behind the news

“Fire ’em All!”

June 9, 2004

We’ve already done one post today about irascible readers who are so skeptical of the press that they question the credibility even of C-Span, which is basically a comment-free video transcription of whatever is in front of its cameras.

But comes now one Willie Strelnik, of Lakeland, Fla., who may win the prize for the reader most disgruntled with just about everyone.

On Tuesday, The Tampa Tribune mistakenly ran an editorial about the Tampa Bay Lightning’s heartbreaking loss of the Stanley Cup — even though the team had just won it.

The newspaper quickly apologized, and publisher Gil Thelen explained that editors had two editorials prepared — one for if the Lightning lost, another for if the team won — and basically pushed the wrong button as the newspaper rushed to print with news of the victory on page one.

That wasn’t enough for Strelnik. He equated the error with what he sees as a persistent bias in the Tribune‘s news pages, taking particular note of a Tribune story that observed that some have called for resignations in the Bush administration over problems in Iraq.

To Strelnik’s conspiratorial eye, it’s all of a kind — calling for Donald Rumsfeld’s resignation, and getting it wrong about who won the Stanley Cup.

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“I request, no demand, that your entire editorial staff resign, along with the editor,” Strelnik wrote.

As of press time, the Tribune had yet to comply.

–Steve Lovelady

Steve Lovelady was editor of CJR Daily.