Sunday, January 08, 2006

Elton Dodson was misquoted.

As expected and halfway predicted in our previous post, we got a reasonably angry denial from Elton Dodson.  Expect to see a letter to this effect in the ABH this week from the Commissioner.  

For what it’s worth, Dodson says he was misquoted by the ABH and implies that his quote was somewhat parsed out by Blake Aued.  He further affirms that he is 100% supportive of the Mayor and the poverty task force.  The statement with respect to lip service, according to Dodson, was with respect to any possible other Mayor, if Davison doesn’t run or doesn’t win.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

you guys really have got to stop reacting to what you read in the ABH as if it were the truth and the whole story. you should know by now that most of the quotes in Blake's articles are wrong in substantive ways and quite a few of them are just plain fabrications.

It would be laughable if people didn't suddenly start writing semi-serious stuff based on ABH stories. Most of the commissioners and probably the mayor have simply stopped trying to get corrections from the ABH because it would be too time consuming.

you think they need to bring back the "In the Loop" column?! Hell! It's already there! Practically every story they print is an "In the Loop" gossip column. I always thought it was kinda redundant, anyway. The ABH hasn't been able to separate the opinion pages from the news pages in years - it goes back to well before this mayor and commission and way before Blake.

Cufflink Carl said...

Heavens! What could possibly make people think we're even semi-serious?

All I know sometimes is what I read in the paper, and short of quitting my two jobs and dropping out of school to pursue putting out AthPo as a full time job, that's probably the bulk of what you're going to see. But we're not a news blog, or even a blog about the news. We're a blog that provides comment, analysis, and wild-eyed speculation about the news. So, if the ABH gets it wrong, we get it wrong too. When we get it wrong, we fix it, and since we don't have the luxury of having a page A-18, it's usually pretty prominent.

90% of what you read here is based on what's in the ABH on a given day. We try to give you some new angles to think of, or the occasional dribs and drabs of information we get independently.

But mostly, we're a pair of guys who love Athens, have lived here most all of our lives (and when we didn't live here, we got back in a hurry), and who want to have a little fun talking about politics while trying to bring some local issues in a new way.

Fishplate said...

I can't blame people for getting upset. You quote a quote, offer three possible interpretations, and you don't email the guy who's (double)quoted to get the real skinny? Is it because he stopped responding to your emails?

Jmac said...

I'm with you. You merely repeated the error - as Dodson claims it was - and this blog is at fault. If Bob told you he was going to sock Bill in the face, and then you told Bill what Bob said and Bill socked you in the face ... wouldn't Bill be directing his anger in the completely wrong place?

Dodson was professional enough to send his denial to both the ABH and AthPo, and AthPo has said the commissioner feels he was misquoted. What's the big deal?

I will say, having spent the better part of my professional career as a journalist and editor, there are numerous times of people saying they're misquoted - not because of how they feel they were portrayed - but because they honestly feel they were misquoted, when in fact they weren't. I had a handful of times where someone I had interviewed would say 'I never said that' but I'd go back and check my tape and discover they indeed did say that. It wasn't a shirking of responsibility by any means, but merely someone sincerely believing they said something else.

Jmac said...

This ...

and this blog is at fault.

should be this ...

and this blog is at fault?

The lack of a question mark in the initial posting kinda changes my meaning, doesn't it?

Jmac said...

Heck, even reading the original post in question shows that Publius even said it was possible Dodson was misquoted. What the heck?

Anonymous said...

I just find it ironic and suspect that Elton is one of the hardest guys to get a response from yet the moment he feels he is misquoted is jumping, hollering, and shouting from the rooftops about it.

Dude, you've proven that you are around. Now respond more quickly to folks inquiring about your time.

Fishplate said...

So, the ABH quotes a Commisioner, and you throw in three possible interpretations...without any further information. Now, this ~could~ mean that you don't think your readers are smart enough to interpret Mr. Dodson's comments. Or, it could mean you felt you had to say something.

Either way, it didn't really add anything to the issue except your own thoughts, which I guess is what Blogging is all about. But if you are going to call this page Athens Politics, and not Publius's Thoughts on Athens Politics, then yes, I'm going to hold you to a higher standard. (And for the record, I call the ABH on issues when they're wrong. It's just easier to get my letters printed here.)

Fishplate said...

Getting a little excited? The post in question was a blunderbuss-load, seemingly directed to elicit ~any~ response rather than provide useful interpretation. Why not ask for a response before you post, instead of after? Otherwise, your speculation is essentially uninformed, and no better than I can do when I read the damn paper myself...


All I'm saying is I think you jumped the gun a bit, which can lead to jumping the shark, if you know what I mean...if you want to stay relavent, you need to stay informed, and inform us. Though I do appreciate the Editors' thoughts, I don't need your random opinions in order to form my own.

That's all I'm saying, that's the BFD...