CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Before I begin this article,
I would like to wish Joy Vestal a speedy recovery from her hip surgery.
Now I will get down to the main
reason I am bringing this problem to the surface.
It has become apparent that
being the Editor of the UCO Reporter and being an officer of UCO is a serious conflict
of interest.
As an officer of UCO one has
opinions on important issues and votes accordingly. This is never a problem unless
those opinions influence an editorial. And this has been the case with Joy
Vestal. Joy has repeatedly voted with David Israel on too many issues. She has seldom
expressed an opinion which differed from David’s, and as such carried those
opinions to the UCO Reporter in the form of Editorials. It is for this reason I
am suggesting that the Editor of the UCO Reporter should not be allowed to be an
Officer of UCO and should not have voting rights on any committee other than the
Editorial committee.
This article was influenced
by the fact that Joy Vestal, in the past, has abused her rights as an Editor.
She has constantly sided with David Israel on too many issues and has written
editorials favoring his opinions and at the same time refused to allow opinions
aligned against David to be published. Objectivity is an absolute requirement
of any Editor, and Joy has shown us she is lacking in this department.
As an in command person of
the UCO Reporter Joy has done a commendable job but as an Editor expressing her
views, she has fallen short. For this reason, I believe we need our new bylaws to reflect the change to not allow anyone
to be an Editor of the UCO Reporter and at the same time be an Officer of UCO with
full voting rights.
I agree wholeheartedly.
ReplyDeleteI think there are two issues here: (1) Should an editorial in the Reporter be neutral? and (2) Should a Reporter editor be able at the same time to be a UCO officer with a vote on important matters.
ReplyDeleteConcerning No. 1: An editorial, by definition, is an opinion piece. A news report is different. You expect it to be unbiased. I expect a news article in the Boston Globe to be fair and balanced, without bias. I DON’T expect an editorial in the Globe to be without bias. I expect it to be that editor’s opinion. We need to get this straight first. It is the same with columnists. They write opinion pieces. We value some columnists for their opinions, and we don't appreciate others. Sometimes it's half and half, and they get us thinking.
No. 2 is a good question for those making up—or seeking to change—the bylaws of an organization. It might be considered fine in one kind of organization for the editor of the organization’s publication to hold office with voting rights. In another kind of organization, it might not.
Lanny,
ReplyDeleteYou bring up an interesting point. You said, An editorial, by definition is an opinion piece. You are correct; everyone, including an Editor is entitled to an opinion. BUT, and this is a big BUT - the same Editor has a responsibility to also print both sides of an issue.The UCO Reporter promises to do this, the only problem is, it doesn't adhere to it's promise..
Now to answer you question, Should the Editor of an organization's publication hold office with voting rights? This question can better be answered by saying that if the publication represents an organization, like UCO and the Reporter, the answer would be "NO". But, if the newspaper only represented itself, i.e. The NY Times, West Palm Beach Post, the answer would be "YES". When the Paper must answer to an organization, impartiality is questionable because the Editor must answer to a higher order. But, when a paper is not responsible to any organization, , the Editor has the freedom to do and say what he chooses.
I hope this answers you question.
Your problem is that YOU can't distinguish the difference. Joy goes out of her way to make sure bouth sides of a story are out there. You only prove that you have no knowledge of how a newspaper should be run. Joy is THE MOST QUALIFIED person in the village. Once again, you want the most qualified person out of the way. Mao and Lenin would smile at your dedication to the Marxist doctrine.
ReplyDeleteI would say the question is - should Joy be BOTH editor and a voting officer? Without a doubt she is "THE MOST QUALIFIED" person in CV to be the editor BUT should she also be a voting officer?
DeleteAND - when it becomes a matter of priorities - do both sides of the story receive equal consideration and space?
Dear Bob's
ReplyDeleteEvery time you open your mouth on this blog you let the world know how stupid you really are.
