by Mark Smiley | Feb 26, 2015 | Glendale City News
by Marco Cummings
Writer for and on behalf of the City of Glendale
For the Glendale Raptors, a new season in the Pacific Rugby Premiership (PRP) is well underway. But with four road games to start the team’s current campaign, many of Glendale’s rugby fans may find themselves acclimating to the 2015 version of their favorite team.
Like any sports team, the Raptors have not been immune to the inevitability of player movement. No less than 10 players from last season’s roster will not be joining the Raptors in 2015. Of note, three veterans have announced their retirement from the game, including back Mike Graham, forward Mike Kenyon and lock Casey Rock.
“There becomes a point in any sportsman’s career where you’ve got to make that decision. Age plays a factor, injury plays a factor, and lifestyle changes play a factor,” Raptors head coach Andre Snyman explained. “We’re unfortunate to lose those important veterans on the team, they were all a part of that.”
A devastating knee injury ended Rock’s playing career, but it hasn’t knocked him out of the sport. He’s staying on with the team to assist in coaching the forwards.
Added Snyman, “It’s great to see guys like Casey still be active and part of the club.”
The Raptors will also be missing another key piece from the team’s run to the PRP championship game last season in Justin Pauga. The 29-year-old CSU product made the offseason jump to the Raptors’ local PRP rival, the Denver Barbarians (nicknamed the Barbos).
“That was a bit out of the blue; it was unexpected,” Snyman said of the move. “It was disappointing because he was a star and a key player to what we were doing.”
Conversely, Glendale has snatched away their own player from Denver. The Raptors have added former Barbos back Iniki Fa’amusili, a 22-year-old with five seasons of competitive experience.
It should make the match between the Raptors and Barbos on March 7 at Infinity Park one to circle on the calendars.
“There’s always been rivalry between the Barbos and Glendale even before I arrived at the club four years ago,” Snyman elaborated. “It’s good because it’s easy to get the players motivated. It’s a bad thing sometimes because we’re always trying to build bridges between the two clubs. Hopefully the attitudes have changed to the point where we can all promote rugby.”
It will be one of four home games for the Raptors in March, which includes weekend contests against PRP opponents Olympic Club, Old Mission Beach Athletic Club and last season’s champions, San Francisco Golden Gate.
When it comes to player movement however, Glendale’s cupboards will be far from bare this season, with a new influx of incoming veteran recruits as well as players freshly coming up from the collegiate ranks.
Most impressive to Snyman has been the addition of USA Eagles pool players, props Ben Tarr and Nick Wallace.
“It’s no wonder they are Eagles,” commented Snyman. “[Tarr] and [Wallace] are really solid players.”
Another player that has impressed the coaches in training is 6-foot-1 Australian center Dan Flemming, a player which Snyman is “excited” to see in action during league play.
All in all, nearly 20 new players hope to be in the mix for selection this season.
Added Snyman, “The new players have really put their heads up and they’re trying to make a difference.”
Like every year since Infinity Park was first built, numerous sponsors have helped turn Glendale into RugbyTown USA. Of course, it all started with the stadium actually being built.
As Jennifer Julian Mathers, Marketing Manager of Turner Construction explained, “Turner Construction has a long-standing relationship with the City of Glendale and is honored to continue our partnership by sponsoring the Glendale Raptors and the Infinity Park Stadium. As the General Contractor of the stadium, sports center and event center, it has been a pleasure watching this project grow from a vision to a reality and beyond.”
Turner Construction is just one of the sponsors the Raptors have secured for the 2015 PRP season, a list headlined by companies which includes Butler Rents, 1st Bank, Alphagraphics and Xfinity by Comcast.
“A great deal of energy and civic pride has been generated as a result of this beautiful facility in the heart of Glendale and the resulting excitement about the sport of rugby,” added Geoff Graham, president of Alphagraphics. “Alphagraphics is honored to be involved with Infinity Park in a relationship that is as much a partnership as it is a sponsorship. Never before has our involvement in this business community provided us with so many lucrative business opportunities and relationships.”
Sponsors have not only been impressed by the facilities that Glendale has provided, but also the fan base that fills the stands during home matches.
