Rants & Raves
Here is the full email from Morrisons Cove Herald owner Allan Bassler detailing the "no politics unless local" policy adopted by the Herald effective January 1, 2021. The letter to the editor referenced at the bottom was never printed in the Herald but can be viewed in the Monthly Columns section at sapiww.com.
Allan Bassler <allanbassler@mcheraldonline.com>Tue, Dec 22, 2020 at 10:51 AM
To: Wayne Bush
Cc: Brian Hess <bhess@mcheraldonline.com>
Wayne,
The decision was made. I sent you an email yesterday. I doubt that we will have space for your letter this week, as it’s pretty long.
I’ll paste the content of the email informing you of the policy change below, but in brief, after Jan. 1, 2021, the Herald is only going to publish political opinions if they are local. “Local” is defined as “Morrisons Cove and immediate vicinity,” such as Claysburg, Williamsburg and Hopewell.
I am not ending your column. You may continue to write a monthly column. But no one, including me, will have opinions about national political issues published in the Herald. The only exception will be if there is a clear and direct effect on the Cove, such as an ag bill.
I did get a number of letters regarding this. I was glad to see that. There was a lot of support for your column in the paper. In my replies, I pointed out that readers don’t need the Herald to read your work. (I’m assuming that you are keeping up with posting your writing to your website.)
We’re a local paper. We focus on local news. We’re just extending that to opinions.
Let me know what you’d like to do.
The content of the email is below.
Thank you.
—Allan
————————————————————
Wayne,
I’m writing to let you know that there’s been an important change in the Herald’s policy regarding political content. As of Jan. 1, 2021, we will no longer publish any opinions regarding political matters beyond what is immediately local. This policy affects any commentary on any state, national or international political issues unless there is an unambiguous, clear, direct and definable effect on Morrisons Cove. General musings or opinions about national politics will not be published, in accordance with the Herald’s policy of focusing on local people, businesses and events.
This means that you will have to change much of the content of your column. I understand that this is a big change and that it directly affects you. It also affects Dave Scott, Linda Williams, any incoming letters to the editor and me, the publisher. No opinions about political matters above the immediately local level will be published.
The only political content which will be permitted to be discussed or raised in the Herald’s pages after Jan. 1 will be that which is very local, such as area school boards, boroughs, townships and other government entities. News from the local state senators and local state representatives will still be covered if it is clearly and directly relevant to the Cove. We will still cover local elections but specific election coverage will be limited to the weeks immediately before and immediately after the local election. We will continue our policy of not endorsing candidates.
Note that this change is across the board, from political Left to Right, and from the level of international news on down, stopping at our immediate local governments. No state, national or international political opinion will be published, no matter where it appears on the political spectrum.
There are multiple reasons for this change. First, the Herald is a local newspaper, run to provide local information about those here in Morrisons Cove. We do not write about nor provide information about state, national and international news unless there is a strong and clear effect on the Cove. We have never covered international or national news. Our coverage of state-level issues has been limited to those that have a strong effect on the Cove. We are (logically) extending this limitation on the publication of political opinion. The Herald is a local newspaper, serving a local audience. We are focusing ourselves on that.
Second, comments made to me by phone and by letter have indicated that the publication of opinions on politics above the local level has caused a change in the perception of the Herald. There is a great deal of misinformation being spread and false assumptions being made. Nearly all of this can be attributed to the publication of opinions on national politics. People are making assumptions and making threats. None of this is acceptable.
I rarely receive a letter threatening to cancel a subscription because of something we publish about a local township or school district. I get a letter such as that maybe once or twice a year. But lately, I receive nearly weekly letters or messages threatening the cancellation of subscriptions. These letters — every single one lately — are prompted by the publication of an opinion on national politics. This indicates two things to me very clearly:
1. People are misunderstanding the mission of their local newspaper and
2. It is almost entirely the commentary on national politics that is causing people to cancel their subscriptions.
I came to this policy change after talking with several people whom I respect and after reviewing the comments that came to the Herald following my addition to your column last week. I have come to the conclusion that this policy is logical in light of the Herald’s mission as a local newspaper. We are a local newspaper and we cover only local news. It is logical that our mission would encompass all that we publish, both news and opinion.
Allow me to address head-on what I suspect are your questions regarding this policy change. This is NOT an attempt to get you to retire as a columnist. Your column remains popular and I have never had a problem allowing you to express your opinions from your point of view. Even beyond your column, we have probably printed more letters to the editor from you than anyone else these last few years. This is not an attempt to silence you. Dave Scott is getting this same letter from me, as is Linda Williams.
