Document text
0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Shakespeare Books owner buys antique store ... Free 'Era of Megafires' presentation Monday at SOU ... Charcoal briquettes dumped in trash can likely cause of Talent house fire ... Shakespeare Books owner buys antique store ... Free 'Era of Megafires' presentation Monday at SOU ... Charcoal briquettes dumped in trash can likely cause of Talent house fire ... LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters to the Editor, Sept. 8 Comment DailyTidings.com Writer Posted Sep. 8, 2016 at 12:01 AM Posted Sep. 8, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Social News Saddened by closure I was so deeply saddened to read that Shakespeare Books & Antiques will be closing in October. While Judi Honoré may be leaving downtown Ashland, those customers who have enjoyed her lovely bookstore can take heart in knowing she will be in Ashland's Railroad District as the newest proprietress of Ashland Recycled Furniture. Congratulations, Judi, and good luck! Christopher Johnson Ashland A golden opportunity It would appear that the OSF has a golden opportunity to expand their mission. My suggestion is to open an OSF-approved book store. There just happens to be a great location available just across the street. They could call it P.C.'s. Tony Pippel Ashland News? Today we ostensibly have 24/7 instant access to propaganda and news, but unfortunately the former is often disguised as the latter and the latter is often missing vital parts. All major media outlets (TV, radio and newspapers) are now owned by six conglomerates. Even PBS is tainted by their money. And these are the same Big Money forces that buy "our" politicians right and left. We are in a no-news wasteland surrounded by inanities, soundbites and talking heads. In-depth news reporting is missing, and vital information is withheld from us. For instance: We should be hearing more from Jill Stein and Gary Johnson, who are serious contenders for the presidency — not just the Democrat and the Republican. We should be hearing more about global warming as Earth is now warming at a pace unprecedented in 1,000 years and 2016 is already slated to be the hottest year on record. We do have one independent news program that offers in-depth reporting, and that is Democracy Now!. But we need more — because Americans are generally not well informed. And an uninformed or misinformed public is easily manipulated and does not vote in its own best interests. Lee Lull Talent Fed up with talking heads It takes a political season to confirm to what depths cable news has sunk. The talking heads are driving me crazy. I’m not longing for the good old days of, say, a trusted Father Cronkite summarizing the news every night at 6 o’clock. And I do like cable’s ability to take us to the news as it’s happening, 24/7. What I miss is actual reporting and incisive analysis, both of which are in short supply on most cable news shows. There are exceptions to the shouting commentators and to the banal “breaking news” segments repeated every 30 minutes. Fareed Zakaria’s excellent Sunday morning show on CNN comes to mind. However, for the most part, what you find masquerading for reporting and analysis of politics on cable news today are videos of rallies and speeches, followed by a table or two of surrogates for the candidates, arguing with each other and spewing talking points. When candidates themselves are interviewed, many of the questions they’re asked never get answered. The interviewers give up too easily. Maybe all the squawking talking heads is a result of the idea of “news as entertainment” that pervades the airwaves. Maybe it’s easier and cheaper to produce. I like newspapers. Newspapers have news, opinion, analysis, and entertainment, all clearly identified. But you don’t find opinion or talking points sneaking into a news story in a good newspaper. Some people say newspapers are dying. I hope not. I’ll take a good newspaper any day over a noisy cable news program with its superficial, opinion-laden content. Did I mention? The talking heads are driving me crazy. Jim Flint Ashland The latest drama The latest drama in town seems to be at Shakespeare Books. According to the article about the upcoming closure of the bookstore, owner Judi Honoré cites “declining sales and the stress of a squabble with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival” as her reason for closing. She goes on to state that sales are down 40 percent since Cynthia Rider’s letter on July 26 stating, among other things, OSF would no longer make festival-related purchases at the bookstore. While an OSF boycott could cause financial hardship if it were a big purchaser at the bookstore, OSF Communications Director Julie Cortez explained in an email that “OSF has only made one for two small purchases for festival use (at the bookstore) over the years,” Clearly a boycott by OSF would not have a significant financial impact on the bookstore’s bottom line especially since it was a private boycott until Honoré chose to go to the media. In reading the letters and opinion pieces, it is fairly clear there is a perception that OSF is the big bad wolf throwing its weight around against the underdog bookstore.However , OSF is clearly not causing financial hardship nor did they initiate the public dispute. If the bookstore is losing money it may be for other reasons. Did none of those people who filled 54 signature pages of protest buy something? Once again, I feel that the reason for the dispute, a perception of racism on the part of people of color in our community, has been lost in the discussion of banned books, censorship, OSF and now closure. I did my own unscientific study by asking a few friends who are people of color in other cities (D.C., Tucson) what they thought of a banned book display showing "The Wizard of Oz" and "Little Black Sambo" together when "The Wiz" was in town. The responses ranged from “Are you kidding me?” to “Duh!” to “Really, somebody did that?" My friends live in cities that have diverse populations. While I don’t believe the original display was intentionally racist, the reinstatement of the display was an informed decision to ignore the perception of black people in our community. Perhaps if we had more people of color in our city, the published and spoken opinions wouldn’t be so one-sided, as if majority rule applies in this case. Perhaps if we listened when the four black actors originally spoke up and pointed out the racial implication of the bookstore display, there would be a larger response from people of color now. Ashland has taken steps in community meetings to deal with unpacking racism, and this issue is another opportunity. I agree with Honoré, it is stressful to deal with these issues. White privilege shields us from having to deal, but choosing to lower the shield and face the issues can ultimately enrich us and our community. Elizabeth Fairchild Ashland DailyTidings.com Writer Posted Sep. 8, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... Business Name address Location, ST | website.com Find Southern Oregon Attractions Bars Restaurants Beauty Salons Entertainment Doctors Medical Specialists Contractors Education Lawn Services Lawyers Shopping Travel Tanning Used Cars Wedding Services ▼ Add your business here + Events Calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2016 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. DailyTidings.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501