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Letters to the Editor

mb readers believe there really is a Santa Claus—and that media should be deregulated.

About "Yes, Virginia," by Francis Pharcellus Church (posted December 23)

I was raised a Catholic and am now an agnostic Unitarian Universalist with four doubting kids of my own. But I still cry every time I read this editorial, not for the childlike faith of Virginia but for the equally childlike, beautifully voiced, eternally optimistic spirit of Francis P. Church.

—Wendi Winters

My husband and I watched Prancer, my favorite holiday movie, for the umpteenth time this past weekend, and he was unfamiliar with the "Yes, Virginia" story. Now, thanks to mediabistro.com, he can read it for himself. It never fails to inspire and soothe the soul. Please reprint it every year!

—Linda Bolton
Green Brook, New Jersey

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About "You See, FCC?" by David S. Hirschman (posted December 17)

Thanks for your rock-solid reporting on and personal critique of the new FCC media rules. It's much better for certain viewpoints to have government support in the media, because they just aren't as popular as the bad ones being espoused by media companies.

Actually, that's sarcasm, and I wonder why it's so difficult for journalists, congressmen, and activists to understand that some speech is more popular than others, and therefore it will be consumed at higher levels than the relatively unpopular speech you might hear on, say, BET.

It sounds like your real complaint is with news as a business, but if you propose any solution at all, it is to remove market accountability from news reporting. If I don't like something I hear on the radio, I can choose not to listen, and if enough people agree and take action, it will provide accountability for that station. Why would we want, of all parties, the government to decide the winners and losers in the media? Isn't that what Jefferson derided when he said he would choose newspapers over government if he couldn't have both?

There's nothing wrong with having a minority viewpoint, but you have to accept that you are in the minority and all the regulation in the world won't change that.

—Greg Piper
Seattle

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About "So What Do You Do, Andy Pemberton?" by David S. Hirschman (posted December 16)

Proving that Blender is all fluff and no substance, its brilliant editor makes two major blunders in his interview with mb.

First, women—not men—buy more CDs. Second, plenty of other music magazines reviewed reissues long before Blender came along. Had Andy just woken from sleep prior to be interviewed? Is he grossly uninformed? Or, is he simply just lying and hoping he won't be caught? It almost makes you want to see Rolling Stone succeed.

—Steve Matteo

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About "Bikerlady, Empress," by Sasha Mullins (posted December 3)

I loved this article—very inspiring to those of us who march to our own drummers.

—Jackie Herships

mediabistro.com's Letters to the Editor column runs every other Friday (or, occasionally, on a Wednesday). You may submit your letters to letters@mediabistro.com. We reserve the right to edit letters for length, clarity, and grammar, and to select which letters to run.