First of all we have it on record that Joy has REFUSED to print our side of a false editorial she printed in the UCO Reporter. This in itself shows that she is biased and is not qualified to be Editor of ANY Newspaper.
Now, If you knew how to read, I did say as an in command person (NOT AS EDITOR) she has done a commendable job.
And in answer to your stupid remarks about Marx and Lenin, it is JOY who is the person restricting freedom of the press, therefore I believe you should put her in the category of those dictators not me. I want free press and JOY thinks only David Israel is allowed this privilege.
Go get a life Bob. Your hate mongering is getting tiresome.
THIS REPLY IS IN 2 PARTS - THIS IS PART 1
DeleteLanny - you have a tendency to get a little too technical.
Allow me, if you will, to get right down to the nitty-gritty. There was a time when Joy Vestal sat with others at a dinner meeting with about 20 people at Centannis Italian Restaurant. She had openly stated that she detested Israel and everything that he stood for. She was quite clear in that regard.
Subsequently, it became common knowledge that Joy is for Joy, and so long as she gets to do what she wants,- everything and everybody is pushed aside. This, is why people today sort of shy away from her.
So, to get what she wants, she approaches Israel and it appears that she strikes a deal. Israel gets Myron Silverman to move over a bit, -- and he had better do that or he is out. Vestal is appointed by Israel as "Co-Editor." She becomes happy as a clam (steamer). Israel becomes elated because he then gets hands-on control of the Reporter. If he wants the entire front page, he can get it. If he wants half of the 2nd and 3rd pages, he can get it. Whatever he wants to put in print, he can get it. If he doesn't like what someone else wants to have printed because it might be negative about him, -- he, Israel, can negate the article, and Joy, who maintaines her Co-Editor's position at Israel's whim, -- love it. they are both very happy.
So, here is an Officer of UCO running the CV newpaper, and Israel, the President of UCO doing whatever to please himself and pushing all of Vestal's buttons. You have what is called a dictatorship.
Is it then a "conflict of Interest?" By any standards you can think of -- IT IS!!
THIS IS PART 2 OF REPLY TO LANNY
DeleteIt is pure logic that Vestal, in all matters, not just newspaper business, is going to cast her votes as an officer any way Israel wants her to. She can deny that from now until Christmas, but the facts are prevalant. You can't change history ... there are too many issues that violate normalcy by her actions and lack of professional standardization.
I think that Olga is right on. She nailed it. What should happen? She - Vestal - should step down from the Co-Editor's position, as long as she remains an officer of UCO, so that The Reporter is not in any way influenced by the master of control. Better yet, -- she loves the Co-Editor's job so much that she should resign as an officer of UCO so that officers' votes are no longer suspect of collusion.
Changing the Bylaws, in my opinion, is not a good option. Where do you stop? You have to make an assumption that everyone is honest and truthful. Take, for instance, the Insurance Committee, which is headed by a person put there by Israel. As it were, the insurance bids were manipulated and fixed so that a certain company was chosen by Israel and his appointee ... this is history. Or, what about the monstrous paving fiasco that Israel controlled using his then treasurer to manipulate funds ... that is also history.
Similarities to this Israel/Vestal deal go on and on. With a new government, I think that we can bring back honesty and integrity and rid outselves of this dominating EGO, POWER & CONTROL!
EDUARDO
I thought that a**hole Bob Rivera was banned from this blog. Why is he back here again? He distorts everything that's written in plain English. Maybe he's eating from the wrong bowl.
ReplyDeleteSorry Anonymous, I posted his comment by mistake and when I realized it, I was forced to answer his stupidity.
DeleteHey Eduardo, you're back. Thank heavens, I thought we lost you.
DeleteNice to see you back.
Olga, so glad you told that dummy Bob off. He is a big bag of wind. I know, I've been in the same room with him many times and I can't believe the stupid things that come out of his mouth. He is so full of hate. I am also a vet and I got over my war trauma but I guess he can't.
ReplyDelete