The Arizona Republic blogs have the unintended consequence of allowing readers to get a glimpse into the psyche of the Republic's reporters and editors. Oftentimes these glimpses show examples of deep biases that taint the stories they write.
Here's a example of completely unprofessional snarky diatribe by Republic Editor John D'Anna. This piece is so full of condescension that it wouldn't make the cut for a letter to the editor. When you read it, remember that D'Anna has a significant role in the Republic's environmental coverage and ask yourself if he would be able to put these views aside and cover the issue fairly.
The topic is fairly straightforward. Mesa is having a hazardous waste collection day. Here's D'Anna's post.
Mesa is hosting a hazardous waste collection day a week from Saturday, and the only question we have is, how are they going to fit the entire downtown in a Dumpster?
Seriously, one man's trash is another man's...Apache Junction!
Whoa, call us butter 'cause we're on a roll!
Anyway, if you happen to reside in the city of wide streets and narrow minds (as we do) you can get rid of old cans of paint, batteries, pesticides, tires, dismembered body parts, WMD or Steve Benson cartoons by bringing them to the East Mesa Service Center, 6935 E. Decatur (east of Power Road, north of University) between 8 a.m. and noon Oct. 6.
There's no charge, but you do have to show your most recent sanitation bill to prove you're not trying to sneak stuff in from Tempe.
We picked on Mesa becasue we just happend to get a press release from them, but more and more cities are hosting such events.
We can't tell you which ones just now, because that would involve research, and you know how we feel about not letting work interfere with our employment.
-- John D'Anna
I realize that he's trying to be funny, but it reads like the wedding toast of a drunk best man who doesn't like the bride. He can claim he's only joking, but it's clear that he means it. And I'm not going to comment on his spelling errors since I can't spell "because" or "happened" either.
But ask yourself if it's appropriate to call Mesa a "city of wide streets and narrow minds". Ask yourself what he thinks of Russell Pearce, Karen Johnson or the LDS church. The answers are obvious.
John D'Anna has tremendous behind-the-scenes influence on the content of Republic stories. If he can turn Mesa's announcement of a hazardous waste pick up into a snarky diatribe about Mesa, Apache Jucntion and the people who inhabit them, think what he does when an East Valley legislator sponsors a bill that D'Anna opposes.
Greg,
Actually the last sentence of the quoted piece is most telling. Why would anyone want to do real research when you can just write mispelled junior high drivel and get away with it?
Posted by: ron | September 26, 2007 at 10:58 AM
I guess it depends on what area of Mesa you live in. I lived in West Mesa for 2 1/2 years and saw a neighborhood that was a nice working class area turn into an urban-blighted, city-neglected (18 months to change a lamplight after several complaints), gang-controlled battlezone (I could start to identify the caliber of weapon being fired into, hopefully, the air).
A hint to the city fathers: When check-cashing stores become your greatest municipal resource, it's time to reconsider what your city plan is.
Posted by: The Klute | September 26, 2007 at 11:16 AM
Poor Mesa gets a bad rap every time, just because there's a large percentage of Hispanics and other minorities living there. You know, every town has its pros and its cons (no puns here).
Secondly, blogs are supposed to be less formal than an actual story. Of course, D'Anna does sound pretty bias...
Posted by: Happy | September 26, 2007 at 12:25 PM
It has nothing to do with minorities, it has to do with awful City Management. Main Street is a ghost town. The gateway to the city (MCC, Banner Desert, Fiesta Mall) is in parts teetering on collapse or fully collapsed. The city seems happy to focus their efforts on East Mesa and let West Mesa become a more modern version of the Old West.
Mesa's Riverview has already been eclipsed by Tempe Marketplace. The Mesa Arts Center is a massive boondoggle. Have they even started the Aquatic Center? Property values are through the floor.
The only pro I concluded about living in Mesa was that I wasn't required to stay there.
Posted by: The Klute | September 26, 2007 at 01:43 PM
And here I thought I was helping the environment by turning in my used motor oil. Would D’Anna prefer I just pour it down the storm drain?
Posted by: Kris | September 26, 2007 at 02:16 PM
Maybe he's just mad about losing his Mesa digs. All those backwards people, you know, moving into his office. Oh well, they're still selling papers in downtown Phoenix.
"CB Richard Ellis is pleased to offer 1920 South Lewis Street (the former Arizona Republic Newspaper printing and warehouse facility). This project is being offered as a unique redevelopment opportunity related to the existing building and new development opportunity on the excess land..." (http://listing.loopnet.com/15335792)
Posted by: Dewey | September 26, 2007 at 03:29 PM
I love drunk reporters and I love the word "snarky".
Posted by: Travis | September 26, 2007 at 05:45 PM
d'Anna should know about running down things. He filled the Republic newsroom with lousy hires from the Mesa Tribune.
Posted by: Renata | September 26, 2007 at 07:54 PM
d'Anna is only a bit player when it comes to running the Republic into the ground. Lets not overlook the real pilots of this looming disaster happening before our eyes.
Randy Lovely, Nicole Carroll, Ward Bushee, Tracy Collins, Keira Nothaft and Michael Roberts.
Their legacy will be that they were at the controls and nosed the paper into a death spiral.
Posted by: Art | September 26, 2007 at 09:02 PM
I wonder if those last few buggy-whip craftsmen were as arrogant, unprofessional, and pampered as the current crowd.
Posted by: Joe Baby | September 26, 2007 at 10:40 PM