A cheap shot about shots


Over the weekend, Portland's daily newspaper (or whatever it is these days) ran a story condemning Catlin Gabel School for getting most of its students vaccinated against Covid before many other parents have been able to do so for their kids. The narrative was clearly that of the rich hurting the poor, as if vaccines for kids were scarce. The piece was prominently displayed for many hours, albeit behind the Paywall of Pity.

As a member of a Catlin household, I would like to call major b.s. on this weak excuse for an article.

First, it is highly misleading. As the school pointed out in a statement sent out to its families yesterday –

But just as importantly, if the O thinks this amateurish hit piece is going to hurt the school, they're farther out of touch than I thought. In fact, to me the news of the school's successful vaccination push is one of the best free advertisements for a private school that I've seen in a long time. Catlin is not perfect, and in the past it's been far from it. But this was not a bad moment for the place, no matter how much some impoverished journalists make it out to be one.

Providing an elite private education at a hefty price tag is not a crime. Neither is getting the students vaccinated as quickly as possible. The O needs to work harder to find and report on the many real scandals in Portland. For a change.

Comments

  1. A reader writes:

    I was astounded, as you were, by how little the actual story matched the snide headline. The headline should have read, “Portland Public Schools turns down free vaccination clinics; private school accepts and invites the neighborhood.”

    ReplyDelete
  2. As my cousin has often said, after many years as a television newsman, "it if bleeds, it leads." Without a spin or headline implying or inferring something untoward would it even be news?

    ReplyDelete

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