“Each season I learn more about this great game and am continually in awe of the dedicated and growing fan base,” said Barb Wyatt, owner of Butler Rental Company. “It’s such an exciting time for the sport and with the approaching 2016 Olympics in Rio, we know the game is just getting started in the U.S. Butler Rents is proud to endorse the Glendale Raptors Rugby Football Club. Best of luck Raptors in the Spring PRP Season.”
The excitement and anticipation for the 2015 season is reciprocated by those within the club.
“We’re very fortunate to have all the sponsors on board and help in any way they can. We’d like to thank them to allow us to participate in a sport that we all love,” Snyman concluded.
by Mark Smiley | Feb 26, 2015 | Travel
by John Edwards
Tired of the endless snow? I-70 traffic jams? Although we know spring will arrive, there will still be sudden snows followed by every afternoon showers. How about a quick getaway, to a state of warmth? We can quickly fly from Denver International Airport to Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas or Phoenix. We’ve been there and the warmth is not guaranteed. Cherry Creek Valley residents should consider a quick, cheap cruise on a big luxury ship in March or April. Below is a sample itinerary which makes this type of trip affordable.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida’s Port Everglades serves 10 cruise lines and 30 ships. The Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood airport is served economically and non-stop from Denver by Southwest and Spirit Airlines. And therein lies the magic.
Have your travel agent book the four day cruise on the Celebrity Constellation ship starting at $349 or consider the Carnival Conquest which comes in at a similar price point.
Take an inside cabin since you won’t be in it except to sleep. The Constellation (www.cruisemates.com/constellation) departs Thursdays for Nassau, Bahamas, then on to Key West and back. Take the Carnival Conquest for six days if you like waterslides, kids and loud music.
Southwest Airlines has numerous daily flights but the non-stop flights are less expensive and only four hours. One flight leaves at 7:30 a.m and arrives at 1:10 p.m. That leaves some of the day, but if there is a flight delay, you cannot make the 3 p.m. deadline to catch a cruise ship departing at 4 p.m.
The alternative is the Spirit Airlines “redeye.” Book online on “everything added-on” Spirit Airlines’ overnight flight that departs evenings at 11:40 p.m. and arrives at 5:15 a.m. the next morning. Pay for your ticket and one checked bag both ways at booking. Bring your own snacks, juices, water, pillow and enough drugs to sleep upright.
Upon arrival at 5:15 a.m., retrieve your bag, eat breakfast at the airport and change into your shorts with bathing suit underneath. (That overnight red-eye flight saved you a $180 overnight hotel stay.)
Head For The Beach
Take the city bus from the airport to the beach at the Bahia Mar Doubletree Hotel. Store your bag with the bellman for $5. Walk across the street to the uncrowded beach. Relax in the sun and sand. After 10 a.m., catch the nearby Water Taxi (water taxi.com) for a guided tour through the waterways, the mansions and yachts. After noon, get your bag and a taxi to the cruise port to check in by 3 p.m.
After checking in, go directly to your room and take a nap. Your bags will not arrive until later. Be gently awakened by announcements for the mandatory life jacket drill as the ship leaves the harbor.
After the cruise, the ship docks early Monday morning. A Budget Rental Car shuttle picks up customers at the port. Rent a car from the nearby Quay Center location and tour the area before dropping the car off at the airport at 6 p.m. for your departure at 8:15 p.m.
For lunch, don’t miss the famous Rustic Inn Crabhouse (rusticinn.com) on a canal at the end of the airport. The roadhouse on the water serves whole garlic steamed crabs and other fresh seafood. Diners are outfitted with a bib and a wooden mall
et to destroy and devour the monster crab. Scraps that fall onto the floor drop through the wooden planks to fish swarming below. The restaurant is easy to find and is located under the low-flying aircraft approach at the airport.
Total these costs and compare them to a traditional 8-day vacation and 7-day cruise. Luxury cruising for less!
Travel Writer John Edwards is President of Golf Travel Writers of America and has been on 19 cruises.
by Mark Smiley | Feb 2, 2015 | General Featured
by Mark Smiley
It seems every company with an Internet connection claims they can build a website or help with search engine optimization (SEO). Few actually do it for a living or do it correctly and proficiently. One company that has built a reputation as one of the leading SEO companies in the state is Volume Nine. Situated in the middle of the Denver/Glendale area, Volume Nine has been providing search engine optimization services in the valley since 2006. They operate from an eighth floor suite just off of Colorado Boulevard and Mexico.
