Eideard

Dear editor,

Regarding your front-page story in the Sunday, February 22, edition of the Sun: “Is Bible Saying the End is Near?”

Appalling.

Oh, don’t get me wrong, the story was fine. What’s appalling is your editorial decision to place it above the fold on the front page. What’s next? Eyewitness accounts of UFOs, personal tales of alien abduction or an expose on the predictions of Nostradamus?

Had you chosen to place this story as a feature in either the religion or local sections of the paper, you would have heard no complaint from me. But the front page is for NEWS. Real, hard, research-driven, fact-filled Who-What-Where-When-Why-How journalism.

You should be ashamed of yourselves, but I doubt you are.

It wasn’t a slow news day: With the economy in shambles, our soldiers fighting in two wars, a newly inaugurated president breaking ground in any number of ways, new taxes and spending cuts coming down from Sacramento… There were fifty good stories you could have presented on the front page of your newspaper. But you didn’t.

Shame on you. Shame on you for showing such poor editorial judgment and for trying to exploit your readers’ fears during hard times in a cheesy maneuver to boost circulation. If the San Bernardino County Sun goes belly-up like so many other papers around the country are, don’t blame the internet or bad economy, blame yourselves.

Mark Parker
Banning, CA

Mark has many interesting thoughts fruiting on the vine of his blog. This is a favorite. Take a look around.

UPDATE: Mark received an email apology from the editor of the newspaper:

You’re right. We should not have run that story as the lead in Sunday’s
paper. We’ll do better. Thank you for speaking your mind about it.