Gilbert Bailon, the brand new editor of the Post-Dispatch’s Editorial Page, has been invited by Eric E. Vickers to have a sit-down with the civic leaders who have united in support of demoted Fire Chief Sherman George and the activists working to recall Slay.
“There is deep concern in the African-American community about the fairness of your newspaper in its reporting of the racial tension that has been sparked by Mayor Slay’s ousting the city’s first and only black fire chief, Sherman George, and then replacing him with a white chief, who even your paper acknowledged was of a lower rank and had lesser experience than a black candidate for the position,” Vickers wrote to Bailon last week.
“The sentiment of the black community about your newspaper’s seemingly biased covering of this issue was well expressed by the St. Louis American newspaper in a recent editorial, which was extraordinary in the directness of its criticism of another newspaper. [“Post helps mayor divide city”].”
Vickers’ letter continues, “We trust you agree that fair and sufficient coverage of the concerns and issues affecting minorities – who constitute the majority population in the city – is in the best interest of the entire St. Louis community. Consequently, we would request that the Post seek to right the imbalance of its reporting on this issue by, among other things, allowing us an Op-Ed piece, arranging a meeting with your editorial board and newspaper staff to discuss this issue more fully, including the planned economic boycott of the city.”
In Dec. 9 column introducing himself to readers of the Post, Bailon wrote, “Displayed on the wall of the lobby of our building – and on the editorial page daily – the Post-Dispatch Platform defines our mission: Advocate for accountability, public service and independence that fosters robust debate.” Vickers is one of many people who think the Post has fallen off this noble “Platform” in its recent coverage of the mayor and the debacle in the Fire Department. Let’s see if Bailon is prepared to act on his own words and sit down with Vickers and other community leaders on this issue, like the Rev. Douglas Parham and state Rep. Jamilah Nasheed – not to mention Comptroller Darlene Green, who has shown some warrior spirit about the handling of Fire Chief George.
Vickers might have gone a little far out on the limb on one point. He requested Bailon, “We even ask that you consider reprinting in your paper the St. Louis American editorial, just as the Post regularly reprints editorials from other newspapers.” It would be possible to excuse Bailon for not running an editorial that accuses his paper of all but conspiring with the mayor to divide the city along racial lines!