"Reporter" doesn't report

Letters

Editor: In the Jan. 25 edition of the Bulletin, a report on the second townhall meeting appeared on the front page (written by Pat Johnson). I have to say that there wasn't any connection between this report and what really happened at that meeting.

In a newspaper, there are two kinds of ways to write about things: an opinion piece - where the writer gives his opinion on an issue - and, second, a report - where the reporter gives information about an event. Your "reporter" invented his own way of writing in your paper. On the front page of a paper, reports of events should include facts about the event. At the townhall meeting in question, the first part of the meeting was the showing of a video, followed by a lecture by myself and then the panel session with the three Israel emissaries in Vancouver. I did not see any of this information reported in the article.

The panel provided the opportunity for those attending the meeting to address questions they had to the shlichim, including travel and safety issues in Israel, which concerned many of the audience.

Many people worked to put the townhall meeting together. Geoffrey Druker chaired the meeting. Henry Shiner made all the arrangements before the meeting. Naomi Frankenburg and Judy Mandleman were the real motivators behind the meeting. All these people should have been included in the article.

One commonly heard complaint from North Americans is that general newspapers don't bring us real information about what is happening around us, particularly where Israel is concerned. How can we complain about the general newspapers if "our" newspapers are doing the same.

Ran Bagg
Israel Emissary, Jewish National Fund, Pacific Region

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