As SDP regulars know, over the last two weeks I have published two documents on this blog which I discovered in researching the publicly available papers of former Senator Jim Abourezk. These papers (what historians call a "primary source") are held at the I.D. Weeks Library here at the University of South Dakota, where I am a third year law student. I have coined the term "Bombshell Memo" to describe the documents I uncovered because they detail some of the political activities of David Kranz, then the managing editor of the Mitchell Daily Republic, and now known as the dean of South Dakota political reporters. You can access a pdf copy of the First Bombshell Memo HERE and a pdf copy of the Second Bombshell Memo HERE.
Yesterday on Greg Belfrage's radio show, Randell Beck, executive editor of the Argus Leader, was asked about the Bombshell Memos, and blogs in general. You can access a transcript of Beck's remarks HERE. (Note that I link to the full text of what Beck actually said, allowing the reader to come to his own conclusions, which is more of a courtesy than Beck affords to me or the others he attacks.)
Beck never substantively dealt with the issue of the Bombshell Memos, instead resorting to name-calling and saying ridiculous things that drew attention away from the central issue (in other words, using the red herring fallacy). The Bombshell Memos are powerful pieces of evidence that support the argument that David Kranz is not an objective observer of the South Dakota political scene. Calling these memos "crap" is not an argument. Beck never explains WHY these memos are "crap." I and many others would be interested to know why Beck calls these memos "crap." But he never tells us.
Why won't Beck deal substantively with the issues that are presented by the existence of the Bombshell Memos? Why won't he at least offer an argument? As caller Steve Kirby told Beck at the end of the program, in much more measured tones than Beck was ever able to muster, the Argus Leader has a perception problem. Name-calling and dangling red herrings may be an effective way to manage the employees of the Argus Leader, but such tactics won't cut it beyond the confines of the Argus Leader building in downtown Sioux Falls.
Beck appears to want to talk about the Bombshell Memos. The problem is that he wants to have a debate about the memos behind closed doors, away from the prying eyes of informed readers. That would be a worse than useless exercise. The Argus Leader has a very public perception problem, and the only way to deal with the problem is to have a public debate. If Randell Beck wishes to have a debate about the information that is published on the blogs, that would mean that Randell Beck would have to specifically cite what website he is referring to when he talks about them. I fear that Randell Beck is afraid to reference specific blogs because that will allow his readers and his listeners to come to these blogs and find out for themselves what we're saying. At that point, these readers will find out that what Randell Beck is saying about the blogs isn't true, and that our criticism of the Argus Leader is substantive criticism backed by solid evidence, with reasonable inferences drawn from the evidence. That is much more than these readers got yesteday from the executive editor of the most influential newspaper in the state.
Oh, and in case you didn't know it, my name is Jason Van Beek. Just like it says below every post I write.
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