Brent Boyer
Brent Boyer: The importance of tone and word choice
Sunday's editorial was meant to encourage
Friday, June 10, 2011
Steamboat Springs — Steamboat Springs City Council President Cari Hermacinski didn’t mince her words Tuesday night when criticizing the Steamboat Pilot & Today’s Sunday editorial.
Hermacinski told her fellow council members and the audience in Centennial Hall that the newspaper had done a major disservice to the Bike Town USA Initiative and that any suggestion that the city hasn’t already been a significant leader in local cycling efforts is horribly inaccurate.
I was surprised by her anger. I wondered what had caused the misinterpretation of an editorial intended simply to urge the city to stand behind the Community Cycling Plan and, in so doing, pave the way for other entities to do the same. So I took another look at Sunday’s paper and re-read the piece titled “Time for city to take lead.”
It didn’t take long to figure out where I went awry.
As Hermacinski pointed out in her public comments Tuesday night, the city has spent more than $2 million in the past 12 months alone on projects and other costs related to local cycling efforts. That total includes $763,000 for the city’s purchase of Lyman Orton’s Emerald Mountain parcel; $104,000 in annual trail maintenance; $35,000 to help Steamboat host two stages of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge Millennium Promise; $140,000 for a Yampa River Core Trail extension under the U.S. Highway 40/Mount Werner Road underpass; $21,000 for the Town Challenge Mountain Bike Race Series; and $39,000 in staff time for Ride the Rockies, Tour de Steamboat, Ride 4 Yellow and USA Pro Cycling Challenge Millennium Promise event work.
I’m guessing Hermacinski wasn’t the only reader who interpreted our editorial to be critical of the city’s involvement in biking initiatives. This paragraph was largely to blame:
“But more than simply giving lip service to a plan that lays out how our community, without significant infrastructure improvements, can improve safety and the quality of life for residents while also establishing a sustainable and potentially lucrative economic driver for the summer and fall months, the City Council needs to take the lead in endorsing and ultimately adopting the plan. It’s time to put action behind words.”
Issues like this remind me of the importance of tone and word choice in the articles and editorials we publish. In the case of Sunday’s piece, our Editorial Board wanted only to encourage the council to back the draft of the recently completed Community Cycling Plan that it was presented with Tuesday. We intended to encourage the council to keep its eyes on the future; instead we wrote it in a way that questioned its past actions.
The council ultimately voiced support for the Community Cycling Plan draft on Tuesday night, and they also approved additional funding for Bike Town USA programming.
I’m pleased the council looked past a poorly executed editorial and continued the momentum of an exciting community initiative.
Brent Boyer is the editor of the Steamboat Pilot & Today. He can be reached at 970-871-4221 and bboyer@SteamboatToday.com.
Comments
JJ Southard 1 year, 11 months ago
Maybe less editorials and more actual news would be a good idea for the Pilot & Today. You are newspaper. You don't control the community or the City Council. I have never seen a newspaper anywhere in the nation with as many opinions spewed by it's staff. If the Pilot & Today wasn't free, not very many locals would pay for it, and that's my opinion.
sledneck 1 year, 11 months ago
"...the city has spent more than $2million in the past 12 months alone...related to cycling efforts."
So there you have it! There is plenty of money for city schools. The water and sewer projects (all $71 million of them) are fully funded. The city bus fleet is up-to-date. The Iron Horse is paid off and all is well.
If the city has $2 million for cycling and money for Emerald Mt. then it has PLENTY of money, and thats my opinion.
Scott Wedel 1 year, 11 months ago
The Orton property was purchased for local cyclists? So hikers and other users will not be allowed?
The money for USA Pro cycling race and the other events benefits local cyclists? What? I thought that those were events bringing tourist dollars to SB. If the purpose of that funding was to benefit local cyclists then it will be a terrible waste of money because hosting a bike race does nothing for local cyclists.
Really pathetic for a newspaper editor to accept such a ridiculous accounting of money spent benefiting local cyclists.
youseff 1 year, 11 months ago
@ybb - am I the only one here tired of your rants about the biking community on these boards? I respect that this forum gives us all the freedom to speak our minds and express our views, but the sheer anger that you show is pretty interesting. How do you suggest that bikers use the roads for "free?" Do we not pay the same taxes that you do? Do those taxes specify that they only pertain to us using our cars on the road and no other alternate means of transportation? And what "increased signage for city streets" are you referring to? The ones that my family uses to navigate around town when we go out and ride, as do lots of other Steamboat families? The ones that allow us to enjoy the quality of life that brought most of us here from other places? And weren't you the one who repeatedly threatened to run us down if we got in your way?
The last line is of particular interest as well - "pay your way bikers, or go away!" How close to reality do you live in here? Biking is as much a part of our fabric as snowmobiling, ranching, skiing or hiking, and these folks are trying to use the resources that we have to bring in more tourist $$'s while helping to improve our quality of life. Voice your opposition to it, show up at the City Council meetings and use the open time to express your position, or schedule a meeting with the BTUSA folks to talk through these things. Just do us all a favor and move past the empty threats and inflammatory words - it's gotten old and does nothing but make you look bad.
Maybe it's time you find another small mountain town that isn't being overrun by people who enjoy being outdoors and use all of the resources available to do that. And if you feel that strongly about the bikers getting all of this "free" money, then maybe you should put in half the effort that you put into ranting here into identifying a cause that you feel passionate about and putting in the time to see that it is recognized and funded - much like the BTUSA folks have done.
Brent Boyer 1 year, 11 months ago
Scott, If you read what I wrote, you will see that I characterized the expenses as "projects and other costs related to local cycling efforts." I think it's absolutely accurate to describe the Emerald Mountain parcel purchase as being related to local cycling efforts. I certainly respect your right to disagree.
Brent
Jeff Kibler 1 year, 11 months ago
The operative term is "related."
Not "totally" or "purely." Brent, a proper response.
Steve Lewis 1 year, 11 months ago
I have no problem with this correction to the Sunday editorial. The City's efforts on Emerald, biking events and amenities is appreciated.
Perhaps Brent, you will re-read your paper's treatment of Steve Aigner in the summer of 2009. He went against City Council and was the key to reversing the huge mistake of annexing SB700. 61% of this community agreed with him in his ballot. Yet in this paper he was tarred and feathered for taking that path.
On one hand, you slighted Council and were quick to respond to their complaint. On the other, you wrote 3 articles about Steve in 2009, after which he seriously considered moving his family from this community. Do you understand that?
heboprotagonist 1 year, 11 months ago
@Lewi- In defense of The Pilot, there is nothing that says the paper has to take a position on community issues that agree with the majority of local residents.
For the record, I question the necessity of BTUSA and was 100% in favor of SB700. So I don't agree with every stance the paper takes.
Also, I think that blaming the paper as the impetus for any individuals action's is disingenuous at best. Any person who puts themselves out there as Mr. Aigner did knows beforehand that not everyone is going to agree with him. If he can't handle the criticism dealt out by the paper, perhaps he should've thought of that before he spoke up. The price of voicing one's opinion will always be having to listen to detractors.
Case in point- now I will read the opinions of those who disagree with me, and I doubt that I will think about moving. Do you understand that?
housepoor 1 year, 11 months ago
http://www.newwest.net/adventure/article/biking_goes_big_in_ogden_utah/C620/L41/
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