Findlay, Ohio, not happy with Eli Saslow

Apparently, the local paper there feels like he made the town look like a bunch of rubes in a recent story:

http://www.thecourier.com/opinion/editoral/2008/Jul/01/ar_ed_070108.asp?d=070108,2008,Jul,01&c=e_0

It looks to us like Saslow came here looking for a specific type of interview to make his story. He picked his neighborhood, and he drew his conclusions exactly the way he'd decided in advance to do.

The original Washington Post piece:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/29/AR2008062901871_pf.html

 

I thought Saslow's piece did a great job of balancing "the two Obamas" and what people are thinking.

Thought it was hilarious that the editorial all but said, 'Well, he is a Muslim."

 

That editorial did more to make the Post's point than Saslow's story.

I mean, seriously, the line "Let us again state unequivocally that while he has Muslim roots ..." isn't even coded language, it's flat out Muslim bogeyman stuff.

 

lol, that's my hometown. I didn't catch the WaPo article. I will now!

The area is about 95% white.

The newspaper used to be called The Republican Courier.

 

I loved the reader comments after the Courier's feeble news story and lame editorial. Consensus was that Findlay is way worse than that Post guy wrote.

 

Reminds me of Tom Petty's comment to me a while back.

I wrote about a guy who bitched about my column. He wrote to say I won because no one would remember his response.

If anything, the paper's calling attention to Eli Saslow's story only drives more attention to Saslow's work. Not that his getting more attention is a bad thing, but whatever they intended backfired.

 

Maybe I am in the minority, and it isn't just about this piece, but I never thought Saslow was any good.

I remember him writing a 35 inch story on a "talent scout" from Scout.com a few years ago making the guy out to be some sort of recruiting guru. Saslow forgot to mention the guy has zero respect from most college coaches and also has a lengthy criminal record.

 

So you came to the conclusion that he wasn't any good based on one story?

The Post's "Why We Compete" series was as good as anything a sports department has done over the last 12 months. As was Eli's Wash Post Magazine story about the son of a Redskins assistant coach who had a brain injury.

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/why-we-compete/

Sorry, but you're wrong on this one.

 

Yep, you're in the minority, and for damn good reasons.

 

Sorry. Harlan blows him away.