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Tuesday, May 8, 2012

email from The Gardner News to Julie re: Darren's letter to the editor

Subject: Letter
Date: Mon, 7 May 2012 16:50:06 -0400
From: smarcotte@thegardnernews.com
To: j_farrell@hotmail.com

LetterMs. Farrell,
Regarding the letter to the editor from Mr. Elwell, we decided not to run with it based on some of the content and the timing as the election approached. Specifically, the comments against the current board chairman would not be appropriate. We try our best to avoid letters regarding an election close to the date.
As always, we welcome any feedback.
Thanks,
Steve
Steve Marcotte
Assistant Editor
The Gardner News
309 Central St.
Gardner, MA 01440
978-632-8000 Ext. 31

Talk about bias - discrimination etc etc - I say we all go one day/week/forever with not buying TGN and if you have a subscription cancel it. - PHC

7 comments:

  1. I say we ALL call the # listed, 632-8000 ext.31, and tell him how you really feel and how you will no longer be buying the paper or advertising in it.

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    Replies
    1. I just emailed S. Marcotte at the Gardner News and told him what I thought of their coverage of the situation in Templeton. They'll print the ridiculous letter from Jay Skelton (of course, he paid to have that in the paper), but not the respectful, well-written letter from Darren Elwell. Obvious bias. I will not spend my money on the Gardner News. I hope others will either call or email and let them know how they feel.

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  2. Bias isn't the word! Only started buying TGN when all this political mess came to a head in Templeton so I'd have an idea what was going on. Of course, I had to remind myself it was TGN reporting so everything would be one-sided (the wrong side) so now I guess I can stop buying it again after this week--I do want to see their side of why the Templeton voters made the choices we made.
    Mr Elwell, you wrote a very good letter to the editor and it should have been printed. Thank you for all your work.

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  3. I just sent this in to the paper. I doubt thay will print it, but it's worth a try.


    To the Editor of the Gardner News:
    As a resident of the Town of Templeton, I would like to make a comment concerning the political landscape in my town and the response of the Gardner News.
    The Gardner News refused to print a letter to the editor submitted to the Gardner News by Mr. Darren Elwell. I have seen a copy of this letter. The letter was concise, coherent, well written, and critical of the then current Board of Selectmen in town, mainly the chairman, Mr. Bob Columbus. It touched on the fact that more people have been attending Board of Selectmen’s meetings and voicing their opinion’s as well as questioning the Board’s decisions.
    The Gardner News has recently stated that Mr. Elwell’s letter was not printed because of the timing of the submission as well as the content of the letter. My question is this. Why would a self-proclaimed “community newspaper” refuse to print this letter? Was it for political reasons, was the Gardner News trying t un-officially back Mr. Columbus’ failed re-election campaign? If this is the case, the paper should be honest with its readers and subscribers and say this. If Mr. Elwell had submitted an advertisement with the same exact verbage in it, but accompanied by a check written out to the Gardner News, would it have been printed when it was submitted? Would the timing have been okay then?


    Philip Brooks
    Templeton, MA

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  4. Not a very convincing response! Mr. Kent and Mr. Curtis both had content in their letters to the editor a week prior directly related to the election!

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    1. I have no respect for any of the reporters at the Gardner News. I told them through this blog they had picked the wrong side. They should not have picked any side at all. They should have been fair and balanced. What don,t they under stand. Same thing goes for the Telegram. I wrote a nice letter to the editor. I almost begged her to cover Templeton. I told her, we as a town had no voice. I was disapointed to say the least. I guess that shows the power of the internet. Thank you Pauly, we would have been dead in the water,{kind of like Daffy Duck} with out your blog. We all have to give alot of credit to Sue. I know this has been hard on her too. We can kiss the GN good bye, but we need some coverage. Maybe the Athol paper, if they replace {you know who}. Bev

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  5. I put one last ad in the Gardner News to thank everyone. That is it for me and any business dealings with the Gardner News.

    Julie Farrell

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