03-10-06

Hi friends, this is Harry Blalock; General Manager for radio stations KZMI & KCNM. It's that time once again to take a look at the issues of the week, and to offer some Food For Thought.

I know there are those who are waiting to see how I'm going to respond to the letters to the editor that appeared in the Marianas Variety earlier this week. It is important that you realize who wrote these letters, and that will help you to understand why they are saying the things they are. One of them is Ana Demapan Castro's son, and the other is her niece. So even though they may have written the letters themselves, I think it's pretty easy to recognize where the attitudes, accusations and disrespect come from. Somebody is very upset that she has lost her ability to pay herself ridiculous amounts of money for nothing, and travel all over the world on the government's dime. And since she realizes that she has lost the battle, and may now be facing criminal charges over some of the things she has done, I'm sure she is spouting off at the family dinner table, and we're hearing the results of these tirades through her family members. It's quite pathetic actually, but not surprising.

What I find even more pathetic though is that the Marianas Variety has volunteered to be a venue for such hate mongering, slander and personal attacks. Not that this is anything new from this newspaper; in fact they've been sued over it several times in the past. They can't seem to figure out where the line between discussing issues and name-calling and personal attacks is. But they also seem to be having a hard time differentiating between a joke and a legitimate news story as well these days. And even after it has been pointed out to them that the story was bogus, they still continued to use it to pit Tinian senators against the Governor. The question then arises, is this more than just sloppy and irresponsible reporting? Is this newspaper intentionally setting out to distort the facts, and sway public opinion against the current administration at any cost? There have been enough examples of completely distorted stories in that newspaper lately to make you question just how much of what you read you can actually believe.

And if you're never really sure whether you can believe what you're reading, then why bother reading it in the first place? A businessman friend of mine was telling me that after he heard about what the Variety did with the story about the Governor relocating the adult entertainment industry to Tinian, that he called the Variety and cancelled his subscription and all his advertising with the paper. I then realized that this was the only thing that made any sense. Why pay good money to subscribe to a newspaper you don't ever know if you can believe? Since then I've talked to several other businessmen who have told me the same thing, they refuse to advertise in the Variety because they don't appreciate their particular brand of "journalism". If enough people send a message that this kind of reporting, and these personal attacks are inappropriate and not acceptable, and cancel their subscriptions and advertising, the newspaper will either get the message, or go out of business. But that's what it will take, simply talking to them or sending a letter to the editor will just be ignored, unless you happen to line up with their particular views.

Because of the fact I am never sure whether the stories are factual or accurate or not, I have decided to no longer read any stories from the paper on Island Issues, and I have cancelled our subscription to the paper, even though they keep delivering it for some reason.

Regarding those letters and their authors, when you consider the source and realize who they are both related to, it all makes sense, and sounds very reminiscent of Ana Demapan Castro's rambling and racist speech at the public hearing in front of the legislature. She let everyone know exactly what kind of person she was that day, and her son and niece have done the same thing with their letters. Of course I could say more on the issue, but frankly, none of them are worth the time or breath. I'm sure that they will come firing back with more slander and absurd accusations, but thankfully, I will not have to read it, since I've cancelled my subscription. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying there's not a place for such a publication on Saipan, it's just that I happen to believe the proper place for it is the garbage can.

I'm Harry Blalock, thanking you once again for giving me a generous slice of your valuable time, and allowing me to share my Food For Thought.