YOU CAN HELP
Albert Flores
Deserves
A Second
Chance
Unjust Firing
At KENS And E-N
RG Griffing,
SAL Commentary
Copyright 2002 San Antonio
Lightning
Albert
Flores should get his TV job back, and with your help
that can happen.
The
Lightning is mounting a campaign to return Albert to
the airwaves. More about that later in this column.
But
first...
*
* *
Albert
Flores screwed up; no question.
Who
among us hasn't? We certainly have. How about you?
Yes,
Albert broke the widely touted 'sacred trust' of all
journalists not to filch copy from one another. Yes,
he has been shamed by the Express-News and KENS TV,
those paragons of virtue. Yes, Albert has paid
expensively for his mistakes.
Albert
Flores screwed up.
*
* *
But
so, too, did his editors at the Express-News. Only
difference is, they still have jobs. Albert doesn't.
Albert
got thrown to the wolves. He didn't deserve it.
As
his former "colleagues" took the
opportunity to spout off about their integrity and
honesty and such, they redirected the spotlight of
shame.
Without
even a trial, Albert got a 30-year sentence; to be
served retroactively with no time off for good
behavior.
His
almost third-of-a-century record of community service
and popularity were completely ignored.
*
* *
Also
completely ignored is the poor job of editing done by
the folks at E-N, and their cowardice in not
accepting any of the responsibility.
The
Lightning revealed in earlier articles that problems
had cropped up over the accuracy of facts in one of
the Flores E-N columns as far back as early July.
"We stand
by our story," E-N night editor Paul Hill said.
He added that he didn't have time to look into the
facts of the story, as he was preparing the paper for
a new edition.
The Lightning
asked the big question, on July 10th:
"You're
not going to check these facts?"
"Not
right now," the editor said.
"If
we have to run a correction, we will," he added.
That
belated correction, in part, came when Flores was
fired by the Express-News. 8 days later KENS TV did
the same.
*
* *
Ask any E-N
advertiser what an over-priced column inch at the
Express-News is sold for, and you will quickly figure
out that Flores was, indeed, well compensated, with
publicity--4 times a week.
What do you
think that exposure would cost YOU, Mr merchant?
Rivard
continues:
"Yes, the
Express-News would fire anyone — myself, a
columnist, a reporter — caught purloining the
work of others and passing it off as our own."
Does Rivard
forget that an E-N sports reporter was caught
stealing copy from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram a
couple of years back? The writers name was Krugle,
and he got to keep HIS job. Krugle quit about six
months later. (Click For Article)
Does
Rivard forget, or is he just fibbing to an audience
that he and his elitist publication think is too
stupid to realize that he is rewriting history?
Add
to this Rivard's refusal to apologize to the man
who's work was stolen.
It
is an ethical lapse on Rivard's part, worse than that
of Albert Flores, we think.
To
steal Rivard's own words from an old column, "good newspapers admit their errors
with the same fanfare that accompanies their
accomplishments."
Intellectual
honesty? That's what we are talking about here.
Rivard has
broken that trust which he seeks so hard to appear to
possess.
If Albert got
fired for dishonest prose, then, so too, should
Rivard be dismissed.
To steal yet
another phrase, "live by the sword, die by the
sword."
* * *
Editors are
the gatekeepers of any publication. That is an
editor's primary function. If nothing else, these
past and present "lapses" show how the
system at the E-N doesn't work.
How many other
unknown times has it broken down?
We cannot
know, and the E-N ain't sayin'.
They are quick
enough to claim the credit for their successes. They
should not be allowed to weasel their way out of
failures.
*
* *
Still
the fact remains that Albert screwed up, and was,
therefore, thrown to the wolves.
Albert's
many good deeds far outstrip his few bad ones.
We
can only hope that our tombstones can truthfully
claim such a distinction when the time comes for
chisel to meet granite. We shall see.
Albert
has a community record that few, if any, can equal.
He
is not a saint, but he is a provably good person.
*
* *
There
is no question that Albert deserves a second chance
at KENS TV, and we at the Lightning are going to do
our best to make that happen.
Clearly,
he does not belong at the Express-News because of the
editorial flaws that allow tainted information to be
published. He is obviously a meteorologist, a good
one; but he is not a journalist.
*
* *
Here's
how you can help.
Listed
below are the office numbers for Express-News and
Kens TV big wigs. They have claimed to seek your
input on important matters. Lets take advantage of
that invitation.
Please
call these numbers between the hours of 9AM and 5PM.
Robert Rivard / E-N / 250-3111
Bob McGann / KENS TV / 366-5000
Ext 200
Be
polite, but be firm. Be persistent. If they tell you
to stop calling, stop. You will know then that they
don't care.
Mr
Rivard needs to understand that he is not fooling the
readers who buy his papers.
Mr
McGann needs to realize that he must listen to the
viewers that pay his salary; the same public who's
airwaves carry his signal.
Tell
them how you feel. They need to know. Tell your
friends to do the same.
This
is a ratings period for KENS TV. Should you get a
call from a polster, or if you keep an official
diary, do not mention KENS, if they leave Albert
hanging. Instead mention another station of your
choice. We have many fine outlets. Maybe Albert can
find a home at one of these.
Your
newspaper subscription is also a way to vote. A
boycott just might get some attention in the upper
offices of the E-N. Tell them to shape up. As our
only printed daily newspaper, they have added
obligations.
*
* *
If
you want to email comments to the Lightning, please
click Editor@SanAntonioLightning.Com
We will publish them
all. Please include full names. These emails will be
forwarded to the Express-News and KENS TV.
Albert deserves a
second chance.
Let's give it to
him.
* * *
Write To The Editor
Copyright 1999-2003
RG Griffing Publications
