MEDIA REPORTS

After A Lovely Stay, We Bid A Fond Farewell...

2010-02-12T07:03:00.006-06:00

"Since Freud, the center of man is not where we thought it was; one has to go on from there...." - Jacques Lacan

Well, we knew all along that the the end of the road was up ahead. Up ahead is now before us. It is with some strange smidgen of sadness that we today announce the completion of this Blog's journey.

This has been a bit more interesting than we envisioned back in November, when we began our drive across the Rio Grande Valley Journalism geography. It allowed us a bit of study time, of time we used to gauge the service RGV reporters are - and aren't - providing for the region's citizenry.

We leave knowing that there are a handful of Journalists doing the job, and the larger portion still struggling with the tenets of the craft. Maybe that's all we can expect down here. Who really knows? We must add that our opinion of The McAllen Monitor changed over the long weeks - for the better. Our experience with area television news was not as beneficial. With rare exception, the work of both Action 4 News and Channel 5 News fell below the bar. One (Action 4 News) wraps itself in something we can only call mediocrity, and the other (Channel 5 News) can never muster the will or effort to maintain altitude when it does get to the high reaches of reporting. Perhaps that will change somewhere down the road.

In any case, accept this as a 90-day (180-some postings!) assessment of what you have available as sources for news & information in the magical Rio Grande Valley. What you have in the way of Journalism is not the best in the country, although it is not the worst, either.

My chief writing project has been neglected for too long. Now, it's time to get back home...

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Return Of The Superstar: Brownsville Herald Investigative Reporter Emma Perez-Trevino Reclaims Her High Ground...

2010-02-11T10:44:00.003-06:00

Given time and resources, most Rio Grande Valley newspaper reporters would bring readers the occasional spectacular piece of Journalism. Case in point: Reporter Emma Perez-Trevino's superb contribution to today's edition of The Brownsville Herald.

Headline: BISD trustee, county candidate not certified doctor

Perez-Trevino's initial paragraphs: A longtime school board member and candidate for county commissioner who for years has listed his credentials as "Dr." and "M.D." is neither a medical doctor nor a Ph.D., The Brownsville Herald has found.

A trustee of the Brownsville Independent School District since 2003, Enrique Escobedo Jr., who is seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination for Cameron County Pct. 2 commissioner in March, has used the "Dr." and "M.D." designations with his name since at least 2002, the Herald investigation shows.

Escobedo maintains that he obtained his medical degree in 2000 from the Universidad del Noreste in Tampico, Mexico.

We believe that noise you hear rising from far-eastern Cameron County is the sound of hollow political walls crumbling. And what a wonderful, much-needed sound it is. Indeed, there should be more of of that uplifting, lying-heads-to-the-walls chin music. Perez- Trevino, an investigative reporter we recently criticized as being a bit slow to pull the trigger lately, has once again flexed her reporting muscles to serve her community. The story, found online at brownsvilleherald.com, is a literal trip through the world of posturing and fact-finding. The politician she subjected to the truth serum postured; Perez-Trevino nailed him with the facts. Her story looks sound and is well-written, questions posed and answered with every dramatic paragraph. It will be interesting to see what this Border Politician will do next.

May we suggest a round of applause for this worthy reporter? Absolutely! Two, even...

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Reporting Food: From Great Burgers To Missing Elvis To A Gorgeous, Quaint Mexican Eatery...

2010-02-11T09:01:00.004-06:00

A few days ago, McAllen Monitor reporter Jared Taylor ventured into Edinburg to write a piece on a neat eatery, King's Hamburgers. That was followed by a report in this morning's edition by reporter Jeremy Roebuck on Lone Star BBQ in Mission, where, it seems, someone snatched the cafe's talking Elvis statue. It's a gray, rainy Thursday, so indulge us.

Reading stories about out-of-the-way restaurants is always a treat. And we generally stick to the reliable cafes out of some sense of pushing civilization onward. But there are times when going back a bit is not so bad. In the Rio Grande Valley, where the Mexican culture eventually silences even the most popular of better-known chain restaurants, exploring the quaint is yet another unique joy in this part of the country.

Yesterday, we stumbled into a place called Zamora's Restaurant on N. 23rd Street in McAllen. This should be said: There is nothing glamorous in the smallish, block-constructed building, but it does throw the genuine language, music and food of the region at you - proudly and with unrestrained relish. We won't offer a breakfast-lunch-dinner rundown of the menu items. Suffice it to say that it is a traditional Mexican restaurant, all-ethnic and, yeah, so what? (We had the chicken tacos and they were delicious, as was the black coffee.)

What we read in reporter Taylor's story about the employees at King's Hamburgers, as well as from Roebuck on the crew at Lone Star BBQ, sat well with us. We are not among the mob that says wait service in the RGV is not up to standard. Sometimes (and we have seen this), the Valley customer demands bad service by way of abrasive, uncouth behavior no one would tolerate. Our server, a lovely lady named Nora, was the ultimate congenial Pro.

There are - and will be - more important stories in the newspapers and on TV news. But it's okay to get away from the hustle & flow of the beaten path, to hunger for that hidden corner in the Ol' RGV, to stop-in and chat with people who likely will never be the subject of a Front Page story.

