Tucson Citizen.com
Caveat Lector - Politics, Government and the Free Press – by Mark B. Evans

TPOA President Larry Lopez compared to Joe McCarthy? Really?

by on Oct. 20, 2009, under Politics

I was doing my usual flipping through the 10 p.m. local news broadcasts and came across a report by KGUN-9 about a protest downtown by various groups wanting the city to fess up on how the Museum of Contemporary Arts managed to get a sweetheart deal from the city for use of the old TFD HQ.

Among those protesting was Tucson Police Officers Association President Larry Lopez, who claimed that the city had rigged the bidding process and that he had a source in the city who told him there had been other, oral bids for the building. But then he refused to say who told him that.

At which point KGUN played a clip lifted from YouTube, of all places, of Joseph Welch’s famous retort to Sen. Joe McCarthy “Have you no decency sir?”

Wow.

I teach a reporting public affairs class at the UA J-school. I teach my students not to use superlatives and hyperbole in their writing. They rarely work and usually make readers, especially educated, savvy, older readers, roll their eyes.

I guess now I’ll have to warn them about using outrageous, sensationalistic, editorializing comparisons of horrible historical characters that are out of context and have no real relevance to the story being reported.

Larry Lopez as Joe McCarthy? Gimme a break.

[I tried to figure out how to get clip the off my DVR and on here so you can see it, but I'm out of time and have to go to the County BOS meeting this morning, so if anyone out there has a link to the clip, send it my way or post it in the comments below]

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 at 8:22 am and is filed under Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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  • tiponeill

    He has a point – “I have a list” is a tactic that McCarthy perfected.
    And KGUN is famous for being sensationalistic yellow journalism, this isn’t new.
    The only thing new is that the scaremongering is aimed at a right wing, rather than a left wing target.
    Doesn’t feel so great, hmm ?

  • ldonyo

    I didn’t realize the city was running an auction, which is the only place I know of where oral bids are accepted, other than swap meets, flea markets and garage sales.
     
    As for hyperbole, Mark, you seem to be the one using it here. I agree with tip’s assessment that the point made by KGUN is valid, if sensationalistically made. KGUN is not, however, drawing a direct comparison to McCarthy. You’re doing that all by yourself.

  • http://pointmantucson.yuku.com/ mike_brewer

    The “secret question,” as Groucho Marx may would invoke, is, who is the landlord of the Tucson Fire Department Building? You all do know, do you not, that, we, the citizens, do not own our public buildings?

    This neither hyperbolic, sensational, nor pumped. It is hard fact, and solid material for an investigative journalist…. if there are any that are not out of work.

    • ado1

      I dunno Mike,  but it looks like the Museum of Contemporary Art must have said the secret word and the duck dropped down and awarded them a real deal.
       
      Now I have a hard enough time with just grammar and syntax  to be worrying about hyperbole and sensationalism here,  however,  if the city is required by law to have bids submitted on vacant property, one has to ask why wasn’t that bidding process followed?  And,  if in the event it wasn’t followed,  what recourse does anyone have who believes they suffered some financial injury as a result of the failure?  Nobody actually likes to see the city fathers operating outside established rules of conduct.
       
      “One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas I don’t know.”   Have you no decency, sir ???

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