June 27th, 2013 : Volume HH, Number 13 - Park Slope Food Coop

13-06-27-pp1-16_Layout 1 6/26/13 6:04 PM Page 1212 June 27, 2013 Park Slope Food Coop, Brooklyn, NYWHAT’S UP WITH THEGAZETTE’S REPORTERS?We welcome letters from members. Submissiondeadlines appear in the Coop Calendar. All letterswill be printed if they conform to the publishedguidelines. We will not knowingly publisharticles which are racist, sexist or otherwise discriminatoryThe maximum length for letters is 500words. Letters must include your name andphone number and be typed or very legiblyhandwritten. Editors will reject letters that areillegible or too long.You may submit on paper, typed or very legiblyhandwritten, or via email to GazetteSubmissions@psfc.coopor on disk.AnonymityUnattributed letters will not be publishedunless the Gazette knows the identity of thewriter, and therefore must be signed when submitted(giving phone number). Such letters willbe published only where a reason is given to theeditor as to why public identification of thewriter would impose an unfair burden of embarrassmentor difficulty. Such letters must relateto Coop issues and avoid any non-constructive,non-cooperative language.LETTERS POLICYFairnessIn order to provide fair, comprehensive, factualcoverage:1. The Gazette will not publish hearsay—thatis, allegations not based on the author's firsthandobservation.2. Nor will we publish accusations that arenot specific or are not substantiated by factualassertions.3. Copies of submissions that make substantiveaccusations against specific individuals willbe given to those persons to enable them towrite a response, and both submissions andresponse will be published simultaneously. Thismeans that the original submission may notappear until the issue after the one for which itwas submitted.The above applies to both articles and letters.The only exceptions will be articles by Gazettereporters which will be required to include theresponse within the article itself.RespectLetters must not be personally derogatory orinsulting, even when strongly criticizing an individualmember's actions. Letter writers mustrefer to other people with respect, refrain fromcalling someone by a nickname that the personnever uses himself or herself, and refrain fromcomparing other people to odious figures likeHitler or Idi Amin.TO THE EDITOR:What are we to make of a recentspate of opinionated articles attackingand mocking the Coop’s membershipby Linewaiters’ Gazette reporters?The Gazette’s Coordinating Editorshave issues to consider.Numerous letters have appearedcriticizing these articles. Among otherswas “Journalistic Sloppiness”(3/7/2013) in which Martin Beauchamp’ssleuthing uncovered sourcesfor Taigi Smith’s 2/21/2013 article(“Leaving the Coop! Why Folks Fly theCoop”). According to him, “Thereporter is trolling the comment sectionof Yelp and regurgitating theworst of it into the Gazette. This is notjournalism and more importantly it isnot constructive criticism about howto make our Coop better.”The article’s first two columnsdeserve special attention, describing amembership “teeming with Coopjunkies who...plow their way throughthe aisles...mak[ing] snarky remarks at[those] who...get in their way...For[whom] shopping elsewhere is akin tofoodie suicide...[The Coop] is their holyground.” The description ends with thissmug consolation, “And then, ofcourse, there are the rest of us.”The last column profiles one exampleof those sane members who lovethe Coop and “wouldn’t dream ofshopping anywhere else.” One supposesthis satisfies the balancerequirement, but one also wondershow this profile differs significantlyfrom those “who’d rather go hungrythan to Whole Foods.”The article that escaped the barrageof complaints but richly deservedit was Allison Pennell’s 2/21/2013Gazette front-page story (“On DebatingDebate: Jan. 29, 2013 General Meeting”)which describes the reporter’sfeelings about covering this GM,which she compares to the trauma ofhostage situations. About the attendees,she observes: “Lovers of democracy”were “out in numbers,” todiscuss the issues and “to talk aboutthe current market value of theirbrownstones...Old hippies work thatin...just like Harvard grads do.”The presenters and debaters fareno better. That the debate clearly hadimportance to them just adds to hermocking and caustic astonishment.She refers to one contributor as“Mitchell, of something and somewhere”and throws in an “Oh lordy” forgood measure.These reporters, being members,have every right to express theseviews, but should they get workslotcredit for them? A Gazette documenttitled “A Program for the Linewaiters’Gazette,” is a set of guidelines forreporters and editors. About reporterarticles, it says:• The article should be structuredin a normal journalistic style and notbegin with or mention the process ofassignment or selection or preparingthe article unless this contributesmeaningfully to its content.