It can't be all rockets and grenades, can it?...

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Streets of Silliness: Action 4 News Airs Unneeded, Cornpone Journalism...

2010-02-10T09:44:00.011-06:00

The weekly series Streets of Speed by Action 4 News reporter Ryan Wolf perhaps has an audience somewhere in the Rio Grande Valley. It is entertainment, for sure. The Harlingen television station without question is the more excitable of any area news organization, what with its other staples The Pothole Report and Food 4 Thought.

But at what price is Action 4 News flashing these comedic segments starring the huffing & puffing Wolf?

Invariably, Wolf and co-anchor Lacie Lowry introduce these offerings as if the best of public service. Well, maybe the premise is noble. The presentation, however, is Amateursville.

In its latest speedzapper segment last night, Wolf (he looks shorter in person) took to streets along Lyford Elementary School with his speedgun and his usual Barney Fife-like questioning. It was sad.

Wolf, to an old guy ferrying a car full of kids: "He's in the backseat not wearing a seatbelt. How come?"

Man: "He is wearing a seatbelt..."

The man then turns to look back at poor kid, yelling, "I told you to put it on!"

Great television; lousy news reporting. The poor kid on the receiving end of the screaming looked as bewildered as could be expected, completely stunned. This after a long day of school for the young boy. Geez, he might have said, when did I sign-up for Maquila Journalism?

But there was more. Wolf walks around with his speedgun and microphone, aiming both at parents asked to lower their vehicle's window. "He buckled up?" he asks a woman. And then, "She buckled up?"

To a young woman who tells him her mother lives around the corner and that that's where she's taking her kids, Wolf says, "You think people watching at home are going to believe that story?"

It is reporting at its worst. In the segment's end, a woman at the scene sympathetic to Wolf's histrionics smiles and says, "You've been zapped!" Again, okay television, but nowhere near Journalism.

Action 4 News needs to revisit this cornpone idea. What is the point? Every school in America has routine patrols by policemen in marked vehicles. What exactly is Action 4 News trying to accomplish here, besides bringing viewers a few laughs - laughter aimed at Action 4 News and at its unwilling victims.

It's not a laughing matter, however. Wolf comes across as a punk bullying young Hispanic mothers whose only thought is to get their children home. We say leave law enforcement to the professionals. What's next, Action 4 News noseying in on Valley barbers? We can already hear Ryan Wolf, standing in front of a battered barber chair with his microphone, asking: "So, you think that haircut is worth $6? Look at how uneven the sides are on this old man? You kiddin' me?!"

Advice for Action 4 News management: Fade this show to black...

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For Channel 5 News, Haiti Coverage Has Been Less-Than-Spectacular...

2010-02-10T07:02:00.000-06:00

It's tough to get worked-up about covering the aftermath of any major disaster, especially one that happened weeks ago. So we won't be too hard on Channel 5 News reporter Jordan Williams on this one. He's been in Haiti a few days, along with a group of Rio Grande Valley doctors. So far, his reports have been, well, does he know where he is?

Haiti was clobbered last January 12 by an earthquake that killed an untold number of residents and decimated its major city: Port-au-Prince. Stories keep surfacing. Good stories. Yesterday, according to network news, a man was rescued from under a collapsed building almost a month after the disaster struck.

Yet, why are we not moved by reporter Jordan's work?

We thought a bit about it and decided on this as the reason: He doesn't seem to get the magnitude of the mess. Williams, so far, has trudged along with his traveling companions and has, predictably, sent reports of the sort other reporters filed in the initial days of the tragedy. He needs to raise the bar a bit, to place his reports in the context of a lingering rescue & reconstruction effort. Life, he needs to bring more life to his reporting. It is canned sadness he has offered so far.

Example, from a story by Williams, as posted on krgv.com, website of Channel 5 News: Gerlene's death hurt the team's spirit, but they kept working because their were hundreds of other Haitians who desperately needed their help.

Oh, boy. So much for making his viewers feel any sort of sympathy toward the victims or the country. It left us with the impression that, dang, we wish a good storyteller had garnered this assignment - someone like Jared Taylor or Jeremy Roebuck of The McAllen Monitor, or Jazmine Ulloa or Laura B. Martinez of The Brownsville Herald. Great story; wrong guy. And that their should be there...

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Dangerous Sources: Twitter And News From the Bloody Mexican Drug War...

2010-02-09T14:41:00.009-06:00

We hadn't seen this in previous news reporting by Rio Grande Valley Journalists: A news story containing information gained by way of Twitter. But there was one in The McAllen Monitor this Ayem, by reporter Jared Taylor.

The headline was dramatic, from the latest hellish affair in Mexico: 6 dead after Reynosa shootout

And in his usual way, Taylor reports what he knows.

REYNOSA - At least six people were killed amid a barrage of grenade blasts and gunfire in a residential neighborhood on the city’s southwest fringe early Monday morning, officials said. The bloody confrontation between Mexican army soldiers and an unidentified criminal group broke out about midnight Sunday, local officials confirmed.