Volume Nine was founded by Chuck Aikens, an Internet marketing guru. When he’s not at the office, you’ll probably find him taking in a ball game ranging from the Nuggets and the Rockies, to his son’s traveling baseball team. Aikens usually has a home improvement project or two going on as well, and his favorite vacation spot is anywhere with a beach and a beverage.
The company was actually started in Aikens’ unfinished basement using credit cards and home equity to get the business up and running. Today, Volume Nine is the largest SEO company in Colorado with over 120 clients. Search Engine Optimization is a term most people are familiar with but most don’t understand completely. SEO is the process of affecting the visibility of a website or a web page in a search engine’s “natural” or unpaid (“organic”) search results. Many companies claim to be able to help customers rise in their “Google rankings” but few actually deliver solid results.
Upon graduating from Metro State in Denver, Aikens started his Internet marketing career in 1996 when he taught himself programming and began building websites to generate real estate and mortgage leads. One of his initial creations was one of the first mortgage aggregator websites at www.mortgage101.com which ranked number one for mortgages on Google for over 10 years.
Their first SEO consulting job was a project done for Booyah Advertising in late 2005 as an independent contractor. Now, they have over 120 clients which include notables such as Breckenridge-Wynkoop, Inc., Smashburger, Vail Resorts, Old Navy, Brakes Plus, Qdoba, and Burger King.
During the company’s early years, growth was fueled by specific innovations. One of these innovations was the development of an internal SEO Management Tool in 2008 called Eduki. Long before the Raven Tools or enterprise tools such as Conductor or Bright Edge became commonplace, Volume Nine was able to spend less time on reporting and more time doing SEO for their clients.
Volume Nine also built a robust system that allowed them to write articles, do press releases, submit social bookmarks, and build microsites without being spammy or using automated tools. This system was the cornerstone of their operations until early 2012. In 2012, after being in business for six years and seeing their business model and services offered expand, Volume Nine decided to expand their service offering by acquiring Findability Group which specialized in PPC Management as well as social media and website development. Volume Nine went from 15 to 25 employees overnight.
During the middle of 2013, Volume Nine found themselves growing to 40 employees and retained almost 150 clients, but had the normal growing pains including ensuring that all of the new and old hires were productive and enthusiastic. Aikens along with key members of his team, including Natalie Henley, Vice President of Marketing, sat down and began to change the culture of the company to fit a larger organization.
“It is never easy,” said Henley. “Some of our original employees didn’t want to work for a larger organization and we understood that so we had to reach out and find individuals who would be happy in the organization we had become.”
Of course some of the original employees enjoyed the challenge that growth brought to the company including Barbara Dittert, Content Coordinator. “I look forward to getting things done. I feel happy. I enjoy the challenge of coming to work every day,” said Dittert. “There were efforts to give everyone the freedom to speak their mind. There is more openness and the culture is different. People are happier and there is more laughter.”
Some new policies in place now include unlimited personal time off, more employee recognition including dinners and night stays in the mountains, two days per week of working remotely, health benefits which were not offered previously, and a social team with a budget for employee events. The changes have paid off but Aikens admits they still have a ways to go. “We made a conscious decision to trust our employees and now I feel we have a more team oriented environment,” said Aikens.
Volume Nine has a collaborative process that starts with an initial meeting to go over the potential client’s needs. If a company is looking for a team of experts to help generate the organic traffic needed to grow the business, Volume Nine may be a good match. Once a company decides to be a client, Volume Nine works to achieve the rankings, traffic, leads or sales goals set as a team to make an impact on the business.
