St. Augustine values authenticity.
We love our history and nature.
We treasure reform St. Augustine Mayor Nancy Shaver and we value accuracy in reporting.
In her post-Thanksgiving column, Mayor Shaver respond to the thin-skinned, thick-headed ululating St. Augustine Record editorial, inter alia attempting to divert attention from her requesting a correction from 150 to 50 on the crowd size estimate for the November 17, 2018 Nights of Lights lightup demonstration:
" Fake News Has Come Home to Roost" 11/21/2018
Yes, I am a cheerleader for our City. I’m also a cheerleader for accurate information, and for the Fourth Estate.
I did call out the inaccurate reporting by the Record of 150 protestors at Light-Up Night; the actual easily verifiable count was about 50.
From the Flagler Gargoyle, reporter Katie Garwood:
“Nearly 50 protesters followed .., walking around the Plaza and chanting “
Our City staff count was 58.
The actions of 50 or so people at a community celebration that drew thousands of people don’t seem front page news to me. And I think we all know that social media chatter isn’t always what actually happens. The City did pass an ordinance aimed at keeping everyone safe—and the news to me (maybe not front page) is, it worked as intended.
And yes, I was disappointed that the Record didn’t think the 25th year of Light-Up Night and the honorees deserved front page coverage.
But all that’s your choice as a newspaper.
What I don’t believe is the choice of responsible journalism is reporting to the public that there were 150 protestors when there were 50 (and two Christian demonstrators and eight Hare Krishna—that’s from my count)
Everyone makes mistakes- it’s acknowledging them that matters.
As the headline on your editorial stated, “Fake News Has Come Home to Roost”. I trust it’s not here to stay.
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