Three army soldiers and three civilians involved in the attack died during the shootout. Four soldiers suffered injuries, as well. Authorities detained about 10 people after the attack. A van loaded with marijuana was also reportedly seized by authorities. Officials said the attack involved a well-armed group that sprayed gunfire and detonated grenades along Avenida Pemex Oriente for about 40 minutes.

The first reports of the shootout came via Twitter, the micro-blogging Web site that allows users to post updates via computer and text message. Initial posts came shortly after midnight Sunday. “It won’t stop and there are lots of grenades,” one man wrote in Spanish about midnight Sunday. “God save us.”

Other (Twitter) posts suggest the death toll in Reynosa may have been much higher as a result of the gunfire, with one user posting that there were “bodies everywhere.”

Some users’ Twitter posts said that more than 25 grenades exploded during the confrontation.

We're all for use of modern technology, but we also wonder about the pitfalls for Journalists.

It would have been nice to see additional comments in Taylor's story from some other reliable (named) source at the shooting (about the 25 grenades and the number of "bodies everywhere," for example), but we're also aware of the fear running down every street in all Mexican bordertowns these days. Still, we would hope that reporters would double-check the Twittered info, as it is easy for someone to simply post rumors, jokes and exaggerations.

The risk is huge: Use of Twitter in the field to transfer info from reporter to editor is one thing. Taking that info from strangers is another. We'd say sourcing by way of Twitter postings is not the best kind of Journalism, although it has a place - just not the primary one...

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Brownsville Herald Reporter Ortiz Gets Worked-Over By McAllen Monitor Editors...

2010-02-09T09:01:00.006-06:00

We bring you another in our occasional series of observations to do with editing at The McAllen Monitor, editing in respect to stories written by reporters for The Brownsville Herald. Again, in this morning's Monitor edition, we see editors in the City of Palms daily have once again taken the blade to a story by a reporter for its sister newspaper downriver.

In The Herald, by reporter Ildefonso Ortiz (shown in photo):

Police: Mother forced crushed red pepper into daughter's mouth

A Brownsville mother remains in police custody after witnesses say she lost her temper and stuffed crushed pepper inside the mouth of her 3-year-old daughter before tying her arms with a jacket in response to the child’s temper tantrum, police officials said.

Gloria Martin, 38, was arrested Sunday afternoon at the 77 Flea Market and later charged with injury to a child, said police spokesman Sgt. Jimmy Manrrique.

Same story in The Monitor:

Police: Mother forced red pepper into daughter's mouth

BROWNSVILLE —A mother who tried to quell her daughter’s hot temper with crushed pepper remains in police custody.

Witnesses told police the woman lost her temper and stuffed crushed pepper inside the mouth of her 3-year-old daughter before tying her arms with a jacket in response to the child’s temper tantrum, police officials said.

We say short sentences absolutely are better, but wonder how often The Monitor does this to poor Herald reporters? Very often, would be our answer. It says much about editors at The Herald, and we cannot believe that they like it...

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The Taking of Reporter Jared Taylor's Story...

2010-02-09T07:02:00.000-06:00

It's not the first time they've done it. This is the television news organization not averse to taking another news organization's work and posting it on its website. ValleyCentral.Com, website of Action 4 News, has done it again.

Headline: Six killed in Reynosa shootout
Posted Tuesday, February 09, 2010 at 4:34 a.m.

A shootout between soldiers and marijuana smugglers has left six dead, four wounded and ten people behind bars. The McAllen Monitor reported on its website that the shootout took place early Monday morning.

The newspaper reported the confrontation took place along the Avenida Pemex Oriente in the Colonia Puerta del Sol in the city's southwest side.

The Monitor reported that grenades and gunfire were used during the battle. The newspaper reported that 10 people were arrested and a van filled with marijuana was seized.

The Monitor reported that three soldiers and three civilians were among the dead.

How do we know Acton 4 News lifted this story?

Well, The Monitor story, 6 dead after Reynosa shootout by reporter Jared Taylor, was posted on themonitor.com at 9:08 p.m. last night...

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For Reporter Sergio Chapa of Action 4 News, Week Gets Off To A Stumbling Start...

2010-02-08T17:25:00.003-06:00

From a story by reporter Sergio Chapa, as posted on ValleyCentral.com, website of Action 4 News:

Headline: Mexican fisherman jailed for pot off SPI

U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents charged Luis Evangelio Aguilar-Ramirez, Antonio Guerrero-Saldaña and Francisco Montes de Oca Pablo on federal drug charges on Sunday.

Try "arrested," rather than "charged," Sergio...plus, your story says there were three (3) fishermen, which is at odds with the headline...

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In Covering Political Gathering, Guardian Reporter Bill Rovira Finds, Loses Charles Dickens...

2010-02-08T09:11:00.011-06:00

Writers covering political campaigns often go to well-known quotations to set the tone of their stories. Peripatetic reporter Bill Rovira of RioGrandeGuardian.com is one of those who often scans the Internet for material he forever uses to pad his stories. For his latest contribution, he found the novelist Charles Dickens - and then...lost him.

Headline: Candidates commit to Valley Interfaith’s agenda

McALLEN, Feb. 7 - Sister Maria Sanchez of Valley Interfaith quoted Charles Dickens at the group’s Candidate Accountability Session on Sunday: “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.”

