Dear Friends,
This is the second letter sent to the Editor of the San Antonio Express-News today. The letter of June 25th regarding the CORPUS CHRISTI play was ignored. We ask why the SA Express-News does not report news in an objective, fair, and balanced manner and why our views as religious believers are ignored. If you subscribe to the SA Express-News, please consider cancelling your subscription and let the editor know why. Email Richard Rivard at: rrivard@express-news.net
This is the second letter sent to the Editor of the San Antonio Express-News today. The letter of June 25th regarding the CORPUS CHRISTI play was ignored. We ask why the SA Express-News does not report news in an objective, fair, and balanced manner and why our views as religious believers are ignored. If you subscribe to the SA Express-News, please consider cancelling your subscription and let the editor know why. Email Richard Rivard at: rrivard@express-news.net
Phil Sevilla
________________________________________________________
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July 12th, 2011 Mr. Richard Rivard
Editor
San Antonio Express-News
Dear Mr. Rivard,
Your newspaper has the awesome responsibility to objectively and impartially inform and educate the public. The term "public trust" has several dimensions. When it applies to your institution, it means: "Trust created for the promotion of public welfare and not for the benefit of one or more individuals." The subject of my letter to you is the CORPUS CHRISTI play, an undisguised and undisputed blasphemous and offensive play performed at the San Pedro Playhouse <SPP>.
Your company sponsors the Playhouse according to the SPP's website. Your officers and staff are aware based on an article on May 23rd in the SAEN, authored by Abe Levy, that the Playhouse "receives some money from the city's office of cultural affairs." Actually the SPP receives a lot of money from the city taxpayers. In 2007, over $800,000 was paid out to the SPP for maintenance and renovation. For 2012, SPP's Board has applied for a $136,000+ grant from the city, part of a continuing annual subsidy the city bestows on the Playhouse.
Why am I raising this issue? On June 25th, I sent a letter to the editor (Your Turn) to protest the obscenity and indecency portrayed throughout the production. I attended the play on June 24th. My letter was a rebuttal of the puff piece written by Deborah Martin, represented as a review of the play and published by your paper on the 24th of May.
Why was my letter to the editor disregarded? Doesn't the public who read your paper have the right to get fair and balanced opinions, especially about a subject that is extremely important to them, considering the obscenity and blasphemy grossly depicted in the Corpus Christi play directly attacks the religion of the Christian majority that comprise the city's residents, despite the rationalizations of the director to the contrary?
To your credit, the SAEN printed Abe Levy's article on May 23th reporting the religious leaders' press conference protesting and condemning the play. However a one-sided article on May 26th publicized the director's rationalizations for the play. There was no attempt to describe the outrage from the religious communities of San Antonio or give voice to their side. Then on June 17th, SAEN published another article taking the one-sided opinion of SPP's Artistic Director, Frank Lotson, who described the obscene and blasphemous Corpus Christi play as an effort to "educate" and "to help develop a deeper understanding". Following this article was Deborah Martin's one-sided superficial and distorted review on June 24th. Why should your readers believe your publication presents a fair, balanced, and objective reporting of the news?
There is another issue where I believe you owe your customers a reasonable and honest response. Your writer, Abe Levy, identified a possible problem with city funding for a series of performances held at a city-owned facility. According to the definition of section 43.21 of the Texas Penal Code on obscenity, the Corpus Christi play is in serious violation of the law. According to section 19.1 on "Indecency" of the city's contract with the SPP, the Corpus Christi performance is in clear violation of the restriction on indecency. I submit for your inspection, my eyewitness report of the play I saw on June 24th. The script of the Corpus Christi play by Terrence McNally is readily available in bookstores and it corroborates my observations. If there were any changes to the script and the local performance at SPP, they were superficial. My report is available at this site: CORPUS CHRISTI PLAY CRITIQUE*
Why haven't you put your city investigation desk on this subject to pursue this with City officials? It certainly is significant news and part of your mission and charter. Again I ask, why should the public trust you and your publication if you only serve the needs of a small part of your constituent interest groups? Are you not guilty of bias and one-sided advocacy and support for a certain lifestyle even when it is opposed to the values of the majority of your readers?
