Letter writer doesn’t like religious newspaper insert inside the Herald

Editor:

I was disappointed to see a religious publication as part of the Antioch Herald. Is this group paying for the space in the paper, which makes it an advertisement? Or is this content – an editorial decision reflecting the beliefs of the publisher? I don’t mind a column written by a member of the clergy, from any denomination or religion, but ceding so much space to one group clearly sends the message that Antioch is not a diverse community.

Sandra Follansbee

Antioch

 


4 Comments to “Letter writer doesn’t like religious newspaper insert inside the Herald”

  1. Publisher says:

    Ms. Follansbee,
    Thank you for reading the Herald and your letter to the editor.

    The Good News Press is a separate, paid insert by the publisher, Connie Woods, who is an Antioch resident. It has a separate masthead with different page numbers than the Herald. It’s designed separately but printed together, each month that the publisher wishes to print and include it. Woods, an African-American woman, used to be an Associate Publisher with the Herald, until December 2016. I’m a Caucasian man. I’d say there’s some diversity right there.

    It’s just like the Herald is a paid insert inside the Monthly Grapevine, also with a different masthead. It’s about each publication both making money and saving money on postage, and the same as the marriage mail publications we receive each week with a variety of ads from various businesses. Each publication has its own masthead and staff box.

    While not everyone in Antioch is a Christian, I am and the city was founded by two brothers who were Christian reverends – Rev. William Wiggins Smith and Rev. Joseph Horton Smith, who are memorialized in a mural on the side of the 505 W. 2nd Street building, in the scene of the 1851 community picnic in which the townspeople (with Rev. W. W. Smith depicted holding an open Bible) renamed the town from Smith’s Landing to Antioch, after the biblical Antioch, Syria where the followers of Christ were first called Christians. So, having a Christian publication as a paid insert in the Herald fits in with the history of our city.

    You’re free to read whatever you’d like that’s included in the Monthly Grapevine, Antioch Herald and/or Good News Press or not. Or you can simply use the newsprint to collect oil under your car, in your bird cage or help start a fire in your fireplace. But, of course we and our advertisers would prefer you read it all, first before using it that way. 😉

    Allen Payton
    Publisher & Editor

  2. Sherra says:

    “ceding so much space to one group clearly sends the message that Antioch is not a diverse community.”

    This is logically untrue as written in this statement. This statement is an opinion and makes assumptions. One can not draw a conclusion that because a certain amount of space to a certain group doesn’t represent diversity without one knowing what else is being submitted and turned down as well as not knowing the percentage religious makeup of the city. The writer needs to check thier own biases.

  3. Terry Ramus says:

    In my view, there is no basis for Sandra’s complaint about a religious insert in the Antioch Herald. Here are some options (a) don’t read it, (b) start your own paper and run it the way that you wish. Would you like my list of topics and information that I do not like? I can of course successfully guess that you do not.

  4. RJB says:

    People get so salary offended these days. They want you to change your lifestyle and thinking so it suits theirs.

    Yes, I’m talking about the intolerant lady. Follansbee.

    I hope you can find peace and love and be more tolerant of things you don’t like, Ms. Follansbee.

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