Rovira, a reporter who has a fine-tuned ear for jollities, staffed the afternoon gathering and heard candidate comments related to local poverty, immigration, and, from members of the audience, complaints of unfulfilled promises. What the reader never gets is anything more on his "best of times; worst of times" reference. Why did this woman use the quotation? There has to be a reason, Bill. Ask her.

Tell us, what exactly is - or has been - the best of times, and what is - or has been - the worst of times? Why include the well-known quotation in this story if you're not going to make the connection for the reader?

Well, we felt obliged to research the complete Dickens quote: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness; it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair; we had everything before us, we had nothing before us; we were all going directly to Heaven, we were all going the other way."

Somewhere in there is where the woman saw the connection. Too bad Rovira leaves it hanging...

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How Action 4 News Came To Define Poverty...

2010-02-08T07:01:00.000-06:00

From a Sunday story by reporter Erika Flores about Valley Intertfaith's candidate forum, as posted on ValleyCentral.com, website of Action 4 News:

The increasing poverty level in the valley, ealthcare reform and immigration policies are just a few of the topics valley residents discussed with local candidates vying for various political races.

Level of poverty? Poverty is poverty. And what is ealthcare?

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On Super Bowl Sunday, McAllen Monitor Stages Photo Of Ever-Hopeful Saints Fan...

2010-02-07T18:12:00.000-06:00

There is tried-and-true practice in American newspapering that says you do not stage photographs. That's for the magazines. And when such a thought crosses an editor's mind, that editor should be considering it for the Lifestyle Section, or Sports - never the Front or Metro Section.

In its Sunday Edition, The McAllen Monitor threw a staged color photograph on its Front Page. It is the only posed photo in its A-Section.

Headline: Longtime Saints fan cherishes only memorabilia left after Katrina

The story is by sportswriter Brian Sandalow.

He writes: John Felker’s New Orleans Saints hat looks like it’s been through a lot. Bought more than 20 years ago, it bears nicks and cuts that make it look every month of its age. The hat, however, is the only piece of team memorabilia the lifelong Saints fan has. Undoubtedly, he’ll be wearing it when the NFC champions face the Indianapolis Colts tonight in Super Bowl XLIV in Miami.

Felker, who lives in McAllen but has divided his time between the Valley and Bayou Country, was here taking care of his grandmother when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29, 2005.

Maybe it’s appropriate that the hat, albeit nothing more than a small of symbol of the Saints and the Gulf Coast, will be worn today during the franchise’s finest hour. Just five years ago, it looked unlikely the Saints could ever reach the Super Bowl, not to mention return to New Orleans and the battered Superdome.

It's a timely story. Today is Super Sunday for the National Football League.

But a photo of this Felker fella holding that weathered Saints gimme cap over his heart, his face angled upward and eyes looking as if in church...is sad. We say sad, but we do not mean it in respect to this guy's great hopes for his beloved football team. We use the word to characterize The Monitor decision to resort to staging the photograph. It's a good job by Monitor Photographer Gabe Hernandez.

It's just not cool for a newspaper to be asking its subjects to pose. That's a huge no-no. Oddly, the photo we refer to was not used alongside the online version of this story on themonitor.com...

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In McAllen, A Visiting UFOlogist Vanishes...

2010-02-07T09:11:00.004-06:00

Three days ago, The McAllen Monitor published a story about a Mexican journalist coming to the City of Palms to speak on the subject of UFOs. His background seemed, well, grounded. The Monitor described him as a reporter for the Mexican version of 60 Minutes.

Headline: Mexican journalist to present evidence of UFO sightings

The story by reporter Martha L. Hernandez began in this manner:

McALLEN - Mexican UFOlogist Jaime Maussan is convinced mankind will see a marked change in the year 2012. “It could be a change in the climate or in the human being itself,” Maussan said.

Maussan, who has collected, documented and researched videos, pictures and sightings of UFOs and extraterrestrials for the past 26 years, considers the possibility of a 2012 mass destruction “a stupidity.”
“The Mayans believed that every 5,125 years there would be a change, and that period is due on Dec. 21, 2012,” said Maussan, a former anchor and reporter for the Mexican edition of 60 Minutes.

There was a quote from Maussan about being a "journalist" and not a scientist. Okay.

Wrote Hernandez, "Maussan said he has evidence of UFO sightings in Mexico, Norway, Russia and South America and will present his most recent material Saturday at the McAllen Civic Center."

So, how'd it go? You'll likely never know. The Monitor did not cover Maussan's appearance. With occasional glances at the high, blue sky while leafing through every page of its Sunday edition, we found nothing confirming Maussan's presence at the McAllen Civic Center...

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HO-HUM: No Fire In Herald Reporter Perez-Trevino's Political Coverage...

2010-02-07T07:22:00.004-06:00

We used to be fans of Brownsville Herald reporter Emma Perez-Trevino. That was sometime back. Her recent reports have been anything but insightful. Indeed, they absolutely approach the unforgivable Journalism ledge known as...boring. Her story in Sunday's Herald is a prime example. It lacks spark and, well, life.

