Metroland Chooses .... The Morally Bankrupt Post-Star!

While I can't argue that the local and arts sections of our local paper can be quite good, I can certainly take great exception with Metroland staffers for voting the Glens Falls Post-Star "Best daily Newspaper of 2005" !!!!!!I'm a Post-Star subscriber, so I see the "paper", in total, every day. Unfortunately, the Post Star is not just the work of the handful of people Metroland is celebrating (arts and local).I have to wonder if this award is just some kind of kiss-ass attempt to make up with Ken Tingley because Metroland had the nerve to cover our "Molly Ivins Read-In" last year protesting Ken's overt display of Republican bias, canceling Ivins' column right smack in the middle of election season!It should also be noted that the "Best Daily Newspaper of 2005"cheerleaded the occupation of Iraq (and still does), reduced space for letters to the editor by almost 30% over last year and makes it a practice of shutting independent political candidates out of its news coverage.Which part of this did the Capital District's "progressive" news magazine think made the Post-Star the "Best"?Its strange, because Rock Hill was voted Best Bread Bakery (or Best European Bread Bakery) each year that we advertised in Metroland. We stopped advertising with them when they fired our longtime sales rep. I asked why they had fired this longtime employee and friend of ours and they never even gave me the courtesy of a response so I cancelled our advertising with them. The next year we apparently weren't even in the running for "Best of" anymore. Strange, huh? We still make the bread exactly the same way we did before ..... ;-)I can only wonder what kind of crack those wacky loonies are smoking down there now to choose such a mainstream corporate paper as their favorite? I guess the Daily Gazette doesn't advertise with them anymore, either .... (ha ha ha)* Here's the actual piece *The following "Best Of" selection was made by Metroland staff members.Best Daily Newspaper - The Post-Star (Glens Falls)The first thing you notice about The Post Star is what an appealing-looking newspaper it is, with its nice newsprint, clear, easy-to-read typeface and first-rate layout. (Hey, aesthetics are important.) Happily, The Post Star has the substance to match the packaging. They have solid coverage of local news such as the dam break in Fort Ann, and their features, like the recent series on domestic abuse, are well-researched and written. And they’re hip enough to run album reviews of stuff like Sleater-Kinney and Yo La Tengo in the arts section. A pleasure to read.

* The following letter to the editors at Metroland was written by my friend who used to work for the Post-Star, Rob Barendse.

editors-your choice of the post star as best daily newspaper is astounding. it is among among the worst rags in the country. you may like the "looks" of this rag but beauty is only skin deep. the paper is almost unamimously despised by the residents in its area for its mean-spirited, opportunistic, and close-minded coverage. with steadily dropping circulation numbers your favorite paper will eventually bury itself. big on self-congratulations and narcissism, they have cut the available space for letters, supported and continue to support the illegal war in iraq, don't give fair play or coverage to third party political candidates, print without questioning every lie this government feeds them, and routinely ignore any opposition viewpoints. i couldn't imagine a worse choice. that they may print the occasional "in-depth" series stems not from an altruistic desire to expose truth but from an opportunistic and capitalist bent to exploit whatever seems popular at the moment. they use a dart board approach in choosing their stories. i know. i used to work there. rob barendse