Competition is fierce with companies such as Inflow in Denver who is like minded and similar in size. The biggest competition for Volume Nine are companies deciding to manage SEO on their own. But, with the packages that Volume Nine has put together and the team on board to work with clients, Volume Nine is positioned to grow even more. For more information on Volume Nine, visit www.v9seo.com or call 303-997-2000.
by Mark Smiley | Feb 2, 2015 | Travel
Bombshell Deals, New Structures, Branches
by Glen Richardson
As the first quarter of the New Year gets underway bank mergers and new entries are solidifying Cherry Creek North as Colorado’s banking hub plus the district’s financial influence is rising within the region. In an article, nearly five years ago, the Chronicle (Oct. 2010) first reported the state’s financial hub was shifting to Cherry Creek North.
Growth of banking within the seven-block district plus the increase in number of top performing banks here has pegged the area for expansion. Just three years ago Bauer Financial considered nearly 27 percent of Colorado banks “troubled and problematic.” Today, just within Cherry Creek North there are a half-dozen banks getting five-star ratings from Bauer, and others aren’t far behind.
Three major banking deals feverishly crafted at the close of 2014 were being finalized in the first quarter of this year. On Jan. 16, however, parties to one big banking merger got cold feet and failed to seal the deal.
Big Bank Pact
The biggest and boldest change is the acquisition of Colorado’s only bank ranked in the Top 100 Best Performing Community Banks by SNL Financial. Cherry Creek-based Steele Street Bank was acquired by MidFirst Bank — one of the nation’s largest privately held banks — rated in the top five percent of all U.S. financial institutions for Bank Safety by IDC.
By combining the two financial giants under the MidFirst name, Steele Street — headquarters at 1st Ave. and Cook in Cherry Creek North — will be able to compete more effectively with larger banks now entering the Rocky Mountain market. Moreover Oklahoma City-based MidFirst will provide Valley locations with a broader array of products and services.
With other Valley Banking Centers located on South Colorado Blvd. at University Hills and downtown on 17th St., MidFirst’s trio of offices “will continue to offer customers a genuine community banking experience that emphasizes local decision-making, security and stability,” CEO Bob Malone stresses to the Chronicle. For further details on the transaction see Acquisition Of Steele Street By MidFirst Bank Packs Punch, at right below.
BofA Bear Hug
The second Valley banking bombshell was Bank of America’s opening of its first full-service branch in Colorado as the year closed at Fillmore Place on the northeast corner of 1st Ave. and Fillmore. The new venture marks the first time that the nation’s second-largest bank will serve retail customers in Colorado. In addition to the flagship Cherry Creek location, the bank is opening at least two additional retail branches within the state this year and is likely to expand further by opening other branches or acquiring other banks. Previously BofA operated a Creek location for commercial and business clients but never retail customers.
Bank of America made its first big entrance into the Colorado market in 2008 —during the height of the financial crisis — through the acquisitions of both Merrill Lynch and Countrywide Bank that had locations in Cherry Creek North. Countrywide’s location has since closed and Merrill Lynch has relocated into the Fillmore Place Banking Center. In June of last year FDIC ranked BofA as the 22nd largest bank in Colorado.
Nationally, Bank of America Corp. and the U.S. Justice Department are negotiating a settlement under which the bank would pay a major penalty for allegedly selling risky mortgage-backed securities that contributed to the 2007-08 financial crisis. The Justice Department reportedly is seeking a $17 billion settlement with the bank. At the end of 2014 the bank’s Countrywide Financial mortgage subsidiary was ordered to pay a nearly $1.3 billion penalty for a similar program that caused significant losses to government-backed mortgage finance agencies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Approval Seal Pulled
Lastly Denver-based First Western Financial (First Western Trust Bank & First Western Capital Management) signed a definitive agreement at year’s end to merge with Salina, Kansas-based Sunflower Financial (Sunflower Bank). Both banks have locations in Cherry Creek North. However, Sunflower Financial got cold feet and the two banks called off the deal.
Originally Scott Wylie, Chairman and CEO of Denver-based First Western, would have become Chairman and CEO of the combined bank and investment management subsidiary, as well as CEO and President of the holding company. Additionally, Denver would have been headquarters of the combined company.
Ironically, the deal was terminated the day after the Colorado Division of Banking had approved the merger. The combined company would have had approximately $2.5 billion in banking assets and $5.5 billion in trust and investment assets under management. “Although the original rationale for the merger had merit, the parties determined that terminating the merger was in the best interest of both companies and their respective shareholders,” the companies said a in joint statement issued on Jan. 16.
