Opportunity

Here's an opportunity for our local media to do their jobs.

A study was commissioned to determine if a 60 million dollar "Field House" should be built on the old OmniSource property north of downtown. 

Here's how WANE-15 portrays the funding of the "study":

And here's how the Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne's last remaining daily print journalists, reported on who paid for the "study":

It would be nice if our local journalists could get clarification on who exactly paid for the research and whether taxpayer money was involved.

Why is this important? 

If the City paid for the study, the credibility of the findings of the study/report could be suspect and seen as a justification for moving the project forward.  

On the other hand, if the study/report were paid for by an independent group or organization, those results might be viewed as more "objective".

So, the Maven will wait for the clarification. 

 

Political Activism or Just Plain Whining

WPTA ABC21Alive weather people appear concerned that people's lives will be in danger if the search for government waste and fraud examines/adjusts the National Weather Service budget. 

The story in question can be found here: https://www.21alivenews.com/2025/02/20/concerns-federal-agency-american-public-depends-daily-could-face-doge-cuts/

A local political leader, who brought this story to the Maven's attention, points out that, in their opinion, this story borders on political activism, in that the final paragraph contains a plea from the story's primary source to "to contact your elected officials and make your opinion heard". 

Orignal Thoughts or Astroturf?

Have you ever read the Letters to the Editor in the Journal Gazette, and wondered: "Where do these letters come from"? 

While most of us envision someone sitting at a keyboard, wracking their brain to condense their heartfelt thoughts into a well-written letter full of their own opinions backed up by factual information, it's not. In reality, it's what politicians and media call "astroturfing", manufactured, mass-produced "public opinion" designed to sway the media and their audiences.  

This morning a letter critical of Robert F. Kennedy Jr's nomination as Health and Human Services secretary appeared in print. After reading the letter a few times, the Maven "Googled" a few of the sentences and found something strange. Those words and phrases in the JG letter matched a "write-your-own-letter" template on the MomsRising.org website. Kind of a "cut and paste" way of flooding one's local newspaper with opposition to Kennedy's nomination. 

Here's the letter in the 2/11 JG, the writer's name has been blurred to protect their privacy.

The Maven added the red numbers to correlate with the MomsRising Talking Points below.

Well, here's where it came from:

The Maven is fairly certain this letter will not qualify for the Journal Gazette Gold Pen award for the best Letter to the Editor of the month.