I ask you and your staff for two things to respond responsibly in the interest of the public trust:
Please print my letter dated June 25th (see attached) and carry out an investigation of the city's and Playhouse's violation of Texas law on obscenity and the breach of contract between the parties concerning indecent content in SPP productions.
Sincerely,
Philip Sevilla
Concerned Catholics of San Antonio
*https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0ByFvfq9Ya7gzMzBiMTAwYzAtZjMxNS00NDAwLWEyMTQtYTdiZjgxZWY5Y2M0
Editor
San Antonio Express-News
Dear Mr. Rivard,
Your newspaper has the awesome responsibility to objectively and impartially inform and educate the public. The term "public trust" has several dimensions. When it applies to your institution, it means: "Trust created for the promotion of public welfare and not for the benefit of one or more individuals." The subject of my letter to you is the CORPUS CHRISTI play, an undisguised and undisputed blasphemous and offensive play performed at the San Pedro Playhouse <SPP>.
Your company sponsors the Playhouse according to the SPP's website. Your officers and staff are aware based on an article on May 23rd in the SAEN, authored by Abe Levy, that the Playhouse "receives some money from the city's office of cultural affairs." Actually the SPP receives a lot of money from the city taxpayers. In 2007, over $800,000 was paid out to the SPP for maintenance and renovation. For 2012, SPP's Board has applied for a $136,000+ grant from the city, part of a continuing annual subsidy the city bestows on the Playhouse.
Why am I raising this issue? On June 25th, I sent a letter to the editor (Your Turn) to protest the obscenity and indecency portrayed throughout the production. I attended the play on June 24th. My letter was a rebuttal of the puff piece written by Deborah Martin, represented as a review of the play and published by your paper on the 24th of May.
Why was my letter to the editor disregarded? Doesn't the public who read your paper have the right to get fair and balanced opinions, especially about a subject that is extremely important to them, considering the obscenity and blasphemy grossly depicted in the Corpus Christi play directly attacks the religion of the Christian majority that comprise the city's residents, despite the rationalizations of the director to the contrary?
To your credit, the SAEN printed Abe Levy's article on May 23th reporting the religious leaders' press conference protesting and condemning the play. However a one-sided article on May 26th publicized the director's rationalizations for the play. There was no attempt to describe the outrage from the religious communities of San Antonio or give voice to their side. Then on June 17th, SAEN published another article taking the one-sided opinion of SPP's Artistic Director, Frank Lotson, who described the obscene and blasphemous Corpus Christi play as an effort to "educate" and "to help develop a deeper understanding". Following this article was Deborah Martin's one-sided superficial and distorted review on June 24th. Why should your readers believe your publication presents a fair, balanced, and objective reporting of the news?
There is another issue where I believe you owe your customers a reasonable and honest response. Your writer, Abe Levy, identified a possible problem with city funding for a series of performances held at a city-owned facility. According to the definition of section 43.21 of the Texas Penal Code on obscenity, the Corpus Christi play is in serious violation of the law. According to section 19.1 on "Indecency" of the city's contract with the SPP, the Corpus Christi performance is in clear violation of the restriction on indecency. I submit for your inspection, my eyewitness report of the play I saw on June 24th. The script of the Corpus Christi play by Terrence McNally is readily available in bookstores and it corroborates my observations. If there were any changes to the script and the local performance at SPP, they were superficial. My report is available at this site: CORPUS CHRISTI PLAY CRITIQUE*
Why haven't you put your city investigation desk on this subject to pursue this with City officials? It certainly is significant news and part of your mission and charter. Again I ask, why should the public trust you and your publication if you only serve the needs of a small part of your constituent interest groups? Are you not guilty of bias and one-sided advocacy and support for a certain lifestyle even when it is opposed to the values of the majority of your readers?
I ask you and your staff for two things to respond responsibly in the interest of the public trust:
Please print my letter dated June 25th (see attached) and carry out an investigation of the city's and Playhouse's violation of Texas law on obscenity and the breach of contract between the parties concerning indecent content in SPP productions.
Sincerely,
Philip Sevilla
Concerned Catholics of San Antonio
*https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0ByFvfq9Ya7gzMzBiMTAwYzAtZjMxNS00NDAwLWEyMTQtYTdiZjgxZWY5Y2M0
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