Cincinnati Enquirer editor Tom Callinan defended the controversial "Grandma In Iraq" blog on his paper's Web site, which has drawn both support and criticism for its pro-military views. Callinan stressed that the blog, written by a U.S. Army public affairs officer, is not under control of the newspaper's editorial staff, and called its existence "a very complicated issue."
"We are trying to do the right thing," Callinan told E&P Thursday, noting that the Web site had recently changed the description of the blogger, Suzanne Fournier, to clearly state she is a military spokesperson. "She never hid the fact that she worked for them," he asserted. "But we did not put a disclaimer at the top, we had overlooked that. We have now corrected it."
Supporters, however, contend that such a Web page is what blogging is all about -- giving space to opine. "Readers are intelligent folks, if the person is clearly labeled, I would not have a problem with it," said Jeff Fruit, director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Kent State University.
Callinan said the blog was created after the Enquirer did a story about local troops going to Iraq and found Fournier working over there. "We thought it was interesting that a 61-year-old grandmother would be in Iraq," he said, stressing that the Web site invited her to blog. "She did not seek us out."
Callinan stressed, however, that the blog is a separate entity from the Enquirer. He pointed out that, while both are on Cincinnati.com, the blog and the Enquirer's Web site, are separate. "There are a lot of things on the Cincinnati.com portal that our newsroom is not generating," he added. "This one was just one more voice."
As for Fournier, she has not responded to requests from E&P for comment. But she addressed the issue with a sharp defense on the blog late Wednesday.
"Gosh, I had no idea my blog would stir up such strong voices. I truly do believe in freedom of speech and expression, but may I ask you to be tolerant, courteous and respectful of each other's opinions?" she wrote. "I want to take a few moments to clear up misinformation posted about my blog recently. There was never an attempt on my part or on the part of the Cincinnati Enquirer to hide the fact that I am a public affairs officer and that my profession is communication."
Fournier then posted several newspaper stories from 2005 that mention her and note her military title. "This isn't about me, the real heroes over here are the soldiers and the Iraqi people," she added. "I believe we need to support all Coalition forces and their families."
No comments:
Post a Comment