Would It Be Too Much To Ask...?

Would it be too much to ask for the Clare County Cleaver to just report the news instead of putting editorial spin in their "news reports"?  Since the beginning of the "continuing saga" (if I read that overused sarcastic tripe in another article...) of the MMM issue, Genine Hopkins and the rest of the editorial staff at the Cleaver seem to feel it's their responsibility to shape opinion and spin the news to put their particular biases in the most positive light and those with whom they disagree in the most negative light.  What happened to the era when responsible journalists just reported the news from all angles and let the reader decide where to come down on an issue?  It's not for nothing that I have in the past referred to the Cleaver as the Michigan Moto Mania PR and Propaganda Rag.

The Cleaver favors the development of Michigan Moto Mania and it is obvious from the reporting.  They seem to be upset with Hayes Township, but not for the reasons they should be upset.  They should be upset with the corruption among the handful of people who govern Hayes Township that the Moto Mania fiasco has brought to light, but really they are upset with the Township for dragging this whole thing out and not allowing Michigan Moto Mania to open.  Where is the investigative reporting on the corruption?  Either they do not want to open that can of worms, or they do not want to know about it, or they know and do not care, because to look into it might cost them a business they're backing.

Clearly they are no fans of the residents of Hayes Township who have been wronged by the Township government, and how dare we speak up for ourselves and defend our property rights when Doug Longenecker just wants to bring in a business to "help" this town... (and, of course, himself)?  The wronged neighbors get the villain edit in the Cleaver.

Even when there was no real news to spin, the Cleaver has managed for the bulk of the summer to keep Moto Mania in the paper on one of the major pages, whether there was anything newsworthy to report or not.  The last two issues they must have been at a loss with nothing going on with Moto Mania to report.  That's been the dryest PR stretch for Moto mania since this "continuing saga" started. 

"Continuing saga" is a swipe (this time) at the Township government for dragging this out.  It's is uaually aimed at the Mostetler Road/Deer Lake neighbors for bringing the lawsuits against Doug Longenecker and against Hayes Township.  (Lawsuits always drag things out.)  After all, the sooner we can dispense with all this foot dragging, the sooner Moto Mania can open and that's what the Cleaver and its employees really want.  "Continuing saga" as used in Cleaver articles is not a neutral phrase.

Even though the meeting on 1 Oct 2010 was "solely to consider whether or not the full board should adopt the Ordinance Modification," (Clare County Cleaver, Special Meeting Of Hayes Township Board Seeks To Find Resolution To MMM/Mostetler Issue, by Genine Hopkins), the headline would lead one to believe that something was actually going to be decided about Michigan Moto Mania at this meeting.  It was a tease, but it kept Moto Mania in the headlines.  Yet Again.

While events surrounding Michigan Moto Mania provided the catalyst for this meeting, the meeting actually had nothing to do with Michigan Moto Mania.  This meeting was about amending the Hayes Township Zoning Ordinance to expand the Zoning Board of Appeals by two members plus an alternate.  Genine did explain the purpose of this meeting in the body of the article.

"One of the speakers," expounded upon in a lengthy paragraph, who "questioned using the attorney general's opinion," citing leagal research she had done, was Genine Hopkins' own unnamed self.  The proponents of Michigan Moto Mania, including the Cleaver and it's staff would like for Lyle to be able to vote twice in the matter (once on the Planning Commission, as he has already done, and once on the Zoning Board Of Appeals, which he has not been allowed to do - this time.  I'm sure the public scrutiny has nothing to do with it.)  They see Lyle's vote as a way to break the deadlock, and since he was one of the unanimous votes on the Planning Commission granting the Special Use on the Gamble-Longenecker property on Mostetler Road, he will surely vote to uphold the decision were he allowed to vote on the Zoning Board of Appeals.  That gives them the outcome they desire, and they are not concerned with impartiality as long as they get what they want.  

To be fair to Genine Hopkins and the Cleaver, this latest article is less biased than most of the other articles about Michigan Moto Mania that she has written and the Cleaver has published.

And before I am accused of being the pot talking to the kettle, I do not pretend to be a news reporter.  I am a concerned person with a family interest in Hayes Township who writes a blog.  I may reside elsewhere for the moment, but Hayes Township will be my home in the not so distant future.  I have a personal interest in seeing the corruption in Hayes Township come to light and cleaned up, as I'll be living there.  I do not hide my personal biases, and as a blogger, I don't have to.  But were I a journalist, I would endeavor to keep my personal biases out of it and just impartially report the news from all sides.  Without the editorial spin.  This is why I am a blogger and not a newspaper reporter.  Maybe Genine should take up blogging.