Love/Hate Mail
Cover praise
I’d like to express my enthusiastic gratitude to Jack Hurst for the wonderfully in-depth, very balanced and truly enlightening interview and profile of Carolynn Reid-Wallace, the new president of Fisk University (Cover Story, April 25). What a refreshing change from the ongoing negative and sensational coverage in The Tennessean to read such a well-done exploration of this woman, her mission and the challenges she faces. As a local alumna and contemporary of Dr. Reid-Wallace, I appreciate the opportunity to gain more insight into her background, persona and professional experiences. My heartfelt prayers and good wishes go with her as she proceeds toward accomplishing the goals she has set for a better and brighter Fisk University.
Dot Fort
dotfort@bellsouth.net (Nashville)
Less Gameboy, more ticks
Thanks for the great editorial featuring Bill Coble (“Take the Kids Outside,” April 25). I serve as director of World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) Southeast Rivers and Streams Project and have had the pleasure of working with Bill on many projects. WWF has an office in the Southeast because this is one of the most biodiverse freshwater regions in the world. Put simply, there are more different kinds of fish, mussels and other freshwater species living here than most places on the planet. You and Bill are both right—get the kids and yourselves outside. We’re part of nature, not separate from it. If we could all spend a little time to learn the names of a few trees, birds, mammals and fish that we share this state with, we would all begin to care more about their plight, which is inextricably linked with our own. Thanks again.
Wendy Smith
2021 21st Ave. S., Nashville
Don’t forget Cornett
It seems every time I read an article by Liz Garrigan on the subject of the 5th District congressional race, Ms. Garrigan constantly omits a name from the field of candidates (Political Notes, April 25). If this were a one-time mistake, I could understand, but this has been going on for over a year now. Carlton Cornett is the candidate that I’m speaking of. Cornett is the only candidate who had the spine to enter the race right from the beginning, and Ms. Garrigan has ignored him right from the beginning. Apparently we only get to read what Ms. Garrigan wants us to read.
By withholding this information, Ms. Garrigan greatly diminishes the public’s decision-making process. In this case alone, she has constantly withheld information about Carlton Cornett. How much other information has been withheld? I know I will never believe anything else written by the biased Ms. Garrigan.
Robert McNamara
1408 Eastland Ave., Nashville
Touché
You guys must have been hard-up for editorial kicks with your Memphis-bashing editorial of April 18 (“Nana-Nana Boo-Boo”). Really, don’t your editorial writers have anything better to do than to serve up old, tired inaccurate stereotypes about our city that bear little (if any) resemblance to current reality? It’s truly not worth responding to, except to point out this fact: We’d much rather have Mike Tyson in our midst for a week than state Sen. Marsha Blackburn permanently.
Ken Neill, publisher
The Memphis Flyer
MEMFLYKEN2@aol.com (Memphis)
One happy monkey
I just wanted to take a minute and send in a big thank you for the great story Noel Murray wrote about Pinmonkey (“Monkey Business,” April 25). It was the best article I’ve read to date about the band. I posted a link to the article in the Pinmonkey Fan Forum for other fans to check out. Thanks for all of your support.
Mike Smith
pinmonkeyfan@yahoo.com (Nashville)
An angry white guy
I enjoy reading your paper for its reviews and things to do in Nashville. I don’t believe that it could be any more obvious that the political views are left-wing and liberal. Like it or not, this town is still conservative, and the conservative view needs to be represented to have any balance in a paper that is dominated by liberal writers and cartoonists. Maybe your paper isn’t concerned with the views of the rest of Nashville outside the West End, Vandy click. The Scene is free, and I do read all views of the left and right, but if it cost me a dime I would probably pass. I already subscribe to Nashville’s liberal paper, The Tennessean. I don’t need another.
Eric Gregory
vangreg34@mindspring.com (Mt. Juliet)
In praise of community journalism
I picked up a copy of the Scene while in town over the weekend and was taken aback by one comment in the article on the new “Davidson A.M.” section of The Tennessean (Desperately Seeking the News, April 18): “You’ve managed to take what’s left of a big city newspaper and give it the look, feel and gravitas of a small-town weekly.”
Ouch! A little respect, please! In the last 104 years, my small-town weekly (circulation 9,000 in a population of 61,000) has won hundreds of awards from the state press association, and we were named the nation’s best medium-sized weekly by the National Newspaper Association in 2000. We don’t do “good news.” We do hard news, as the true gods of journalism decree.
You got it right elsewhere in the article: That section is pure Gannett, and I’d just as soon my niche not be mentioned in the same breath as that corporate giant. Wish the City Paper luck in its war with the Evil Empire for me, will y’all?
Eric Francis, The Times staff writer
eric@nlrtimes.com (North Little Rock, Ark.)
Correction
Fisk University’s Alfred Stieglitz art collection contains works by Picasso, Renoir and Toulouse-Lautrec—but no works by Monet, as stated in last week’s cover story. And in the April 11 “Best of Nashville” issue, we misidentified Marvin Posey, the proprietor of Aura Hair Salon.
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