In an article on the Anchorage Daily News web site, and in Sunday's print edition, ADN writer Sean Cockerham wrote, about Diane Benson's Saturday afternoon speech:
Berkowitz' opponent in the Democratic primary, Diane Benson, said in her speech that she's covered her tattoo and taken out her eyebrow piercing to look like a candidate.
What candidate Benson actually said was:
As candidates we dress for the job, and attempt to look the part while we hope to win. I wonder if I would have gotten a tattoo, or pierced my eyebrow and all those things if I had known I’d run for office someday. To run, I covered the tattoo and took out the eyebrow piercing, but underneath it all what am I? I am a woman who wants to change the face of politics – I want to see women safe, people fed, children educated, and jobs paid well. In my life I left the darkness of despair and walked into the light of hope.
Dear Pat. Dougherty,
Your Sunday web and print editions contain a serious error by one of your best reporters, Sean Cockerham. Please fix it. I'm starting a hearing aid fund for Sean. Would you care to contribute?
Yours Truly,
Philip Munger
Progressive Alaska
11 comments:
"To run, I covered the tattoo and took out the eyebrow piercing..."
Benson pretty much did say what the reporter said that she said. If you have an issue, it has to be that he took the quote out of context, which is something that always happens, especially in politics.
Perhaps it's the reporters selective hearing that you need to start a fund to cure- not his hearing in general.
Peter,
Love the name of your blog! Why didn't I think of that...
Munger has demonstrated that he cares little for the truth, so this idiotic attack on Cockerham is no surprise. Diane said what she said and anyone familiar with the English language knows what she meant. If, in fact, she has not "...cover(ed) the tattoo and took(aken) out the eyebrow piercing...," as she said she did, then she is as much part of the problem as some of her supporters, most prominently Munger.
anon @#3 - I don't know whether or not Cockerham misquoted Benson deliberately, but I really doubt it. His article's inaccurate quote does, however change the meaning of what she did say in a meaningful way. By pointing this out, I am not attacking the writer. Perhaps he misheard what is readily available already on the web, both in print and in audio, at several sites.
You need to turn your snarkdar on, friend...
What is the issue? No tatt's or no piercing? Or no one cares about this simple quote about how she appears.
Phil
I don't get your point. Peter gets it right. But I don't even see the context problem.
We all select the parts of a speech we think are most important. You do it all the time.
If Sean had left out
“But underneath it all, who am I? I am a woman who wants to change the face of politics,” she told the hall. “I want to see women fed and safe, people safe in their homes, children educated and jobs pay well. And in my life I can tell you I did live through the darkness of despair and walked into light of hope."
it would have left out important context. But you seem (based on what you bolded) to be concerned that he left out
"I wonder if I would have gotten a tattoo, or pierced my eyebrow"
By itself it implies "would I have done these things, but I didn't". But with the rest of the sentence "if I had known I’d run for office someday" it says, to me anyway, that she did have a tattoo and piercing.
Could you explain what important point Sean lost by leaving that out? I think his hearing is fine.
Sorry, Phil, this seems much ado about nothing. It's clear to me that he paraphrased her accurately.
I'd have to agree with everyone above. It seems quite clear that Ms. Benson said she covered her tat and took out the eyebrow piercing (I wish she'd left it in... man that would be kick ass!) so she could run as a candidate. Which is fine. I wear things to work every day that I'd never wear outside of work.
Much more important than whether or not Cockerham paraphrased her correctly (he did) is the Alaska Report photo of Diane. Is it just me or is that a weird photo?
I was there and it sounded just like the reporter mentioned it.
Yes, that picture is awful. She looks like a religious preacher of some sort.
You are off-base on this one: the report is a simple paraphrase of what she said. I was a delegate at the convention and our district group (men and women age 40s - 70s, but we live in the real world and tats and piercings are not unheard of to us) admired her speech, admired the way she was up-front about the tats and brow piercing, and above all admired her for running when no one else showed up. Stop being so "sensitive" - it calls the rest of your reporting into question.
BTW - you were right about the less than universal reaction to Berkowitz call to "stand for change". It felt (to me) like a manipulated moment in which you could not refuse to stand (unless you were opposed to change) and one which was interpreted on another blog as a standing ovation, but if so, it was on for change, not necessarily for Berkowitz.
The two speeches left me undecided - I found Benson's speech more inspirational and it resonated with me personally, but Berkowitz was more specific and detailed. It left me wanting to learn more about each candidate. Your blog could be a resource, but not if you make out of scale reactions to other blogger/reporters comments.
thank you
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