The laziness of the false equivalence
A talented team of young journalists leads the news division of The Nassau Guardian. They take seriously their responsibility to provide to the Bahamian public a credible and fearless newspaper of record.
At a time in our country when so many young Bahamians have lost their way to underachievement and criminality, these young people are examples of the best that we can be.
We rarely get involved with the opinions of our columnists. They have the right to express themselves in our pages within the parameters of what is lawful and in good taste. As a strong believer in free speech, this newspaper even publishes their criticisms of us once they fall within the boundaries of what is lawful and in good taste.
We take issue, though, with the tone of, and suggestions in, the Front Porch column in today's newspaper. The writer criticizes a National Review column written by our broadcast editor, Juan McCartney. We do not seek to defend McCartney's arguments. He is a capable young man who knows how to defend his views. What we take issue with in the column is the suggestion by the writer, who we know well, that McCartney is intellectually less than able as a journalist.
McCartney leads our broadcast news division and is hardworking. This includes the radio news and NB12. This is the same NB12 the writer praised in his piece. McCartney, from an editorial perspective, is responsible for leading NB12 to being the best TV news program in the country without question. The quality of that broadcast has made ZNS TV news look like a relic of the past.
McCartney and his team do well to give the news as it is; to show Bahamians what happened without filtering it to please anyone. They also do well to challenge public figures, holding them accountable. We are pleased with what they have accomplished in helping to expand the reach of The Nassau Guardian. It is a pleasure to employ such a hardworking, dedicated and intelligent team of young Bahamians at The Nassau Guardian.
We do not agree with all their personal views, but we believe in their collective ability to lead this organization. In debate we all should seek to stick to the ideas under consideration rather than leveling personal attacks. The writer of Front Porch is intellectually agile and skilled with the pen. We hope going forward that the writer uses that skilled pen for debate rather than to personally attack capable young Bahamian professionals we all should be proud of.
The practice of personally tearing down those who dissent is below intelligent and accomplished men and women. We are pleased to have our team. We believe in these young Bahamians. We seek to elevate them as far as their talents and interests extend. It is unfortunate that others, who have so many accomplishments, seek to do otherwise.
Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian
