THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, June 27, 1996 TAG: 9606270007
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: 27 lines
To borrow a line that Ronald Reagan made famous, ``There you go again.''
Another article on PETA! Your latest - ``The Humble Beginnings of PETA'' (June 18, front page) - is just one more in a seemingly never-ending series on this group.
Has it occurred to you that your readers may be served better by a profile of a mainstream animal-advocacy group, like the Virginia Beach or Norfolk SPCA?
The Virginia Beach SPCA turned 30 years old this year, and has come a long way from its own ``humble beginnings.'' Where was a two-page report on that?
Is plain old hard work by SPCA staff and volunteers not enough to earn news coverage? Is it necessary to wear animal costumes, interrupt fishing tournaments, squirt blood on fur wearers and get arrested in order to raise public awareness?
Your constant news coverage of the extremes is exactly what fuels radical behavior. Neither PETA nor the SPCA could afford to buy advertising equal to the volume of coverage you freely give to PETA. Extremism may sell newspapers, but it does nothing to make your journalism responsible or desirable.
KEVIN E. MARTIN-GAYLE
Virginia Beach, June 18, 1996 by CNB