Mobile
Thursday, February 20, 2014
News / Opinion Regarding Reid's, Charlotte Observer misses an opportunity
Posted By Ana McKenzie on Thu, Feb 20, 2014 at 2:49 PM
On Monday, the Charlotte Observer published a story about an employee at a local specialty food store who was fired after telling Gov. Pat McCrory, a customer, "thanks for nothing." The story has been picked up by MSNBC, the Huffington Post, and the Guardian. The Observer's editorial board has since weighed in, kicking off a piece - that seems to have been written entirely by commenters of the news story - with a reference to McCrory's golf game?
Odd metaphors aside, the editorial board's point is this: On Sunday, McCrory missed an opportunity to come off as "magnanimous" by not respectfully engaging the employee following his comment.
But here's where the Observer - both the news department and the editorial board - come off as anything but.
No one at the Observer went out of their way to track down customers at Reid's Fine Foods who were around when the incident occurred. Instead the news piece - and subsequent editorial - relies on the oddly defended arguments of the fired employee and McCrory's press team. The opinion writers brush all of it aside as mere "details, details."
But the details of this incident are the most important part. If we're to believe Drew Swope, the guy who got fired, McCrory retaliated because Swope is gay. If we're to believe McCrory's team - the people paid to defend the governor against criticism - McCrory never yelled at Swope following the comment.
It's also odd that the Observer expects some kind of charming retort from McCrory, the guy who once gave his detractors a plate of cookies. Cookies.
Details, guys. Details.
Speaking of...
Comments
Showing 1-1 of 1
Latest in The CLog
More by Ana McKenzie
-
Question the Queen City: The historic Wearn House can still be saved 2
Though it's been on the chopping block for years, there's still hope for the historic structure.
-
10 best movie striptease scenes
Salma Hayek, Jessica Alba and more.
-
Question the Queen City: The story of Mabel Rea 4
The Charlotte native went Hollywood, returned home and met a tragic demise.
