To Ald. Ann Rainey (8th),
As an aspiring journalist and city reporter for The Daily, I want to tell stories not often told. This quarter I’m covering the beat “Other Evanston” – “other” meaning areas of Evanston that are sometimes ignored, the places most Northwestern students don’t think about. This includes Howard Street, along the boarder of Chicago, a part of your ward.
But we could cover this area more accurately and thoroughly, if not for the grudge you’ve held against The Daily for four years, which has kept you from talking to the paper on the record. As Eighth Ward alderman, you are the expert on the Howard Street area. I’ve covered Evanston City Council meetings, and fellow reporter Matt Lopas and I still read your Web site almost every day.
It’s obvious that you are a passionate activist for your ward.
Therefore, your voice belongs in The Daily. The list of reasons why are innumerable, but here are a few:
_Ѣ Without your help, we can’t get all sides of the story. For example, when I wrote about the proposal for a recreation center in your ward, I of course wanted to tell all the angles. But the only government officials I could talk to do not support the recreation center. Is this the only side you want The Daily’s readers to hear?
_Ѣ People from all over the country read The Daily, including NU alumni. They need to hear balanced coverage about city issues, including NU’s lawsuit against Evanston. Wealthy alumni have the power to influence the administration. Don’t you want to tell them why you think NU should pay its fair share?
_Ѣ I have been working on an in-depth story about affordable housing in Evanston. Bob Seidenberg, city editor for the Evanston Review, said you have been an activist for affordable housing since the 1970s. He said you are “really plugged into the community” – more so than other Evanston officials.
_Ѣ Four years is a long time to hold a grudge. The paper’s entire staff has completely changed since then. To get information on the story that caused you to lose trust in The Daily, I had to call reporters, now NU alumni, who were around in 1998.
Without hearing your side of the story, I am only left to assume that this was the chain of events:
In a special section on June 1, 1998, called “Fault Lines,” about Evanston and NU relations, a story about NU not paying taxes included an inflammatory quote from you about the university. Former City Editor Meghan Meyer, Medill ’00, now a reporter for the Palm Beach Post, wrote the story. But she used a quote from an interview another reporter had with you.
I spoke with this reporter, Steven Kiehl, Medill ’99, a former campus editor and now a reporter for the Baltimore Sun. He said that although there “was no question to the accuracy of the quote,” it was taken out of context. He said the quote was not used in the spirit in which it was said. He also mentioned that you never contacted him or The Daily to demand a correction.
You should have. The Daily could have set the record straight.
Today marks World Press Freedom Day 2002, which was established by the United Nations in part to remind government officials to respect the freedom of press.
As an elected government official, it is your duty to submit to reasonable questions so that the people can hold you accountable.
Let your voice be heard.
Assistant City Editor Susan Daker is a Medill sophomore. She can be reached at [email protected].
