The other day the Times printed an article about a well known businessman who has declared bankruptcy.
The businessman was trying to get our border governments to adopt a system that would dramatically reduce the time required (and thus the cost) to import items from our maquiladoras into the United States. Ever the optimist, he evidently underestimated the difficulties in getting the multiple bureaucrats to work together for the good of the community.
The story probably deserved an article based on the fame and likability of the entrepreneur.
A second article that discusses the dispute between him and one of his creditors has just been published. While the Times continues to ignore much bigger stories relating to the problems with our local governments it somehow has found reason to air this private dispute.
Why? Does someone at the Times have reasons for digging into this when we have many more important problems that they are ignoring? Is the Times once again trying to use it’s readership to help an individual?
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 
Of course it’s personal! The EPT and its publisher and editor are nothing but publicists for the power elites (and their bought and paid for politicians and pet projects) in this town. Take the recent visit by a local farmworker activist to the Vatican– at the invitation of the Pope– accompanied by the local bishop. It was a global meeting of similar activists. Regardless on your views, it was a big event, covered world wide. You can say, it put El Paso on the map. Did our local rag cover– or for that matter, all but a couple TV stations (Spanish language and KTSM) such a major event? Of course not! The guy’s a thorn on the side of progress. He’s not one of the favored non-profits, much like the Rescue Mission.We chuckled recently at the propaganda regarding our young congressman’s vote against defense spending, knowing full well that cuts in defense spending affect our primary local economic engine, Ft. Bliss. The publicists’ piece highlighted that the young congressman had worked hard to get funding for Ft. Bliss and then voted against the bill because he’s a dovish fellow. Talk about being for something before you’re against it. Talk about speaking out of both sides of your mouth. Talk about double speak. Talk about plain old, politics. But the point is not to criticize the congressman. The point is how the EPT is now news. It is a mouthpiece for the elite, posing as journalism and fooling its readers.
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The point of Beto’s vote was that the NDAA was stuffed full of provisions having nothing to do with defense. Did you know that there is a provision in there handing over Apache lands to Rio Tinto, a foreign mining company? Should we be thinking about developing economic drivers that do not depend on the US being at war everywhere all the time?
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There needs to be a truth-in-labeling law for these bills that are passed with all these riders that have nothing to do with the main purpose of the bill. Congress is worse than city council.
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Yes, we could argue about economic facts and liberal ideals but that would be as ineffective as our current congress and most of its members, including our local representatives. The point is or was the EPT’s duplicity and lack of objectivity.
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The Times has a tiny staff and the bankruptcy story took little time. Please stop complaining about the Times not doing in depth stories when you know that papers are all downsizing due to fewer subscribers and fewer advertisers. Do you expect them to volunteer their time? And, no, I don’t work for the paper, But I am a businessman and know that you have to operate within a budget.
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It is their lack of integrity that bothers me most.
Brutus
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Journalistic ethics is the point. Put up or shut up. In the case of our local media, it’s put out for survival.
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I suspect, from his posts, that Brutus subscribes to the EPT, because he seems to be commenting on articles that I never see, and details beyond those that I do read. I also refuse to pay for their online access, so again, I know I am missing out on a lot of what they are actually publishing. They have even taken away my access to the Disqus comments, so I can’t even see what others have to say about their articles. This one, about a local businessman going bankrupt, is a good example of one that I did not see. I, too, would have to say that I find it curious that they would focus on one bankruptcy out of the many that do occur here. As for what Citizen has to say about this issue, I would counter by offering that the size of the staff should be irrelevant when talking about reporting the news. An informed public is one with a conscience, and we get so little real news these days – from any source – that it is no wonder we had such a tiny voter turnout in November.
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