Sturm Staying Power
All of these developments were big news, but the fact Cherry Creek and other Colorado banks and credit unions are getting healthier is also influencing the district’s outlook. In addition to Steele Street, four other banks located or headquartered in Cherry Creek were on Bauer Financial’s top rated list. Not surprisingly, leading that list is Cherry Creek North headquartered ANB Bank, short for American National Bank.
The remarkable roots of Cherry Creek North banking go back to when Donald Sturm jumped into banking by purchasing five ailing banks including what was originally Cherry Creek National Bank. Now Sturm and his wife Susan run 33 banking centers located in Colorado, Wyoming and Kansas City from their Cherry Creek headquarters. The bank’s parent company, Sturm Financial Group, Inc., is also headquartered here and has financial strength embodied in over $2.3 billion in assets and ranks in the top 6% of banks nationwide by size. The bank has constantly achieved a Five-Star rating with Bauer Financial, the highest rating.
The Sturms’ philanthropic foundation gifts, when combined with the charitable endeavors of his companies, provide about $4 million a year to communities across five states. They have given money to fund charter schools, helped libraries, Children’s Hospital Colorado, Denver Art Museum and myriad charities. Other local banks on the top-performing list include Bank of Denver. CoBiz Bank and Guaranty Bank & Trust.
New Branches Opening
A newcomer to Cherry Creek, Alpine Bank — an employee-owned $2.4 billion-dollar organization — is scheduled to open its first Cherry Creek branch in the new Coors Foundation Building at 215 St. Paul on April 1. A year ago April, Alpine Bank opened its first Denver branch in the Union Station neighborhood’s IMA Building. Chartered in 1973, the bank’s headquarters are in Glenwood Springs, with 37 western and southwestern Colorado offices.
Building new digs in Cherry Creek North on East 1st Ave. is First Citizens Bank. The building now under construction at 3611 E. 1st Ave. is on the northeast corner of 1st Ave. and Monroe and will join a nest of neighborhood banks located on the east end of 1st Ave. near Colorado Blvd. First Citizens new bank is just west of Compass Bank and across 1st Ave. from Colorado State Bank & Trust and First National Bank. Heartland Bank and Young Americans Bank are also in proximity. The Raleigh, North Carolina-based bank initially opened a branch in Cherry Creek several years ago at 311 Steele St. under its IronStone Bank subsidiary name. That name was later converted to First Citizens. The new branch is expected to open near the end of the first quarter of this year and the Steele St. location will then be closed.
In addition to area banks, there are a dozen financial institutions with offices in Cherry Creek North. In addition to BofA’s Merrill Lynch, major firms include BNY Mellon Wealth Management, Cambiar Investors, Charles Schwab and Edward Jones. Also with a major presence here are Janus, MorganStanley SmithBarney, R.W. Baird and Scottrade.
Cherry Creek Becoming
Wall Street Of The West
Somewhat comparable to the eight block financial district in Lower Manhattan, Cherry Creek North’s seven-block district once known for its fashionable boutique shops is quickly becoming Denver and the Rocky Mountain West’s financial district. Cherry Creek is now home to 32 banks, many with their headquarters here. There are also a dozen major financial firms. Moreover, the east-west route running along 1st Ave. from University to Colorado Blvd. has become the district’s “banking row” with 15 banking locations.
by Mark Smiley | Feb 2, 2015 | Glendale City News
PRP Season Began January 31
by Charles C. Bonniwell
The Glendale Raptors Rugby Football team has high hopes for the upcoming Pacific Rugby Premiership (PRP) season that kicked off with an away match against the San Diego, California team Old Mission Beach Athletic Club on January 31 and potentially ends with the league championship game on May 16. The Raptors lost in last year’s championship game at Infinity Park in Glendale, before a packed crowd in heartbreak
ing fashion by the score of 39-38 to the San Francisco Golden Gate Rugby Football Club.
West And East Leagues
The PRP league was formed last year after the demise of the Super League in 2013 and all of the clubs (five from California and two from Colorado) are former Super League teams with the exception of Glendale. A five team American Rugby Premiership was formed this year with eastern teams and there is talk of the top teams in both leagues to square off on May 30.