Headline: Contributions slow in Cameron County judge race

Her lede: Statements of campaign contributions and expenditures filed 30 days before the March 2 Democratic and Republican Party primaries by candidates for Cameron County judge, for activity covering Jan. 1 through Jan. 21:

As if a bureaucrat toiling on a late Thursday afternoon ahead of a four-day weekend, she then fashions a list of the candidates, amount of contributions received, and, finally, the names of contributors. It is underwhelming.

What follows that seems to be the buried lede of this story:

A lull in fundraising activity has enveloped the most recent statements of campaign contributions and expenditures that candidates for Cameron County judge in the March 2 Democratic and Republican Party primaries filed for the public record.

In a typical Rio Grande Valley campaign season, political stories often write themselves. If it isn't reporting on some scandal, it's reporting on declarations of wild promise, or, at times, at the very least reporting on the ebb and flow of the races. Perez-Trevino seems to be interested in simply "mailing it in," as they say in the world of lackluster government employment. Que lastima...

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Monitor Reporter Covers Toilet Paper Caper...

2010-02-06T11:47:00.006-06:00

It was understandably placed on Page 8B in the Valley & State section of The McAllen Monitor, there above the weather graphics. But at least it made it into the newspaper's Saturday edition. The headline was succinct:

Sheriff's deputies arrest suspected toilet paper thief

Reported by Ana Ley, it began in this manner:

McALLEN - Hidalgo County sheriff’s deputies arrested a suspected toilet paper thief last week. Rogelio Cervantes, 48, allegedly stole hundreds of tissue rolls and other bathroom supplies from his employer.

He was arrested on one charge of theft by a public servant on Jan. 29, according to a statement from the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office. Cervantes allegedly made off with 400 rolls of toilet paper, 160 bundles of paper towels and 12 soap dispensers totaling more than $500 worth of supplies from the Hidalgo County Head Start Program, 1901 W. Highway 107.

If convicted of theft by a public servant, a state jail felony, Cervantes could be incarcerated for up to two years and face a fine of up to $10,000.

The story could have been ignored. Theft of toilet paper in these bad economic times happens. There was that story last year where a woman was caught stealing toilet paper from the Ladies Room of a local restaurant. But ever-scrambling reporter Ley went for it. There was a heist and the fuzz did arrest someone. That's a story...

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In The Air-Conditioned Newsroom Of Action 4 News, It's Time To Doubt H1N1...

2010-02-06T10:54:00.009-06:00

It's been a serious story for months, and Action 4 News certainly has been covering the dangers of the H1N1 problem. But it's always a hoot to see television news stations make that all-too-quick turnaround when reporters think a story has petered out.

Action 4 News is now doubting H1N1 ever was a problem.

It's evening anchor - the excitable Ryan Wolf - burst forth with a report last night that asked the question: H1N1: Health risk or hype? Well, we still think it's more than hype, although Action 4 News is quite free to keep changing its mind on any story. We're just wondering why they don't pay more attention to the writing on their website, ValleyCentral.com?

In his story, Wolf apparently wrote this: So is H1N1 more hype than a continued health risk? Parents at Stuart Place Elementary School in Harlingen for had varying opinions on the debate.

That tells us Wolf wasn't even sure of this sentence, nevermind H1N1...

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In Mercedes, Burglars Leave Fresh Footprints...

2010-02-06T07:07:00.000-06:00

From a story titled Burglars Hit Mercedes Apartments, as posted last night on krgv.com, website of Channel 5 News:

There is a footprint still fresh that is still fresh. It's proof of the burglar’s path.

Cops'll solve this one. Plenty of fresh evidence here...

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Monitor Reporter Pipitone Tackles Issue of Undocumented Immigrants and Higher Education...

2010-02-05T11:57:00.001-06:00

We've always said the Rio Grande Valley affords journalists a very unique professional playground. Here, from Rio Grande City to the west and Brownsville to the east, a reporter can work multi-national stories you don't get to work in, say, Peoria, Illinois or Omaha, Nebraska.

Reporter Nick Pipitone of The McAllen Monitor offers readers one such story in today's edition. He writes about non-citizens attending Texas colleges.

Headline: Suit challenges law allowing college aid to undocumented students

EDINBURG - For Carmen, as for many people, a college degree represents an opportunity for a better future. But her future is far more difficult to ascertain than it is for most U.S. college students. She is one of several thousand undocumented immigrants attending Texas universities and colleges, according to the Immigration Reform Coalition of Texas (IRCOT).

Carmen - who declined to give her last name for fear that her current employer could face repercussions - came to the U.S. from Chiapas in 1992 at age 14, unsure of what was happening or what her future held. Now, at 32, she is pursuing a master’s degree at the University of Texas-Pan American with the peace of mind that even if she is forced to leave the U.S., the federal government cannot take away her college education and the hope of better employment in Mexico.

“If I stayed in Mexico, I don’t think I’d have a degree,” said Carmen, who lives in Edinburg. “That’s the difference. If you go ask a few hundred people (on campus), a number of them will have a similar experience.”

Apparently there is opposition from some Texans about this.

