Jan 9, 2024

Morning Call A Day Late And A Mile Off

A shooting in the 300 Block of Hamilton Street Thursday evening didn't make the paper until noon on Saturday, then it was described as on East Hamilton Street. The timely video report on WFMZ clearly showed the police presence just west of 2nd and Hamilton Streets. 

I do not believe that the Morning Call was intentionally downplaying the shooting.  Rather perhaps the reporter  didn't realize that East Hamilton Street is on the other side of the Lehigh River.  On Monday the Morning Call was still using the erroneous East Hamilton Street location.

Institutional knowledge of the town is getting thinner and thinner at 6th & Linden.  Of course now 6th & Linden is just a figure of speech, with the paper no longer having a physical presence there or anywhere.  I do however appreciate and admire that they still produce the paper under that handicap.

artwork by Allentown native Mark Beyer

7 comments:

  1. Does the morning call actually have reporters?

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    1. The paper does have reporters, and I think they do a good job under the circumstances...no newsroom and some are new to the area.

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  2. Most of the non-local content found in the Morning Call is just reprints of stories created by other newsrooms, particularly Left-leaning mouthpieces.

    You know, considering the newspaper’s meager size (about 24 pages) and subtracting the ads, puzzles, and second hand articles, our Morning Call is more of an over-priced daily newsletter.

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    1. Although I have been ill-treated by recent management...excluded from stories in which I was a major player (i.e Wehr's Dam), and my letters to the editor have been either refused or reluctantly printed, I'm grateful we still have a local paper.

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  3. I remember a time when journalists would include the nearest major cross street to help identify the location. They would also print an actual correction when they got something wrong, so their readers wouldn’t be misinformed.

    You are very forgiving in portraying this as an honest mistake. I’d be curious as to how someone unfamiliar with the area assumes to label the street something that it isn’t. This is the age of GPS maps on our portable phones, so it’s not like it’s difficult to confirm.

    Also, this is not the first time that today’s “journalists” have obfuscated the location of a downtown shooting. I realize that the Call no longer has offices downtown, but doesn’t anyone (reporters or editors) review their work anymore?

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  4. In a somewhat related observation, I noticed that they’ve torn down the entire part of the Call building that used to house the production side of the newspaper along Turner between 6th and Law Street (the street between 6th and 5th).

    So now the owners of the properties on the north side of that portion of Turner can enjoy the expanded view.

    Or i should say enjoy it temporarily until the latest addition to Reillyville is rubber stamped by city planners and built using our tax dollars.

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  5. An anon claims that the shooting was on the east side and that he was there. Both WFMZ by video show the west Hamilton, as does the Lehigh Valley Live news by map.

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