Monday’s forum was a good thing

By Bob Belcher

July 01, 2008 07:55 pm

— As I looked out into the crowd at Monday’s public forum on the power plants, I was proud — proud of everyone in the room for coming together and talking about a very hot topic.
The exchange of ideas — some old, some new — and the debate that took place during the evening was a very welcome thing to see for me. I wrote a few months back when the topic of the proposed gas-fired power plants first “became news” that public debate — both pro and con — was sadly missing.
Monday night proved that no longer to be the case, and for all concerned — both pro and con — I truly believe that is a good thing.
The purpose of the event, sponsored jointly by the Corsicana Daily Sun and KAND Radio, was just that — an exchange of ideas and information — both pro and con — in a fairly “rapid-fire” style that allowed more people a chance at the microphone than I was afraid we’d really have given our 90-minute broadcast time.
The only real “score” we were keeping was trying to be balanced, offering as many people on each side of the power plant “fence” the chance to speak. And for the record, all but one of those who signed up to speak against the power plants had their turn at the microphone. There were several more that signed up in favor of the plants that did not get a chance to speak. Still, in my opinion, the scales were as even as could be in the sharing of turns at the podium.
To those who turned out and spoke, thank you. To those that turned out to listen, thank you. And for those who listened to the radio or Internet broadcast on KAND Radio and www.kandradio.com, thanks to you as well!
And, our gratitude as well goes out to the panelists who participated — “Buster” Brown, H.M. Davenport Jr., Byron Cook and Lee McCleary. Thanks for agreeing to sit on the “hot seat” for a couple of hours.
Now — where do we go? Or, more importantly, where does “it” go? The power plant argument, that is.
I hope the debate continues — both pro and con — in a healthy and civil manner.
And, if we need to get everyone back together again, we can talk about that as well.
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And as long as we’re talking about the power plant meeting ...
Our “friends” in the Dallas media get to mark up another one in the “find a negative in a positive” column for their coverage of the meeting Monday night.
The “tease” for WFAA-TV’s coverage of the public forum — “Residents turn out to protest power plants.”
I suppose, in a sense, that is accurate. However, it is extremely misleading and fails to tell the whole story.
As we’ve discussed, both sides turned out to speak their mind.
Wouldn’t a more accurate “tease” have been “Residents meet to debate power plants,” or maybe “Public speaks out on power plants?”
Accurate? Yes.
Sizzle? Not nearly as much as “protest” implies.
Steve Stoler is a solid journalist with a long track record in Dallas TV news. But, he’s got a boss, and most TV bosses are kinda like Starkist Tuna.
“They don’t want stories with good taste, they want stories that taste good.”
How about a Broadway analogy?
They want a story that “accentuates the negative, and all but eliminates the positive.”
Or how about an over-the-counter analogy?
“I’ll take both ointment and suppositories!” When the TV boys come to town, you’d be well advised to have a supply of both.
Well done, Channel 8.
“Ya’ll come back now, ya’ hear?”
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Bob Belcher is Managing Editor of the Daily Sun. His column appears on Wednesdays and Sundays. He may be reached by e-mail at belcher@corsicanadailysun.com.

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