Writes Pipitone: Texas is one of 11 states that allow undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition rates and receive state grants. IRCOT challenged that law in December, arguing that the state overstepped its authority and violated federal law. President Bill Clinton signed into law two immigration omnibus bills in 1996 that, among other things, disqualified undocumented immigrants from receiving many health, welfare and higher education benefits, such as federal student aid.

But five years later, Texas became the first state to enact a law that allowed undocumented immigrants to receive in-state benefits, such as a lower tuition rate than out-of-state students and eligibility for financial assistance like grants from the Texas Educational Opportunity Grant Program.

Pipitone quotes Steven W. Smith, a former Texas Supreme Court justice who is representing IRCOT, as saying his group opposes giving "cheaper, in-state tuition rates and grants to undocumented students," although the group notes it is "not seeking to bar them from attending colleges or universities."

“They can pay their own way just like somebody from Kansas or North Dakota,” Smith said. “It’s not preventing them from attending college. It’s a matter of them getting a tax break.”

Elsewhere, this story likely would not have been of much interest. In South Texas, it goes to the many layers of local culture. Pipitone does an excellent job of covering his angle bases with this effort. The story is about the symbiotic relationship between the Valley and Mexico, once more unfurling the constant clash between the legalities of Life and the humanitarian...and that makes it valuable for Monitor readers.

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In Brownsville, Tumbling Lions, Tigers & Bears Save Lagging Local Economy...

2010-02-05T09:41:00.007-06:00

The headline ranks as the worst headline of the year, but more troubling is the story's content. In today's Brownsville Herald, reporter Steve Clark coldcocked his city's readers with this beauty.

Headline: Strangely dressed people and wild animals to invade Brownsville

It’s amazing that in this age of movies on demand, Xbox and virtual everything people still go to the circus — a non-virtual form of entertainment with its origins in ancient Rome. But people still do, apparently. As such, the empty field between Walgreens and the Bank of America on Ruben Torres Boulevard soon will be transformed into the temporary home of the Kelly Miller Circus, which begins this year’s touring season in Brownsville with a string of performances running Feb. 11-14.

Okay. Writing about a circus coming to town is a bit better than covering some chuckwagon rolling into town to sell Dallas Cowboys gear, as happened last month in Brownsville.

But Clark writes this inanity:

Not only is the circus important for the chamber, she says, it’s a "small economic burst" for Brownsville, since the traveling show’s 50-plus employees will spend a lot of money here, stocking up on food, computers, satellite dishes and the like. From Brownsville, Kelly Miller will travel to San Benito and other points around the Valley for a few weeks before meandering farther north with its fleet of 25 vehicles and imported Italian big top.

Unbelievable! Circus people are going to spend a lot of money in town? Stock up on computers? Satellite Dishes! Wild, and incredibly naive for a news reporter to ever believe, much less write. A looksee at the world of circus and carnival workers tells you these wandering folks are world-class scrimps, forever saving for, yes, a rainy day...

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Good Ol' State Farm Lands In Hidalgo...

2010-02-05T09:11:00.003-06:00

This morning, McAllen Monitor reporter Sean Gaffney splashed forth a story about the re-naming of Dodge Arena in dusty Hidalgo. It is now State Farm Arena. The news is good for the popular venue and for the Valley, but State Farm?

Isn't this the same company that is being roasted for cancelling policies in Florida?

Well, here's what a spokesman for State Farm said in response to criticism that the insurance company is abandoning Sunshine State policyholders.

State Farm is cancelling 125,000 policies in 2010. Those affected will receive 6 months notice, and the last cancellation won’t occur until August 2011 - a year and a half from now. Our agents will help any customers affected by our regulatory agreement find replacement coverage. We apologize for any inconvenience or anxiety this process might cause our customers, but State Farm Florida was losing $20 million a month in the homeowners business. These are not easy times for the Florida property insurance market, and this difficult, but necessary decision will help us better protect our remaining 675,000+ policyholders.The Office of Insurance Regulation has noted publicly that 102 of the 210 private property insurers operating in the state are losing money; 3 have gone out of business in the last year. To that end, it is essential for the state to continue working to develop constructive and sustainable insurance reforms that better serve the long-term interests of all Floridians. - Chris Neal, Public Affairs, State Farm Florida

Alrightee. Well, sports and concert fans, think a bit about that the next time you're scurrying over to catch some has-been comedian from Los Angeles, pitiful semi-pro sports, or yet another Nostalgia rock 'n roll act at the nice & comfy venue we've known for all these years...

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From The Dept. Of Stories We'd Like To See...

2010-02-04T19:27:00.000-06:00

Back when I wrote for The Boston Globe, our newsroom was so big (in excess of 250 reporters, in Boston and elsewhere in the world) that writing for every issue was not a requirement. On slow days, my superb editor, John Burke, would walk over to my desk and hand me a note before saying, "This could be a good Centerpiece."

Centerpiece was a feature in The Globe with a loose-ended news peg. It always appeared on Page A2 and was said to be popular with the newspaper's readership. Some staffer would write about the old forts in Boston Harbor. Someone else would write about the fall foliage on the road to Maine. Someone else would write a mini-profile on someone perhaps not all that famous. I remember writing a Centerpiece about a woman from New York named Barbara Mincy. My contribution was about her last day at a drug rehabilitation center. I recall a woman named Portis was director of the center, and I remember asking her how she knew this particular woman would stay clean.