You had mentioned in the past that you were thinking of hanging up your pen. You may certainly take this opportunity to do so. Let me be clear: I am not telling you that you have to stop writing for the Herald. Your opportunity to write a monthly column for the Herald continues as before. However, after Jan. 1, you cannot write about political matters beyond the immediately local.
You and others have many, many outlets for your opinions. There are many online platforms for you to express your opinions, including your own website. Those who wish to continue to read your opinions on national political matters can read them on your website.
I understand that you will have concerns about this policy. If so, please give me a call.
Thank you.
Best wishes for a merry Christmas season and a prosperous new year for you and your family.
Sincerely,
Allan
—
Did you know that the Morrisons Cove Herald has a website at www.mcheraldonline.com?
It has one for Hollidaysburg, too, at www.hollidaysburgherald.com.
Check them out!
On Dec 22, 2020, at 10:33, Wayne A. Bush wrote:
Guess I'd better get this in before you make a decision.
Wayne
<Herald, Response to Scott's 12-03-20.docx>
Did Comrade Biden defy military advice? Did Gen. Miley pull off the first and only military coup in US history? Republicans oppose raising debt ceiling? Disappearance of "Fight for $15"? Wait, you're against voter ID but FOR vaccine ID? Inept or intentional?
Click on the link to watch the video!
It's hard to feel sorry for the Afghan people. Sorry, not sorry.
For 20 years we've sent them our best trainers and equipment to prepare them for the day when we would leave. They knew that this day would come.
2,500 young Americans gave their lives so that they might taste freedom. Thousands more left their limbs, blood and sanity behind for the same cause.
All we asked them to do was be willing to give up their tribal, ancient, corrupt, caveman mentalities and be willing to fight for that freedom themselves.
And they wouldn't. The Afghan "military" apparently folded like cheap chairs, exchanging their uniforms for their traditional nightshirts before the first Taliban Toyotas even came into view. Even worse, they didn't even destroy the military hardware we gave them and now the enemy has some of the finest killing hardware known to man.
So, I'm at the point where I don't know whether to despise such humans that willingly wasted all that we sacrificed, or just be indifferent and be glad we've finally, finally, cut our losses and got out to leave them to whatever existence they want.
On September 15, 2001 I began a 10 day stretch assigned to Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team III (DMORT III) which had deployed to Somerset County PA to process the remains of those who went down with United Flight 93. My job was to photograph the remains as they went through the ID process.
My partner, Tpr. Chuck Stitt, and I took over 1,000 pictures of what was left -what they could find, what they could sift out of the dirt and pick from the trees- of the human beings that were on United Flight 93.
I said it often during those 10 days and after -and I know it bothered some- that if the president's first name was Wayne instead of George I would have ordered the joint chiefs to present me with a plan to cover every inch of Afghanistan with a nuclear blast radius. Yes, the world would have gasped in horror and it would have accused me of all kinds of things but the message would have been loud and clear and 20 years later we would not be right back at Square 1 with the same enemy armed with the latest military hardware at our expense.
Now, they've beaten us, and they're emboldened. What they've learned is that Osama was right. America does not have the will to fight to win. Our politicians go weak in the knees and worry about what the world might say if the US appears to be too brutal while killing the enemy.
Will an enemy, emboldened with the belief that their god led them to victory over the infidels stop fighting? Hardly, and anyone who thinks as much knows absolutely nothing about their version of Islam.
After my 10 days in that morgue I read everything I could about Islam, including the Quran. I wanted to understand how, why, humans could be so inhuman to other innocents humans. Islam, in its fundamental form, is a viscous religion. Their version of Islam commands them to take their fight to the world until the world is Islamic. All the world.
And now, in their minds, Allah has given them victory in a 20 year battle with the second worst infidels on earth. It is highly unlikely that they'll thank him by minding their own business.
I think America, indeed the world, just became a very much more dangerous place.
Stop Being a Charlie Brown! How many times will you allow yourself to be duped by these global warming alarmists?
Please, OMG, please... stop saying "fully" and, how 'bout this crime wave?
The real reason Comrade Biden failed to mention the anniversary of D Day.
Just who are the actual racists?
No evidence, Really?
No evidence of election fraud? Really Before you just take their words for it at MSNBC, CNN et al, do this simple experiment. Open a Google search page and search for "evidence of election fraud". Then open a duckduckgo search page and do the same, exact search.
See the difference? See what Google is intentionally hiding from you? Now, stop being a dupe and get your own info and make up your own mind.