• Personal opinions of thereporters should not be expressed inarticles that can be considered ashard news.• Purely opinion articles should besubmitted as Letters to the Editor orvoluntary articles without workslotcredit.One wonders what the CoordinatingEditors think, especially whetherthese articles conform to the guidelinesgiven above. Certainly there’sbeen enough reaction to warrant aresponse, and so one is requestedhere, as provided for in the final paragraphof the “Gazette Editorial Policies”(12/29/2011).David BarouhRESPONSE TOBAROUH LETTERDEAR MR. BAROUH:Thank you for taking the time torespond to my article. I consider it anhonor, as a quick Internet searchrevealed that you often comment onmatters related to the Linewaiters'Gazette. The wonderful thing about thePSFC is that everyone, when asked,seems to have an opinion. All one hasto do is ask. I will not use this forumto defend myself, as I don't feel theneed to do so. I've been a professionaljournalist for almost 20 years andhonestly, this is the first time I'vebeen accused of "journalistic sloppiness."To be clear, I conducted numerousinterviews for the story, "WhyFolks Fly the Coop." I used the Internetas a tool to track down peoplewho had opinions on the Internet. Infact, I conducted interviews with bothEmily Poehler, Aaron-Taylor Wideman,and Rene Brinkley. I solicitedinterviews from several other people,but didn't get responses. Interviewswere by conducted e-mail and byphone. In addition to that, I was suppliedover 100 exit surveys from PSFCCoordinator Ann Herpel. I reviewedeach of those surveys and found cluesto "why folks fly the Coop."Taigi SmithRESPECT YOURNEIGHBORSDEAR EDITOR,Following this short note from meis a thoughtful letter from one of ourneighbors on the block who took thetime to write to all of us. Our MissionStatement says that "We strive to be aresponsible and ethical employer andneighbor." Please help in any way youcan to address the problems outlinedbelow.In cooperation,Joe HoltzGeneral CoordinatorAfter living on the same block asthe Food Coop for 20 years, I canattest to the fact that some of yourmembers are extremely inconsiderate,and they make the rest of you lookbad. Those of us who are your neighbors(but not members) put up with alot of inconvenience. Though we havenoticed and appreciate that you arecaring for the recently planted trees onthe block, there are many actions weregularly witness that are much lessneighborly. We'd appreciate if you'dconsider this list of do's and don'tsthe next time you visit the Coop:Don't park in front of the firehouse;blocking the firehouse puts livesin danger.Don't park in spots designated forfiremen; free parking is one of the fewperks they get for risking their livesevery day.Don't ride your bike on the sidewalk.If you're 13 or older, it's illegal,never mind dangerous to pedestrians.If your dog barks incessantly assoon as you are out of view, don't tiehim/her up outside while you shop orwork your shift. It is unkind to youranimal and unkind to our ears. Leaveyour pet home or ask someone tokeep him/her company while you'reinside.Don't unload your groceries intoyour bike carriers and leave the cardboardboxes behind. Though theymay be biodegradable, the boxes arequickly used by others as a receptaclefor coffee cups, empty bottles, anddog waste. It falls on your neighborsto bag and dispose of this trash.If your cart tips over and your groceriesend up on the sidewalk, don'tleave broken glass, tomato sauce, oreggs for us to clean up. Go back to theCoop, get a broom or a bucket ofwater and take care of the mess.If a truck is double-parked whiledelivering to the Coop and traffic isunable to pass, don't let the situationdegenerate into gridlock, horn-honking,yelling, and fisticuffs. Instead ofwatching from the sidewalk, helpdirect traffic.The next time you see a fellowmember acting inconsiderately, callthem on it, don't just look the otherway. A New York Times article last yearreported that people who purchaseorganic food were less consideratethan the average person; please provethose researchers wrong. Though youmay not reside on Union Street, weare all neighbors.Sincerely,Your Neighbors on Union StreetANOTHER PERSPECTIVEON PLASTIC BAGSDEAR MEMBERS:I suspect that many of us membersare confused about the proposal tophase out the free distribution ofplastic produce bags at the Coop. Intheory I'm in favor of phasing outplastic produce bags, but not at theexpense of the Coop's smooth operations.And what does phasing out freedistribution actually mean? Is theemphasis on the word "free" or are thewords "phasing out" the priority? Iffree distribution is being phased out,does that mean that bags will costmoney or that they just won't be available?I've seen inconsistencies in theproposal and discussions of it, as towhat we are really being asked to voteon. And I'm very concerned by theCONTINUED ON PAGE 14Read the Gazette while you’re standing on line OR online at www.foodcoop.com