What The Media Left Out

On Monday evening the Hightstown Borough Council voted 4-2 in favor of unlimited taxis in Hightstown and it is no secret that I was one of the two “No” votes.  I don’t like it but the vote is done and I accept that.

What I have a much more difficult time accepting is the disservice done to Borough residents by the coverage of the issue by some of the local media.  As a first-hand observer of what was actually said and presented at council meetings and comparing it to what I read – particularly in the Patch -- I have been amazed how the coverage has been spectacular in factual errors, absent of any context and virtual omission of any fact, opinion or statement that runs counter to what appears to be a preset, sensational storyline about racism in a small town.

Although they were provided with it on multiple occasions over the last several months, the media ignored information and data about the taxi limits imposed by other municipalities in New Jersey that would have provided important context for residents in judging Hightstown’s ordinance.   Of course, providing such information and context would have negated the argument that Hightstown’s ordinance was “racist” or “targeting the Latino community.”

So residents reading media coverage of the issue never learned that at least 50 other municipalities in NJ have set limits on taxis.  I say "at least 50" because I only researched towns similar to Hightstown in size or demographic composition.

That context might have lead readers to question why the "community activists" focusing on the alleged racism of Hightstown’s ordinance have been silent when towns like Freehold, Trenton, Paterson, Passaic, Newark and at least 45 others passed much more restrictive limits on taxis.  I even gave them the opportunity to voice their outrage at these municipalities when I read a list of them at
Monday's meeting.  Alas, there was only silence – and no media mention of it.  A list of 50 municipalities, their taxi limits and insurance requirements is conspicuously absent in media coverage.

The media did duly report comments about Hightstown having “no public transportation” and that “taxis are the only option.”  No reporter bothered to do what I and other members of the public did and check the accuracy – or rather, the inaccuracy -- of those statements.  The media also never bothered to report the fact that Hightstown is served by nearly 150 buses running in all directions each day.

Articles about the taxi ordinance, such as a Patch story on April 18, frequently referred to those favoring no limits on taxis as “Members of Hightstown’s Hispanic community”.   It would have been accurate to have stated these advocates as “members of East Windsor’s Hispanic community” or “taxi company owners. ” But accuracy would not have served the intended preset story.

 A recent example is in the article on Monday’s meeting on Patch that quotes “Ana Pazmino, a member of Unidad Latina en Acción in Hightstown.  It would have been more accurate to say “Ana Pazmino of East Windsor” which is the address Ms. Pazmino gave at the meeting.  It would also been more accurate to say Unidad Latina en Acción, a New Haven, Connecticut-based activist group because the only contact information on the group’s web site is a New Haven phone
number.   Previous articles in the Patch have quoted Jorge Torres and Dave Schraeger – neither of whom are Hightstown residents – and again identify  Unidad Latina en Acción as “ a non-profit organization in Hightstown and East Windsor.”  This is factually incorrect, it is not a registered as a 501c3 private non-profit organization based in Hightstown or East Windsor.

A review of Patch articles about the taxi ordinance over the past year shows no quotes from a member of the public opposed to unlimited taxis.

I thought the article on Monday’s meeting would be different because Dave Bell, a Hightstown resident, pointed out that the “community” speaking in favor of unlimited taxis was made up almost exclusively of East Windsor residents and taxi owners or drivers.  Mr. Bell also began to address how the allegations of racism had been employed to stifle debate when he was quickly interrupted and cut off by Mayor Kirson.

Unfortunately, unless you read Mr. Bell’s comments on the Patch story you would not know what had transpired.

I guess none of this should surprise me given an article on December 20, 2010 by Hank Kalet, regional editor for Patch, entitled “Taxi rules fight has nothing to do with taxis.”  The article begins:

 “The Borough of Hightstown has been debating the taxi issue for what seems like an eternity, thanks in no small part to a particularly onerous set of rules that appear designed to keep Latinos from driving local cabs.”

I should point out that Mr. Kalet’s article is labeled “Opinion” so as to make it clear that there is no pretense of objectivity. The Patch should end the illusion that it provides objective reporting and apply that label to all of their articles.  Barring that, I suggest that readers would be wise to read articles as if they were so labeled.