Creative Editing of an Article? What's Going On Here!?

[Charles L. Cotton]

Right2carry posted a link to an article appearing in the Houston Chronicle dealing, in part, with the open-carry issue that may make it to the Legislature this session. In it is a quote from former State Senator and current Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson. (For those who don't know him, Jerry Patterson was the Senator who carried SB60 to passage in 1995 and he is often referred to as the "father of concealed carry in Texas.")

This same article by Clay Robertson also appears on MySanAntonio.com. The interesting part is that both articles appear to be identical, though I didn't compare them word-for-word. However, there is a very significant quote from Jerry Patterson that appears in the Chronicle article, but is missing from the San Antonio article. The relevant portions of each article are quoted below, with the missing quote highlighted in the Chronicle.

Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, who as a state senator sponsored the concealed handgun law in 1995, said he also supports the two proposals.

"Is an openly carried gun more dangerous than a concealed one? I don't think so," Patterson said.

"Whether it's a shopping mall, a college campus or just on the street, if a person is 21 and licensed (to carry a firearm), what difference does it make?" he asked.

The fight, however, will be loud and emotional.

Bruce Elfant, a Travis County constable and gun-control advocate, is worried about both proposals, especially the proposal to allow guns on college campuses, which he believes would be dangerous public policy.

"The circus is coming to town, and it's always interesting," he said.

. . .

Now for the San Antonio article that interestingly leaves out Jerry Patterson's comments about open-carry being for people who are licensed (CHLs):

Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, who as a state senator sponsored the concealed handgun law in 1995, said he also supports the two proposals.

“Is an openly carried gun more dangerous than a concealed one? I don't think so,” Patterson said.

The fight, however, will be loud and emotional.

Bruce Elfant, a Travis County constable and gun-control advocate, is worried about both proposals, especially the proposal to allow guns on college campuses, which he believes would be dangerous public policy.

“The circus is coming to town, and it's always interesting.” he said.

. . .

The San Antonio article is quoted on OpenCarry.org at http://opencarry.mywowbb.com/forum66/20237.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, but not the Chronicle article. I'm sure they are not aware that part of Jerry Patterson's comments have apparently been edited out by the San Antonio article, but it is nonetheless misleading. Perhaps someone who is registered on http://www.OpenCarry.org" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; can post something pointing out this discrepancy so they can correct it.

Why would someone leave out such an important distinction made by the Father of Concealed Carry in Texas? It appears that someone is either trying to promote open-carry by misquoting Jerry Paterson, or someone who opposes open-carry (and Jerry Patterson) is trying to distort Jerry's position to hurt him politically in the future. Either way I find such blatant deception cause for concern.

Chas.

Chronicle article
San Antonio article

[aardwolf]

It's sad that biased reporting is no longer news.

[Charles L. Cotton]

It's sad that biased reporting is no longer news.

It is, but what really concerns me is that someone publishing the San Antonio article had to edit out Patterson's second comment about licensing. That's as blatant as you can get, especially when it's under the same guy's byline (Clay Robinson).

Unfortunately, OpenCarry.org has it in a thread titled "Texas Open Carry Bill Expected Soon; Supported by Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson". While they also have a link to the Chronicle article, it isn't quoted and I'm sure they aren't even aware that the San Antonio article, and their website, is misrepresenting Commissioner Patterson's position.

Chas.

[MoparMuscle]

I posted this on the open carry web site. I also sent the following e-mail to the editor of the San Antonio Express News. rrivard@express-news.net If I get a response i'll post it.

Dear Mr. Rivard,

I’m writing this because it’s very disconcerting that an article was not published as it was written. This same article was carried on the Houston Chronicle web site. Why was this line of quote by Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson left out in the San Antonio Express News copy of the article? Is it usual for the San Antonio Express News to edit out parts of articles?

"Whether it's a shopping mall, a college campus or just on the street, if a person is 21 and licensed (to carry a firearm), what difference does it make?" he asked."

Sincerely,

Richard Day

[Charles L. Cotton]

I posted this on the open carry web site. I also sent the following e-mail to the editor of the San Antonio Express News. rrivard@express-news.net If I get a response i'll post it.

Dear Mr. Rivard,

I’m writing this because it’s very disconcerting that an article was not published as it was written. This same article was carried on the Houston Chronicle web site. Why was this line of quote by Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson left out in the San Antonio Express News copy of the article? Is it usual for the San Antonio Express News to edit out parts of articles?

"Whether it's a shopping mall, a college campus or just on the street, if a person is 21 and licensed (to carry a firearm), what difference does it make?" he asked."

