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Letters about Stanton’s plans coming in from around the world
By JIM HARRINGTON
Article published on Thursday, March 22, 2007 |
LARGO – Ever since the day Steven Stanton broke the news that he would undergo a sex-change operation, the newsroom has been flooded with letters to the editor and e-mails.
The number of people wanting to share opinions might not be too surprising, but the fact that so much of the correspondence came from throughout the country and the world attests to the growing power of the Internet.
While most of the comments concerning Stanton’s firing came to the newspaper by e-mail, a church in Massachusetts mailed the newsroom a copy of a letter it sent to the city of Largo decrying its vote to begin the process of firing Stanton. A church affiliated with the United Church of Christ in Boston sent a letter calling upon the city to reconsider its Feb. 27 decision to fire the city’s city manager after he disclosed his plans to
undergo transgender reassignment surgery.
“We are writing as leaders of Old South Church to express our dismay over your vote to dismiss Steve Stanton. Old South Church was founded in 1669, in part by people seeking to escape the religious persecution of the Old World,” reads the letter, signed by representatives of the church.
A letter writer from across the Pacific Ocean took advantage of the newspaper’s Letter to the Editor function.
Bronte Morris, of Brisbane, Australia, writes “It was with great sadness I read about the impending sacking of Steve Stanton because he has identified the desire to undergo gender reassignment.”
Apparently, the writer was unaware that Mayor Pat Gerard and Commissioner Rodney Woods sided with Stanton opposing the commission’s decision to fire him.
“I can only say that as we develop into a more humane and compassionate society, history will record you, the Mayor and community leader, as the person who made a most inhumane decision.”
A writer from Pennsylvania calls on the city commission to lead.
“City Manager Stanton should be evaluated on his work product and his integrity, anything about his personal life or personal choices or sexuality is simply petty, political machinations and would disgrace the moral soundness of elected office. If other staff is distracted by his personal situation they should be taught to focus on their own duties and understand that they only have control over themselves,” wrote Jennifer Leigh Clay Yocom.
The message of a writer from California was typical of some of the letters in the newspaper, threatening a boycott.
“Your decision to terminate Manager Stanton’s employment contract just gives me and many others, another reason never again to visit Florida, spend our dispensable income and contribute to your economy,” writes Troy Lovelace of Palm Springs, Calif.
Another writer, this one from Largo, said Stanton was specifically hired as a man.
“When he was appointed into office by our Mayor we trusted that he is who he said he is, a man, not a woman. Though we would like to believe that gender is not an issue, the truth is, it is. His wife believed she married a man,” wrote Susan Keranen.
Americans in general seem to be more engaged with the news, in touch with the issues that affect their everyday lives whether the issue happened in their own town or across the world.
In a 2003 article in American Journalism Review titled “Surf city: Using technology to enhance the presentation of news,” Thomas Kunkel explained his belief in the power of the Internet, especially as it serves as a news medium.
“If the media really embrace the potential of the Web and other emerging technologies, they can achieve several desired aims in one stroke: produce better, more accessible journalism; engage more citizens in the issues that affect them; and maybe even hook some of those young people who would sooner eat stewed turnips than read a newspaper.”
In a January 2007 report from the Pew Internet and American Life Project, John Horrigan sounds upbeat about the future of news gathering on the Web as it relates to politics.
“The number of Americans who got most of their information about the 2006 campaign on the Internet doubled from the most recent mid-term election in 2002 and rivaled the number from the 2004 presidential election year,” summarized Horrigan, the associate director for research for Pew.
Horrigan also noted that many broadband users (as opposed to dial-up users) use the Internet for their news.
Newspapers, including Tampa Bay Newspapers, long ago realized the importance of encouraging readers to become involved in their Web experience.
At the bottom of many news articles, a box lets a reader e-mail an article to a friend or acquaintance.
“The interactive nature of the Internet allows users to have a ‘hands-on’ relationship their online news experiences in a way that wasn’t possible 10 years ago. Online news consumers can get specialized news alerts or probe online archives; in some cases, they may be asked to pay for these items,” wrote Horrigan in the Internet broadband report.
Stanton requested a public hearing to plead his case. Largo City Commissioners set the meeting for Friday, March 23, 6 p.m.
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Article published on Thursday, March 22, 2007
Copyright © Tampa Bay Newspapers: All rights reserved. |
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Tampa Bay Newspapers
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