The two Colorado teams (the Raptors and the Barbarians) have all of their early matches away to take advantage of the mild California weather with their schedules back loaded with home games as Colorado weather begins to warm up. The Raptors’ first three games will be in California with the home opener at Infinity Park on February 28 against Belmont Shore.
The Raptors hoped to bring home a championship trophy to match the national title won by the ladies team who took the Women’s Premier League national championship by the score of 16-15 over the Twin Cities Amazons.
During the fall the men’s team was able to take the Aspen Ruggerfest championship after four prior tries and the team has undergone a rigorous off-season training program. With 90 percent of the team returning, the men’s coach, South African Andre Synman, has high hopes but notes, “If we want to win the PRP this season we’ll have to improve on all aspects from last year. Our skill level has to be higher, our physical level needs to be higher, and our defense needs to improve.”
In addition the team will not be able to sneak up on teams like last year when “everyone picked us to finish last and that was a driving force throughout the season,” noted team captain Zach Fenoglio, who is a member of the USA men’s national team, the Eagles, as a hooker. The Denver native who is 6’2” and weighs 245 pounds also noted that the team needed to “prove to the competition that we’re a tough team and tough to play against.” Other members of the Raptors who have been on the national team include James Paterson, a 6’2” wing from Colorado Springs, and Chad London, a center from Johannesburg, South Africa, who was named Club Player of the Year by Rugby Today.
Joining the team for the 2015 season is Mose Timoteo, another former Eagle, who represented the United States in 2003 Rugby World Cup. The 38-year-old scrum half, born in American Samoa, headed up the San Francisco club that beat the Raptors in the season finale last year.
One player who will not be returning is 6’9” second row man Casey Rock. Rock was on the original Raptors team in 2006 while still in high school. He responded to an ad in The Denver Post looking for players for the new team. He retired this fall at age 27 due to repeated injuries. “I tore my LCL, MCL, ACL, patella tendon, all of my meniscus and shredded all of the cartilage in my tibia and femur,” noted Rock. “The doctor told me that because of all the bone damage, contact spots are done for me.”
Rugby did allow Rock to travel the world playing for teams in Australia and New Zealand, with his high point being the Division I national championship garnered by the Raptors in 2011.
American Rugby In State Of Flux
The world of American rugby remains in flux. The prior attempts to create a professional league have not come to fruition with another effort being mounted this summer by the National Football Rugby League that recruited various former NFL players in players combines. The effort is being undertaken by Mac Robertson and Mike Clements, but many in the rugby scene are deeply skeptical as plans have been delayed several times.
The national governing body of American rugby, USA Rugby, has not unified rugby in the country. By way of example, the PRP is not under the egis of USA Rugby but the ARP is. The top collegiate post season championship, the Varsity Cup, is also not part of USA Rugby. Various colleges have indicated that USA Rugby has been unable to obtain top dollar sponsorships and national television contracts for a collegiate championship which they were able to obtain on their own.
World Cup And Olympics
The quadrennial showcase for international rugby union, the World Cup, is scheduled to be played in London this fall and the United States qualified by defeating Uruguay in head to head matches in 2014. The United States will be an underdog to make the quarterfinals, an important feat it has yet to achieve in a World Cup.
USA Rugby was thrilled by the sellout crowd of 61,500 that showed up at Chicago’s Soldier Field in November where the Eagles played the world’s dominant team, the New Zealand All Blacks in an exhibition. The game, however, demonstrated how far American rugby still has to go as the All Blacks crushed the American team 74-6.
Seven-man rugby will be an Olympic event in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, which American enthusiasts hope will help jump start the sport in the United States, as well as increase the awareness of rugby across the globe. But for the Glendale Raptors first things first, which means taking the PRP title this spring.
by Mark Smiley | Feb 2, 2015 | Editorials
That Is Always The Question For A Newspaper
The international dispute on whether to publish one or more of the Charlie Hebdo cartoons that lampoon Islam is a question that faces publications from the “newspaper of record” The New York Times down to local papers such as the Glendale Cherry Creek Chronicle. We at the Chronicle are fiercely proud of being a local paper covering local news in the Cherry Creek Valley. We, as a matter of general editorial policy, do not cover state, national or international events except where the event directly affects the Cherry Creek Valley.
