The Tennessean disrespects RON PAUL

Here's the response I just got from Silverman and my original mail to him:
I apologize for the omission.

The candidates' position grid we published was provided by one of our wire services. It omitted Dr. Paul. We should have caught the omission but we did not. There's no excuse on our part -- but that's what happened. We will publish a complete version of the grid tomorrow.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Andrew Penn Fitzgerald [mailto:andrew@XXXXXXX]
Sent: Monday, February 04, 2008 1:42 PM
To: Silverman, Mark
Subject: Voter's Guide in Sunday's paper

Mark,

I can’t tell you how disappointed I was in the Tennessean after seeing your voter’s guide yesterday. There is no excuse for not including Congressman Paul in your piece. He is one the ballot nationwide, has the most fervent supporters out there and has actually gained delegates in the primaries so far. Also, just from my own experience around Nashville, I see a helluva lot more Ron Paul signs in yards than I see for any of the other candidates. For you all to include Huckabee but not Paul is really a joke.

I like to think of myself as a traditional guy who supports the hometown paper with my family’s subscription, but your amateur journalism in this case makes me want to give up my subscription and just read online…or just read any of the free local papers. I can certainly read all of your voluminous AP stories without even looking at Tennessean.com.

I don’t mean to be too critical here, but I can’t overstate my disappointment in your paper. I hope that you’ll be a bit more complete in tomorrow’s reporting before the Super Tuesday primaries. It would do a lot towards winning back support for your paper among a sizeable amount of Paul supporters in Tennessee.

Best regards,

Andrew

Hi! Left a message on John Gibson's voice mail--evidently Mark Silverman's office is "overwhelmed"--to quote the woman at the main number who answered my call. Mr. Gibson is also on the editorial staff of the paper. I'll send an email when I have a chance to Mr. Silverman, but just wanted everybody to keep up the good work. Mr. Silverman deserves to be "overwhelmed" by us for his newspaper's "underwhelming" journalist integrity!

Here is my email which I melded many of the excellent points others outlined in their posted letters:

Dear Mark Silverman, Editor in chief,

I was shocked when reading your Sunday paper by your blatant and outrageous omission of Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul in your huge comparison issue. As a newspaper you should be aware that Ron Paul raised more funds in Q4, almost 20 million dollars, than his closest rival, Mitt Romney, yet he was completely excluded from the article and the huge charts. It is extremely troubling to find this blatant bias that contributes to a nefarious blackout of any reporting on Ron Paul and his many successes and newsworthy events in his bid for the Presidency. It is especially disgusting in light of the fact that the Tennessean stated that it will not endorse any candidate in the primary. By excluding Ron Paul you have endorsed a slate of his opponents and made it appear to the public as if Ron Paul is not a contender.

Further, Ron Paul has a great presence within Tennessee and your paper should be very aware of his candidacy and popularity there. Ron Paul's campaign has set up more campaign offices in Tennessee than any other candidate (5) in Nashville, Murfreesboro, Cleveland, Townsend, and Memphis. What is even more compelling is that Ron Paul has more delegates on the Tennessee ballot (100) than any other candidate. There is just no good excuse for not knowing what is happening in your own backyard and giving equal coverage of a viable candidate.

Surely you must have known about the largest campaign rallies in Tennessee to date of any Republican candidate? It was reported by WKRN Channel 2 that over 1,500 people packed the War Memorial Auditorium to hear speak last year. Moreover, in an open primary, Ron Paul is polling in TN in the double digits with 18% of Independents, According to the latest, Insider Advantage Poll.

But after this disgusting omission designed to lead the public astray from a very popular antiwar and pro -individual candidate that really garners support once people compare his positions against his opponents, an apology by your paper just is not proper recourse. Your paper must issue equal coverage and equal space within a prominent section of your paper tomorrow morning to Ron Paul. I don't know what legal recourse the campaign or your customers have, but I wouldn't be surprised if something very negative comes of this for your business should you choose not to rectify this in good faith. I know I will be canceling my subscription and asking others to do the same.

Most Sincerely,

Be polite - but show your disgust in media bias. If they blame misinformation picked up on the wire, lets go after that wire service too, whoever they are. I have a feeling that if we keep this up the Tennessean might just do a story on the incredible Ron Paul campaign and his patriotic supporters!?!

Dear Mr. Silverman,
I am sure you have gotten a few emails regarding your ommission of one of the republican presidential candidates in your paper today. This is another one. I just wanted to point out that on the bottom of the front page you make the comment of not endorsing a presidential candidate, I admire you for that. I don't think it is the job of a media outlet like a newspaper to endorse any one candidate over another. News is supposed to be objective and unbiased. However you are doing just about the same thing by purposefully keeping your readers from learning about this fourth candidate, Dr. Ron Paul. How can your paper ever be respected again, and trusted for bringing the readers the full story, the facts, the news? I am disappointed that you have followed the pattern of big corporate-owned "news" conglomerates, instead of standing up for what journalism is really supposed to be, bringing the facts to the people. Shame on you!

I just got through , first person asks who, you say mark silverman, then you get his secretary, ask to talk to mark and then she takes your contact info and message, let her know why ur calling!!!!! very important.

11:24 est feb 4th

............................
Dear editors of the Tennessean,

Why you have chosen to exclude Ron Paul from your coverage of the presidential Republican primaries is beyond me. He is very much still in the race, placing far ahead of Huckabee in every aspect since Iowa, and in fact has placed 2nd in two or possibly three caucasus thus far. He trounced every other republican candidate in fourth quarter campaign contributions and enjoys more support from the military than all of the other republican candidates combined.

No one would believe in a million years that your paper would purposely exlude a candidate such as this from your election coverage for political reasons. For that very reason, readers of the Tennessean will assume that Paul has dropped out of the race. Davy Crockett would be ashamed.

I have a great idea - apologize to your readers profusely in your next issue and do two pieces - one on the extraordinary campaign of Dr. Ron Paul, and another one on the extreme media bias that has plagued politics in this election cycle.

Whadya think?

Sincerely, xxxxxx

I talked to a friend from Tennessee last night and told him I would be going to see Dr. Ron Paul today.

He said to tell him, "He has friends in Tennessee"

Hope for the best, prepare for the best!!

Donate.

http://ronpaul2008.com/donate

II CALLED, HE HAS INSTRUCTED THE SECRETARY THAT ANYBODY CALLING FOR THIS REASON, HE WILL CALL YOU BACK, AFTER YOU GIVEM YOUR CONTACT INFO

And then call the local media and tell them why the picketing is taking place, hey its news.