The Valley Citizen is dedicated to the memory of John Michael Flint. Flint had several careers over his lifetime, including as a local radio talk show host, and a career in the early days of computing. It was as a Community Columnist for the Modesto Bee that people remember him best. A self-confessed political junkie, his brevity, wit, and vast knowledge of local politics were unequalled. As former Bee assistant Opinion […]
History
Banned by the Bee: Flint's Spiked Column
August 3, 1997, under a headline that read, “We’re offering differing points of view,” the Modesto Bee announced a new program for the OP/ED page. The idea was the brain child of then publisher Orage Quarles III, who wanted to encourage community participation on the Opinions page. After a contest that featured 249 entries, the Bee chose twelve local writers, each of whose work would appear once a month. The […]
The Only Game In Town: Why Every Community Needs Newspapers
New Year’s Day, Eric Johnston and Mark Vasché published the Modesto Bee’s annual pledge to Bee readers. Johnston and Vasché pledged to, “adhere to the highest journalistic standards of accuracy, fairness, impartiality and independence,” and added the plea, “that readers—and we ourselves—be respectful of people of differing viewpoints.” Johnston and Vasché’s words are best understood within the context of a remarkably candid speech made by Bee publisher James B. McClatchy at the Bee’s […]