But the Charlie Hebdo cartoons and their censorship does directly affect us in the Cherry Creek Valley. Charlie Hebdo is a French publication out of Paris, that until the controversy and butchering of 12 people in the offices of that publication by two French jihadists, had a circulation that was significantly smaller than the Chronicle. As an editorial board we are saddened by the decision of The New York Times and certain other national publications not to publish the cartoons. The reason given by the Times executive editor Dean Baquet was, “Out of respect to our readers we have avoided those we felt were offensive.”
The rationale rings hollow. The Times relishes printing materials offensive to some of its Jewish and Christian readers including artwork from a Holocaust-denying Iranian cartoonist Maziar Bijani, and Andres Serrano whose most famous work of “art” is titled “Piss Christ.” When a University of Southern California journalism professor challenged Baquet calling his decision “absolute cowardice,” Baquet went on Facebook to call the professor an “A**hole.” It is said that if you’re taking flak, you’re over the target.
The New York Times is not just any paper. Most of the members of this editorial board grew up venerating that publication. The failure to publish the cartoons reveals far deeper problems at that institution. It was reported that one of the killers in Paris stated to a woman, “I’m not going to kill you because you’re a woman, we don’t kill women, but you must convert to Islam, read the Quran and cover yourself” before shouting “Allah Akbar.” The Times bizarrely changed the quote to “Don’t be afraid, calm down, I won’t kill you. You are a woman. But think about what you are doing. It’s not right.”
Why would the publication falsely change a quote except that the editor understands that the Times fears offending the sensibilities of some of its Muslim readers that it will falsify quotes. What a fall from grace by what was once America’s most respected and courageous newspaper.
We print here five Charlie Hebdo cartoon covers including the edition printed after the massacre, at right, which has sold over a million copies. What is surprising is how relatively bland the cartoons are. France does not have a particularly strong tradition of free speech, notwithstanding the parade of the notables in Paris and the holding up of pens and pencils. In 1990 under the Gayssot Act, it became illegal to question crimes against humanity under the London Charter of 1945 which would cover the Holocaust but potentially much more.
French laws also make any communication deemed hate or discriminatory speech criminal which are so broadly defined that it conceivably covers virtually any type of statement that a governmental official may deem offensive. Under this very broad law septuagenarian actress Bridget Bardot was convicted of hate speech in 2008 and fined $11,920 for alluding to Muslims as leading “us around by the nose, which destroys our country.”
Following the Charlie Hebdo massacre French comedian Dieudonné was arrested for simply saying on a Facebook entry, “Tonight, as far as I’m concerned, I feel like Charlie Coulibaly” mixing the last name of the killer who held hostages at a Jewish deli and the first name of the magazine. In France, as is the case of The New York Times, what is highly offensive is very much subjective.
We do not think it is of any great act of courage for us to print the Charlie Hebdo cartoons although, as noted above, the French magazine had a circulation significantly less than this publication at the time of the massacre. When we printed a story on “How Powerful Is Islam in the Valley — Could Rioting and Bombing in Europe Come Here Some Day (Local Islamic Center Asserts It Is The Victim of Discrimination)” on the front page of the December 2005 issue of the Chronicle, we certainly received our share of irate calls that suggested acts of violence against the paper. But that goes with the territory.
The Editorial Board has to consider whether to print or not to print what may be considered controversial stories virtually every edition. We view as part of our job to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. We have printed stories that have offended, among others, the mayor of Denver, the Denver D.A ., the executive director of the Denver Department of Planning and Development, well connected real estate developers in the Cherry Creek Valley, powerful union officials, and certain powers that be in Glendale.
As a result we have lost our fair share of advertising along with access to various public officials. But what is the point of publishing a newspaper if it is not to print the truth, at least as we see it? We understand we do not have a monopoly on the truth as readers are happy to point out in the letters and emails to the paper. Occasionally a reader will write that this paper is certainly “not” The New York Times. Sadly that statement is no longer the insult that it once was intended to be.
— Editorial Board
