there’s always going to be lots and lots of people who come out of the woodwork and say ‘no, we can’t do that, it’s not going to work here.’
"I’m thinking about the busway specifically, because there was so much negativity about that. But there’s a ton of other examples, and [it] all just has to go back to our state self-esteem issues, where we don’t believe we can do anything. I’d like to see a little less of that.”
“I think one of my grievances has been the inability of college students to prioritize their concerns."
Colin McEnroe
Colin McEnroe: College Students' Communication
"One of my grievances has been the inability of college students -- including students at my alma mater down at New Haven -- to prioritize their concerns.
"There are some real concerns on college campuses right now, and they actually dovetail pretty closely with the Shelley Best, Heather Zottolla story, that college students would like to have a more diverse environment, and they’d like to have more diverse hiring of professors. They’d like to have more professors that are more representative of different minority groups, which is a great issue.
"For some reason or other, they’re talking about Halloween costumes. At Oberlin right now, they’re talking about cafeteria food, suggesting that certain kinds of Banh Mi sandwiches and General Tso’s chicken are culturally insensitive.
"So, look, you’re college students. You’re supposed to put a few thoughts and words together. You’re supposed to be able to explain what you’re really concerned about.
"The tone of our national conversation this year has been more divisive, more ramped up, and more angry than I’ve ever heard it before."
John Dankosky
"Every time they bring up something stupid -- and they’ve brought up a lot of stupid things -- people say, well you’re being stupid. They say, well, that’s not really what we’re concerned about, we’re concerned about those other things. Well, good. Bring up those other things. Learn to use words to explain what your actual problems are."
John Dankosky: Not Enough Empathy
"We’ve actually talked on this program before, because we are, in essence, talking about state government and also local governments, and sometimes they are, a bit dysfunctional, let’s just say.
"It seems as though what we’re trying to tear down this institution or these institutions, and as you say Susan, sometimes it’s people not necessarily thinking the best of our state.
"One thing I will say: the tone of our national conversation I’ve heard this year has just been more divisive, and more ramped up, and more angry than I’ve ever heard it before.
"And for whatever roll I play in that, hopefully in 2016 I’d like to step back a little bit.
"I guess I’ll just ask... where is the love? When can we just feel a little bit more empathy for people before we open up our mouths and say some of the things I hear people saying today?"
Listen to the full segment on The Wheelhouse below.
