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PAGE 4. WEDNESDAY AUGUST 31, 1983. WHITBY FREE PRESS whitby Voice of the County Town The only Whitbv newÉnaner indenondpantl,. uiished every Wednesday Michael Ian Burgess, Publisher . Managing Editor .. .ad ..,. ------...0 aaiuupc'iut:iv&ly ue aau uperatea by vniby resîoents for Whitby residents. by M.B.M. Publishing and Photography Ine. Phone 668-6111 The Free Press Building, 131 Brock Street North, P.0. Box 206, Whitby, Ont. ['.0. Box 206, Whitby, Ont. Regisiration No. 5351 TIMOTHY BAINES Community Editor ANDY THOMSON Advertising Manager Second Class Mail Registration No. 5351 Are we giving our mayor too much coverage? The Whitby Free Press has come under criticism (in a letter printed below) for what may seem like an endless barrage of photographs and articles about Whitby mayor, Bob Attersley. Granted, we admit we have given Mr. Attersiey much-exposure but we don't feel we are overdoing 't. Because a mayor is top gun in any community, he is a newsworthy figure, deserving attention. Mayor Attersley Is almost always on hand at the. openings of new businesses in town. These openlngs deserve our coverage and it is often a boost to the owners to have the mayor involved in any photograph taken. It serves as a sort of per- sonal endorsement and encouragement by Mayor Attersley. The point has been made that using a front page photograph to highlight Mayor Attersley's 50th birthday was a waste. It is our policy when choosIng a front page picture to use elther a hard news photo or one that contains action and is eye- catching. It is our opinion that the photo we used effec- tively captured the spirit of the birthday surprise sign which was erected outside of the municipal offices on Rossland Rd. A friend of mine who lives in Ottawa feels his mis- sion in life is ta do something ta unstuff the average Canadian. We do take ourselves pretty seriously. My friend has a ploy he uses in elevators ta loosen things up a little. He looks around, chooses his target, and slides up ta total strangers. "You know," he says, "we may never meet again."' Attractive women sometimes think he's a masher; some men (we all know the type) stare right through him and pretend he doesn't exist. Others grin and chat a bit. Not long ago he tried his little ploy in the elevator on his way ta work. Three minutes later, the man he spoke ta was in his office handing him a writ. It turns out, the guy he was never going ta meet again was a bailiff. My friend still calls him from time ta time, ta see how he's doing. i was reminded of all this after reading Allan Fotheringham in Maclean's. Sometimes I think that Fotheringham is the only good political commentator in the country. I'm also sure I wouldn't think that if I were in politics. His stuff is cruel, funny, close ta libelous and very, very un- Canadian. He is like a flamboyant tropical plant which was nurtured in the hot black soil of the equator, and which somehow survived a transplant ta this thin and sometimes peevish northern climate. Hethrows away more good Unes in one column than the rest of us come up with in 18 months. Examples: "Brian Mulroney - the jaw that walks like a man"; John Roberts: "Everyone's candidate for the perfect cocktail party diplomat"... the Minister for Acid Rain." On Donald McDonaid: "owner of the slowest developing royal commission in Canadian history." Pierre Trudeau: "a legend in his own mind." The stuff just seems ta bub- ble out of him, undiminished by the hostile environment. If you wonder why Fotheringham isn't inundated with law-suits, I suspect it's because the politicians have come ta realize that in winning one, they'd lose their shirts. And it is also because he does his homework. He's a working journalist, and when you analyze the acid that he spills on the back page of Maclean's, you realize there is very little of it that is even faintly ac- tionable. Here's to Fotheringham and my bumtious pal on the elevators. We may yet learn ta laugh at ourselves. The reader suggests that we could dedicate more time to the activities of non-profit, com- munity service organizations. We atteïnpt to cover as many of these organizations as we can. in the past we have supported many of these groups with coverage and we will continue to do so. In last week's paper for example we carried over for- ty storles dealing with non-profit type activities and publicized some 64 local non-profit organizations. In fact our owner, Michael I. Burgess, ls and has always been a strong supporter of local non-profit organizations both editorially and personally. He has personally devoted much of his own time and efforts to local organizations and has served as President of such organizations as the Whitby Jaycees, Whitby Chamber of Commerce, Durham Region Branch of the Ontarlo Humane Society, Durham Cultural Foundation, Athol-Green Co-op, Oshawa Motor Sport Club, and has served on the Downtown Improvement Area Board, Property Standards Committee, Cancer Society, Durham Board of Education Business Liaison Committee and others. Mr. Burgess and the Whitby Free Press have been publicly commended by such organizations as the Whitby Jaycees, Whitby Chamber of Com- merce, Unicef, Whitby Curling Club Business Girls, Dale Carnegie Courses and Kinsmen Club just to name a few. We do not have the resources or space to span the whole Durham Region with coverage or feature stories, nor do we have the desire to do so. We are the Whitby newbpaper, and as such our Reader protests publicit y of mayor Dear Sir, Your August 17 issue has finally prompted me to write in protest of your continual publication of photographs and ar- ticles about our Mayor,' Mr. Attersley. It seems that this practice occurs in almost every issue with frequent doubje exposures (witness your latest issue). I realize that a Mavor mandate is to cover Whitby. We also feel that Mayor Attersley ls worthy of much of the praise he is given. The Town of Whitby, through Mayor Attersley, has attracted 22 new industries to town in the pastyear. This agressive marketing strategy has led to Whitby suddenly being recognized as more than a small little town overshadowed by Oshawa. We have received coverage on a national television program The Journal on CBC. The Toronto Star printed an editorial lauding Whitby for its sales techniques, which are leading to progression of the community. A Free Press editorial on the same subject was reprInted in Its entirety by anotherwell respected newspaper. Let's give the mayor some credit, we didn't get this far with him twiddling his thumbs. We try to keep our coverage fair, but we are open to suggestions. We are the only locally owned community paper and the only newspaper to pay taxes to the Town of Whitby and thus our aim is to inform and please our readers. If you have any comments or stories you think we should cover, please feel free to cail us at 668- 6111 or write to The Whitby Free Press, Box 206, Whitby, Ontario, L1N 5S1. You can also drop in to ouroffice at 131 Brock St. N., Whitby. We need your encouragement and support, because putting out a small independent com- munity newspaper ls no easy matter when we're bombarded by all thei Torstar and Thompson area. area. holds a position which has publicity im- plications, but, is there not a reasonable limit to such occurences being reported? I doubt that the Mayors of Oshawa, Ajax and Pickering grace the pages of their local publications with the same frequency that Mr. Attersley is bestowed with. Dedicating the better part of your front page mult-million dollar backed owned newspapers in the to highnght Mr. Atter- sley's recent birthday seems such a waste. In closing, I might suggest that more space in your paper be allocated to the ac- tivities of non-profit, community service organizations, the benefits of which would be directly reflected back into the com- munity. G.A. Cole ...............~ -~t.-- - N