LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

[April 26th, 2006] MEDIA ON METH

I have read your article on the exaggeration of meth abuse ["Meth Madness," March 22, 2006] and I am glad someone is finally publishing the truth.

I consider myself to be somewhat media-savvy. I read Poynter and Editor & Publisher but I am not a reporter or blogger and often read George Seldes, Marshall McLuhan and Noam Chomsky.

However, I have been thoroughly confounded by this meth issue. The NPR radio show On the Media had a guest on several weeks back who claimed that the hysteria regarding the meth epidemic was just that. The follow week, On the Media (perhaps the least biased show on NPR) pulled the story and apologized to listeners. However, they had no reason to apologize in that the story was spot-on.

A few weeks later, I am watching probably one of the finest programs on television, Frontline, and there it is again: the Meth Epidemic. Now, despite everything I had read to that point, I am thinking maybe On the Media was correct to retract; surely Frontline wouldn't follow the hysteria down the bunny hole if there was no there there.

Then I came to the realization that the sourcing all seemed to come from Oregon—and specifically from The Oregonian. Living in the east, I deferred but quietly thought, "What if The Oregonian was wrong?"

Lo and behold, your article has lifted the fog. Now I do believe the commentator on On the Media and am happy someone is correcting the record.

Ralph Talarico
Jersey City, N.J.

CORRECTION

Last week's Rogue of the Week mischaracterized the position of Sen. Doug Whitsett (R-Klamath Falls). In fact, Whitsett's letter to the Oregon Public Utility Commission strongly enouraged full implementation of Senate Bill 408. His letter said, in part, "It appears that the only businesses that oppose this new law are the utilities being regulated. The fact is that PacifiCorp was caught with their hand in the taxpayers' cookie jar. In my opinion, the OPUC temporary rule regarding SB 408 is an appropriate attempt to implement the exact intent of the 73rd Legislature. Utilities must not charge rate payers in Oregon for taxes that are not paid in Oregon." WW regrets the error.