“Candidates go head to head” was the headlining article in the October 10th Athabasca Advocate. What an odd choice of title to describe the all candidates forum hosted by the Athabasca Chamber of Commerce.
I was there, along with many others, watching and listening. I saw Athabasca residents concerned enough about the future of our town to become candidates in this municipal election. I also saw courtesy and civility, respect for the audience in attendance, and a few moments of good-natured nervousness. I heard diverse views and thoughtful responses to the questions posed. This event was not a political debate, nor was it a conversation or discussion among candidates; it was a moderated panel question-and-answer session.
At no time did candidates ever “go head to head.” To suggest so implies confrontation among the candidates. There was none. The candidates did not even address one another directly; instead, they sat across the stage side-by-side, shoulder-to-shoulder, considerately passing the microphones up and down the line, responding to questions presented by the moderator. One by one, to a time limit. Nope, no head-to-head candidate stuff going on here.
While most of the article reported the events and quotes accurately, the title gave a different slant on the evening’s activities. That’s unfortunate. Partly because it cast the evening as something other than what it was, and partly because newspaper articles become—for better or worse—part of the public record of a community. So such things as skewing the tone of an event by using a sensationalized title concerns me. I’m certain that those in the newspaper industry can give a host of reasons as to why they report the way they do. To that, I can add one more—one of the primary purposes of newspapers is to sell newspapers. As many as possible.
So, as we move forward with the next town council, and as we as a community hold those we elected to account for their words and actions, let’s also keep an eye and ear out for how these activities are being reported back to us. Fresh start, anyone? One, two, three, GO!
Respectfully,
Carol Schafer
Athabasca, AB
