INVASION OF THE POD PEOPLE
Last week, Illinois Times published a letter to the editor
from Dena R. Scott of Champaign. She praised President George W. Bush’s record
on the economy and noted, among other things, that the president “has outlined
a six-point plan to create even more job opportunities for America’s workers.”
On Monday, Christina Robinson-Race of Springfield e-mailed us a letter, also
praising President Bush’s record on the economy. Most of Robinson-Race’s letter
was identical to Scott’s, including a word-for-word description of the president’s
“six-point plan.”
This got us to wondering: How many folks are borrowing from the same script?
A quick check of Nexis turned up nine major newspapers — from New York to Idaho
— that published letters using the same exact language, “written” by local readers.
There’s a simple explanation, it turns out. Robinson-Race tells IT
she composed her letter at the president’s campaign Web site, www.georgebush.com.
The site not only provides electronic forms and e-mail addresses with which
to contact local newspapers, it also supplies “talking points” on a variety
of subjects, including the economy.
BITS AND BYTES
In a move bound to cheer both insomniacs and conspiracy theorists, Springfield
city government has added audio of every City Council and council committee
meeting to its Web site. The files are available in a downloadable MP3 format
at www.springfield.il.us/city_gov/clerk.
City Clerk Cecilia Tumulty had campaigned on the promise of an interactive
office, and has always had meeting agendas and minutes available online. The
steps needed to load audio files weren’t taken until the recent release of the
clerk’s recording of the council’s executive session discussion regarding settlement
of the Renatta Frazier lawsuit.
This article appears in Jul 29 – Aug 4, 2004.