Sincerely,

Richard Day

Thanks Richard, this situation is unfair to everyone involved, including Jerry Patterson and OpenCarry.org

Chas.

[MoparMuscle]

I received an aswer to my e-mail to the editor.

Dear Richard --
Robert Rivard asked me to read your e-mail to him, investigate what happened with Clay Robison's column Monday and determine why the Jerry Patterson quote was excised. Here is what I learned:
I don't know if you read Monday's Robison column online or in the Express-News, but if you're a regular Express-News reader, you probably know that Robison's column normally appears at the top of Page 3B in the Metro section every week. This past Monday we had a small section, and had to place a larger-than-usual string of obituaries on Page 3B. That meant the Robison column didn't fit in what was left of 3B and had to be moved to the back page in the section, Page 6B.
However, space there was tight too because 6B had to accommodate the continuation of a story that began on Page 1B and several additional obituaries. That required editors to do some cutting to fit everything into the space available. Part of what was trimmed from Robison's column was the Patterson quote.
The editor in charge said there was no chicanery involved with the cut. The fact is the whole column could have been cut for the week, but the editors tried to make the best of a bad situation. We think Clay's insights from the state capital are worth publishing, and we wanted to save as much of the column as we could. We're sorry we didn't save the part you liked.
A final note: If you compare the Robison column from week to week, you might find other differences. Both the Express-News and the Houston Chronicle reserve the right to display the story as we see fit. We don't, however, change his opinion or the meaning of what he writes. And you didn't ask, but the column that runs in the Express-News newspaper is identical to the one that is published online at mySA.com.
Thanks for the inquiry and for reading our newspaper and/or Web site.
Bob Richter
Public Editor
210-250-3264

[phoneguy]

I received an aswer to my e-mail to the editor.

Dear Richard --
Robert Rivard asked me to read your e-mail to him, investigate what happened with Clay Robison's column Monday and determine why the Jerry Patterson quote was excised. Here is what I learned:
I don't know if you read Monday's Robison column online or in the Express-News, but if you're a regular Express-News reader, you probably know that Robison's column normally appears at the top of Page 3B in the Metro section every week. This past Monday we had a small section, and had to place a larger-than-usual string of obituaries on Page 3B. That meant the Robison column didn't fit in what was left of 3B and had to be moved to the back page in the section, Page 6B.
However, space there was tight too because 6B had to accommodate the continuation of a story that began on Page 1B and several additional obituaries. That required editors to do some cutting to fit everything into the space available. Part of what was trimmed from Robison's column was the Patterson quote.
The editor in charge said there was no chicanery involved with the cut. The fact is the whole column could have been cut for the week, but the editors tried to make the best of a bad situation. We think Clay's insights from the state capital are worth publishing, and we wanted to save as much of the column as we could. We're sorry we didn't save the part you liked.
A final note: If you compare the Robison column from week to week, you might find other differences. Both the Express-News and the Houston Chronicle reserve the right to display the story as we see fit. We don't, however, change his opinion or the meaning of what he writes. And you didn't ask, but the column that runs in the Express-News newspaper is identical to the one that is published online at mySA.com.
Thanks for the inquiry and for reading our newspaper and/or Web site.
Bob Richter
Public Editor
210-250-3264

Partially in the defense of the Express-News, the editor has a point, in the newspaper trade, the first thing that goes in is advertising, what's left is called the "News Hole", so I can see his point about editing for space. However, in regards to the website, the layout requirements are different, to just cut and paste the newspaper article to the website is just laziness. All they have to do is put in a disclaimer that "Express-News articles are edited for space reqiurments, website articles are published in their entirety".

[CompVest]

+1

I did find his comment

We're sorry we didn't save the part you liked.

rather pithy. it isn't a matter of saving the part we liked but keeping the article true to what it said.

[Charles L. Cotton]

We don't, however, change his opinion or the meaning of what he writes.

While Mr. Richter may not appreciate the distinction, they most assuredly did change "his opinion" about open-carry. Jerry Patterson supports licensed open-carry, not unlicensed open-carry.

Chas.

[Morgan]

I always thought news was supposed to be written so it could be understood by a 6th grader, not that it was supposed to appear to be written BY a 6th grader.

[CopOnce]

+1

I did find his comment

We're sorry we didn't save the part you liked.

rather pithy. it isn't a matter of saving the part we liked but keeping the article true to what it said.

I picked up on that too. Doesn't appear that the writer is in favor of hand gun carry at all and backed by its editor.