One-sided Reporting

As I was watching the morning news today (we DVR both KTSP 5-5:30 and WCCO 5-6 a.m. shows and watch without commercials - takes us about 30 minutes total - while we drink our morning coffee), I was amazed to hear about the Prior Lake-Savage superintendent resigning after a former employee who had been fired was elected to the school board. As he wept on TV and people kept saying great things about him I thought, "That poor guy. I really feel for him." Both stations covered this story and both did so in the the same way.

Then I began to remember something I had read several months ago. After hearing the story for the third time (on the second half of CCO's news cycle) I turned to Rosalie. "I don't think that's the whole story. I think I remember reading about the fired supervisor. There's more to this story." A quick check of Google and I found out there was much more to the story. Here's the blog post from the Minnesota Family Council/Family Institute site:

Voters sent a clear message to Prior Lake-Savage schools last night by electing Chris Lind to the school board. Lind, who received 13.96 percent of the vote was the only non-incumbent elected.

Last June Lind was fired from his job as Prior Lake-Savage high school campus supervisor because of job performance. A closer look revealed that Lind was told by Tony Massaros, District 719 Director of Human Resources, that he could not talk about sexual abstinence with students during or after school, on or off campus, during or after school hours.

Massaros also told Lind he could not talk about abstinence in a bible study in his own home, “in youth groups at church or in small group study off campus.” Massaros allegedly censored Lind from discussing abstinence with anyone who had ever attended the district.

Not a "news story" per say, but definitely a different slant than the morning TV shows which painted Lind as next of kin to a child predator! At least the Star Tribune had a slightly more balanced article, although they end with this quote by the outgoing superintendent:

Tuesday night, he said Lind's election sent a message from voters that "it's OK to have behaviors that are not appropriate in the schools, and it's OK to stare down the superintendent and the school board and say, 'This isn't bad; I did nothing wrong.'"Gee, I wonder whose side they're on.

I'm sure there are two sides to this story (even though our local stations only gave us one of those sides). I don't know all of the details and I'm guessing Lind probably made some mistakes in the way he handed things. But had I not remembered hearing Lind's name and done some checking myself I would have completely believed what I had heard, one-sided though it may have been (shame on you, WCCO and KSTP!)

Heard one side of a story recently? Maybe it's worth checking out instead of choosing to believe rumors and gossip - even those that come from a so-called 'credible' source. (1 Corinthians 8:2 Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know.)