Originally Posted by Advogado (Post 329968)

Once again, Lauren Ritchie is attacked for reporting news that that our alleged local newspaper, The Daily Sun, either does not report, distorts, or buries on a back page. One may disagree with Ms. Ritchie's tone and/or her interpretation of the facts, but where are the factual inaccuracies?

I find the allegations that the Orlando Sentinel is doing its reporting on The Villages to increase circulation to be particularly absurd. How many additional subscribers do you really think the Sentinel has gotten as a result of Ms. Ritchie's articles? In fact, what the Orlando Sentinel is doing with its articles on The Villages is is what real newspapers are supposed to do-- report the facts of stories that are of importance to their readers.

Originally Posted by nitakk (Post 329905)

I owe Morse and his family nothing - I just bought a house from him. He means nothing to me and I mean nothing to him, and that's just fine. I am under no false pretenses that he cares one way or the other about my welfare, nor I him. Somehow, I picture The Wizard of Oz with a little man behind the curtain, controlling the newspaper, the radio, the bank and even a TV station (shall we discuss how bad that one is?), trying desperately to control all that is seen and heard in his land. Alas and alack, someone pulls the curtain back but some don't want to look. No one should have the amount of power he has over this community. Cabo, I don't want happy news - I want the truth. You say we are not getting the truth from Lauren Ritchie because she dislikes Morse and because it was on the Opinion page, it has no basis in fact because she's not a real reporter. Well, where were the two "articles" today in the Sun? Oh yeah, on the Opinion page and written by two people who owe either a) their livelihood, or b) their position to Morse. Let's see, who has more credibility...hmmmm.

Bottom line is it's your money and if it makes you "happy" to give it away, go ahead. Personally, I ain't buying what they are selling. They are using stories of people's tragedies with cancer to their advantage, and it makes me sick to see facts twisted and blurred to their advantage.

Originally Posted by redwitch (Post 329852)

There is no question that Ritchie and the Sentinel have an agenda against the Morses (it's a Democratic paper; the Morses are diehard Republicans). Anything written in the Sentinel should be taken with a grain of salt and investigated.

The "articles" in today's Sun are NOT articles -- they are letters to the editor appearing as articles or columns. They should be taken with the same grain of salt that should be applied to Ms. Ritchie.

As to the Relay for Life incident, I'll happily take the word of F16 and Whalen, both of whom were at the meeting and both of whom are very active in Relay, where it was announced there would be no Relay on Villages' property. ACS has always had the policy that it will not share proceeds with another entity -- it is in their Bylaws. To make them the heavy in this patently unfair.

So, maybe someone can explain how it was that the Morses donated the land and the cost of building to the Moffitt Center on TV property and it is now a lease deal? The Sun did originally say the Morses were donating the land and building and that $6.3 million in contributions were needed for the equipment. Now, the land and building are not donated and the money has decreased because some of the equipment was found to be already available.

I still see no advantage to having a Moffitt on TV property and one in Leesburg. At best, it seems superfluous. Tell me one is a Moffitt center and one is a Shands center and it might make more sense -- there might actually be some difference in treatment plans between the two facilities, but not if both are from the same cancer center.

As to Morse bashing, I'm the first to admit I'm not a fan of the Morses and do feel they are a bit too greedy. I also believe that Harold Schwartz's vision would never have occurred without Gary Morse's hard work. I also believe that the Morses are a great business family and have created something truly remarkable here. That doesn't mean they are perfect. Nor does it mean that everything they do is altruistic or greedy. It means they fall in the middle -- some things are truly done with the best of intentions; some things are done because of personal beliefs; some things are done out of pure, unadulterated greed and the belief they can get away with it because they are the Morses. Regardless, we shouldn't blindly revile them nor praise them without getting all the facts possible. In the case of the Moffitt Center, it will be hard to get the facts -- too much of it is closed off to the public and too much is already lost in rumors, half-truths and lies. Some of us do the best we can with the information we have. We may interpret things incorrectly but we do the best we can with what we have.

Originally Posted by katezbox (Post 329978)

I think if you read many of the recent posts - we are not attacking the messenger, nor praising the Daily Scum - er Sun. BUT had I written any articles in my high school Journalism class, I would have failed as the teacher would refer to what she writes as "yellow journalism."

A few examples from her article... "stunning snag" "there should be ranting about the Morse family, their hired henchmen" (hired henchmen???)

PS - If her reporting is not to increase circulation, then why publish what she writes?

Originally Posted by Bogie Shooter (Post 329979)

Just one short question. Are you sorry you bought your house?

Originally Posted by nitakk (Post 330005)

No, I am glad I bought my house - you can still enjoy living here without agreeing with the developer's way of doing things. I think it is important for people who think we are "Morse-bashing" to understand living here and agreeing with him are not related in any way. I bought this lifestyle but it doesn't mean I have to agree or support whatever he wants. I will say I have been disappointed when it fully hit me how strong the leash is and how some people seem practically devoted to him. Sorry, I just don't get it!

Originally Posted by Advogado (Post 329994)

Yellow journalism? Perhaps. Inaccurate reporting? I don't think so. Do I always agree with her tone, her occasional hyperbole, and her interpretation of the facts? No.

Flunking your high-school journalism class because you wrote like Ms. Ritchie? It the assignment was to write an AP-type, just-the-facts-maam, news bulletin, clearly an F. However, if the assignment was to investigate and comment on a major news story being covered up or distorted by the local newspaper because the story involved the owner of that newspaper, I think you would have gotten an "A+" if you dug deep, exposed the truth, and came our swinging the way Ms. Ritchie does.

With respect to the PS: So every article in every newspaper is published to increase circulation and should be ignored even if factually correct? Should we get our news from TV instead?

I repeat what I think is the central question: Has anybody found any material, factual inaccuracies in any of Ms. Ritchie's articles about The Villages? The personal attacks on Ms. Ritchie and on her writing style, and one can certainly disagree with her writing style, seem to have deflected attention from this central question.

Originally Posted by Advogado (Post 329968)

In fact, what the Orlando Sentinel is doing with its articles on The Villages is is what real newspapers are supposed to do-- report the facts of stories that are of importance to their readers.

Originally Posted by billethkid (Post 330045)

As far as them walking among us, most of them do. Many of them shop along side us like Mrs. Morse, Mark Morse, Jennifer Paar and many of the related that have positions of strength in the family in TV.

Like any other corporation or private business entity, their priority is, first and foremost to make a profit for their share holders or owners. By providing a reasonable, quality and competitive product, with reasonable after the sale service. Corporations or privately owned companies are not democratic entities.

Does not mean we the people need to agree with anything they decide/do in the process. And we are so fortunate to still live in a country where we can state our feelings, opinions or preferences in either agreement or disagreement.

btk