By: Diane Benjamin
A few weeks ago the Pantagraph deleted and closed comments on a Letter to the Editor critical of Mayor Renner’s plans to redevelop downtown. http://blnnews.com/2015/11/05/pantagraph-reaches-a-new-low/
Yesterday a story about downtown redevelopment appeared – No Comments Allowed.
The Pantagraph is a private company, so they can do whatever they want.
However,
citizens have a right to know their media source is actively working with the City of Bloomington against you. One of the developers wants public money to buy and turn the Pantagraph building into a hotel. That makes the Pantagraph reporting bias at best, even highly unethical.
The Pantagraph doesn’t want you measly peons throwing a money-wrench in the plans to unload their vastly under utilized building. It’s been for sale for years with no buyers. Enter Bentley begging for your money and the downtown drooling mayor – the Pantagraph is attempting to score a win. Putting taxpayers on the hook is immaterial.
Instead of relocating to a smaller building, the Pantagraph should close up shop. The Pantagraph is actively working with government instead of holding them accountable.
Welcome to State run media!
(If you haven’t figured it out, the story was done to pave the way for the Bentley plan.)
There were a few comments very early in the morning around 6 am or so. Later in the day when I checked I saw the firewood starting paper website removed the comments.
Seems like they want to run the show and they do have that right since it is their website. I think it is cowardly myself. I can’t think of any news website that doesn’t allow comments. Maybe in Russia and China that would be acceptable.
I have a relative a number of years ago who started their own HVAC business and they wanted to run an ad in that newspaper and he couldn’t believe what they wanted to charge him. I suppose if you are a monopoly business you can do that.
Comments on WJBC stories are frequently not allowed either.
I couldn’t have said it better! ,
Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE smartphone
Do you publish every comment left on your site?
I’m holding 1 that I traced to an elected official – extremely vulgar. If the language isn’t fit for publication it doesn’t get approved – that’s maybe happened twice. I’ve banned one person for ridiculous comments that went on and on and on – other than that YES.
That firewood starting paper in my opinion is so far behind in technology that it isn’t funny. All of the news websites I visit now make commenters log into Facebook or some other reputable site in order to post.
I remember once or several times they couldn’t deliver during the winter. My mother subscribes to this worthless paper so they posted where you could log in and view the newspaper. It came in a PDF format. Very cumbersome and hard to read. I was like what am I supposed to do print this off to read it. Most of what they do print has already been reported by other news agencies. What a waste.
I checked out her Likes on FB. It was pretty pathetic how all the posts were identical on all three sites. She should try to be more creative but she’s just plain Stupid Lazy. These sites are a fraud orchestrated by the city government in our dime. What waste!