"I never really know for sure," she told me. "But I will know about her come Christmastime. The ones finding the strength to stay off drugs usually send me a Christmas card."

These Centerpiece stories were rarely about the Kennedys, or about any other superstar celebrity in Massachusetts. They were roughly 600-word vignettes that held an interesting angle or allowed for flexing the writer chops. Another time, I rode with the city police department, on a night patrol of rough and tough Roxbury. There was nothing urgent about these stories; they just spoke to life in the city.

Sometimes, those stories say a lot about a community. You can spin yourself silly in the Rio Grande Valley writing about drunks, wife-beaters, children abusers, drug pushers and corrupt politicians. And you should. But there are several other layers of life & culture in every one of these Valley towns. In most newspapers, columnists are the ones who find this path. Columnist we have seen here rarely venture out into the streets. Something is lost when the columns are the work of half-hearted thought born inside an air-conditioned office or den. Perhaps that will change. A few Journalism dreamers would help...

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Action At Action 4 News: The Great Bad Taco Hunt...

2010-02-04T10:44:00.011-06:00

News organizations generally will not cover even the best of hoaxes, perhaps because there is something inherently dangerous about publishing the make-belief or even the flimsiest lie. Action 4 News of Harlingen apparently is not one of those organizations. It has taken an exposed hoax about bad tacos and flashed it on its website, ValleyCentral.com:

Headline: 'Dog Tacos' email hoax circulates in Valley

The writer is identified as Sergio Chapa, a lad we're told once worked as a reporter for The Brownsville Herald.

Here's his story: A email hoax saying that a Matamoros man was arrested for killing dogs and selling the meat to a popular taqueria chain is circulating on both sides of the border. Action 4 News received a copy of the fraudulent email on Wednesday afternoon.

The email includes graphic pictures and is purported to be an article written by a reporter named “Yolanda Ordaz” from the El Bravo de Matamoros newspaper. The article states that local police arrested a man named “Ruben Moreno” for killing dogs and selling the meat to the popular restaurant Tacos El Campeon.

Action 4 News spoke to editors at the El Bravo and they said the email is a hoax. The editors added that nobody by the name of “Yolanda Ordaz” works there.

Further investigation revealed that the email hoax is circulating across Mexico but varies for each city. The reporter’s name “Yolanda Ordaz” is always the same but newspaper or media outlet’s name is changed. The suspect’s name is always “Ruben Moreno” or “Ruben Cuellar” while the name of the restaurant changes to one popular in that city.

The El Mañana de Nuevo Laredo reported the email hoax is circulating there using their newspaper’s name. El Mañana reported that the hoax has been documented in Guadalajara, Mexico City, Cuernavaca, Ciudad Juarez and other parts of Mexico dating as far back as April 2008. Concerned viewers from Brownsville contacted Action 4 News about the email.

We posted it in its entirety because it gives us a look into the mindset of a reporter willing to go public with such silliness. But then came a reply, also posted on ValleyCentral.com, from the owner of the taco eatery in question.

It went this way: I personally analyzed the email and anyone who has seen it, can notice that obviously the pictures were not taken where they say they were. You can tell the pictures don't coincide with one another. We pride ourselves in the quality and health standards we have set within our establishments. We have served our community for over 20 years, and recently opened our doors to business in Brownsville, where he had no trouble meeting the standards set by the city health department. Our product is of great acceptance and would be disappointed if that would change thanks to a "bad joke". If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me.

It should be noted that, as yet, no other Rio Grande Valley news organization has touched this dog taco rumor. Our question for Action 4 News is this: If you know the story is a hoax, why offer it? Better still, why not sic Food Patrol Hero Ryan Wolf on the sordid tale and have him deliver the goods? Video of Wolf storming that taqueria in his usual huff would be...priceless.

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Action 4 News and Its Phantom Reporting Corps...

2010-02-04T07:00:00.000-06:00

Action 4 News must be a small outfit. The excitable Harlingen station keeps claiming CBS network reporters as its own.

On last night's evening newscast, there was Action 4 News Anchor Ryan Wolf leading into a segment about backpacks and how they may be injuring schoolkids by saying, "Here's Action 4's Janet Choi..."

Choi does not work for Action 4 News. In fact, at the tail end of her report, she says, "This is Janet Choi, CBS News."

We've said it before, it is dishonest for Action 4 News to keep claiming reporters not its own. Be honest. Nothing wrong with saying, "Here's a report from CBS News."

Wolf - and station executives - should worry about being accused of playing silly games...

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In McAllen, The Mayor's Vanishing Act Is Puzzling...

2010-02-03T13:54:00.009-06:00

We've been wondering a bit about the disappearance of McAllen Mayor Richard Cortez from the pages of The McAllen Monitor. From what we could find, Cortez has barely been in the paper - several times in early January and in the January 21 edition, when Monitor reporter Nick Pipitone covered the mayor's State of The City address. Compared to this, 2009 was a Rockstar Year for the mayor.

A recent Headline: McAllen mayor touts city's sound financial footing in address

McALLEN - Mayor Richard Cortez said the city is well-positioned to rebound from the recession and touted several completed and future city projects during the annual State of the City address at the McAllen Convention Center Thursday.

As readers of newspapers across this great land, we have grown accustomed to seeing coverage of local politicians and other community public servants. In The Monitor, bureaucrats doing their jobs over on Houston Street - at City Hall - don't get much publicity. Perhaps these city employees are doing the people's business absolutely right, or maybe they are doing absolutely nothing. Who knows? You'd never be able to say one way or the other from reading the hometown newspaper. What's that all about? Is there a feud involved here?

On occasion, the good mayor (shown in photo) should be rousted for comment. We have not made a master list of such Cortez Moments, but one story comes to mind: the recent excusing from prosecution of a McAllen Police Department officer whose DWI case was thrown out by a judge when the arresting officer failed to appear. It would have been interesting to see what Mayor Cortez might have said about that, and about Police Chief Victor Rodriguez's handling of the matter. There has been nothing...

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Writing, Managing The New Bishop's Story...

2010-02-03T09:50:00.009-06:00

Comparing stories on a news event by competing newspapers is easier when both papers are not owned by the same publishing company. It would be easy to say The Brownsville Herald beat The McAllen Monitor in covering the installation of a new Bishop for the Diocese of Brownsville on Tuesday. It's not. What makes any assessment quirky is that editors at both newspapers are able to see exactly what the other is offering its readers. Yes, that should be a positive - for the newspapers...and for their readers.

Here's what we say: The Herald went serious with the coverage. The Monitor, meanwhile, opted for soft.

Is one story better than the other? No. They're just different, although as Journalism and taking the subject matter into account, we say reporter Martinez's story was the one we would have published as the "main" story and Ley's as the sidebar.

* In today's McAllen Monitor, from reporter Ana Ley:

Headline: New Shepherd: Bishop Flores takes reins of Diocese of Brownsville

SAN JUAN — Clad in jeans and baggy T-shirts, the teenagers giggled as they strolled the long, dark path around the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle. The Brownsville teens visited the shrine Tuesday evening to watch the installment Mass for Bishop Daniel Flores, who was appointed in December as the sixth bishop to lead the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brownsville. He replaces Bishop Raymundo Peña, who was required to submit his resignation when he turned 75 last year, in keeping with canon law.

“We’re really excited,” said Danny Lucio, the teens’ youth minister. “We’ve been talking about it for weeks.” Inside the shrine, 2,000 people gathered to witness the elaborate, solemn ceremony. Several minutes into the Mass, the crowd rose from the seats and clapped vigorously as the Rev. Jorge A. Gomez notarized the letter in which Pope Benedict XVI appointed Flores. As Gomez embraced Flores to congratulate him, some churchgoers glanced at one another and smiled warmly.

* In The Brownsville Herald, by reporter Laura B. Martinez.

Headline: Faithful gather for installation of Bishop Flores

SAN JUAN – With the choir singing loudly at the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle National Shrine, the Catholic Diocese of Brownsville officially welcomed its sixth bishop — Bishop Daniel E. Flores. A long procession of seminarians, deacons, priests, monsignors and more than two dozen bishops entered into the basilica with Flores entering nearly last. Many of the priests took a moment to shake the hands of Flores’ family members who were sitting in the front row.

Cameras could be heard clicking throughout the basilica as the faithful photographed the procession and Flores, the man Pope Benedict XVI picked last month to lead the Brownsville diocese. Flores’ installation was attended by Cardinal Adam Joseph Maida, of Detroit’s archdiocese, and Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, of the Galveston-Houston archdiocese, who presided during the Mass.

Papal Nuncio Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the Vatican representative to the United States, read the pope’s official decree announcing Flores’ appointment. DiNardo then told Flores,"You have heard the letter of his holiness Pope Benedict XVI. You are called by the Holy Spirit to serve Almighty God and the people of the Diocese of Brownsville in faith and in love as their shepherd."

"Having already accepted the appointment of the Holy Father, are you willing to serve the people of this diocese in the tradition of the Apostolic Faith of the Church?" DiNardo asked.

Flores replied, "With faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and with the love of God in my heart, I accept the pastoral care of the people of God in the Diocese of Brownsville. I resolve to serve faithfully the spiritual needs of this local Church."

Both newspapers are owned by Freedom Newspapers, Inc., and it's been its practice in the Rio Grande Valley to let one paper cover any one regional story. The Monitor led the way last year when a shooting in Nuevo Progreso drew the entire RGV news media to the scene. Its reporters from The Valley Morning Star and The Herald did not rush in to have their say.

Perhaps Freedom should have done the same with this Bishop installation coverage. That, or maybe let the editors of both newspapers join forces ahead of the coverage, so that decisions could be made on who'd write the main story and who'd write the sidebars. As it is, readers in McAllen did not get the superb story readers in Brownsville got from reporter Martinez. And maybe the Brownsville Herald readership would have enjoyed the additional coverage by Monitor reporter Ley...

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