Wednesday, September 7, 2011

And Don't Let the Door . . . Nevermind

Today marks the final column from the Houston Chronicle's Rick Casey.  I haven't been so saddened since alleged journalist Alan Bernstein jumped ship for the Sheriff's Office.

Oddly enough, I remember reading Casey's first column many years ago, where he introduced himself to the community.  Long before there was the Rosenthal scandal and the election battle of 2008, I remember thinking that the new-to-town columnist seemed to think very highly of his own wisdom and intellect.

Don't get me wrong, he wrote many columns over the years that I did like.  On occasion, I would even send an e-mail in complimenting the articles.  There has even been a time or two on this blog that I've agreed with him publicly.

But Casey has also had his bumps and blunders over the years, as he has spoken with such authority about facts that he didn't have a complete grasp on.  My favorite question remains how a 24-year veteran of a Metro beat apparently went to almost the end of his career without ever going to jury duty.  Along the way, Casey also managed to libel Sam Siegler, write a bizarre "fantasy" piece about Kelly Siegler, and apparently do a little borderline plagiarism on the side.

But, thank goodness, he always let us know that he knew what was best for Houston --

No matter how ill-informed he was about so many issues.

6 comments:

Franklin Bynum said...

You're just still upset that he bumped Leon Hale off the front page of the metro section.

BLACK INK said...

Journalistic integrity requires objectivity, accuracy and thoroughness......irrelevant nuances to Rick Casey.

As the Houston Chronicle crumbles under the weight of Casey-like junk journalism, the dead wood is being jettisoned at a record pace.

I don't know the specifics as to why Casey "quit" but one must speculate that it was not a unilateral decision.
My understanding is that certain folks at the Chronicle are being "asked" to work arbitrary hours and perform duties way outside their current job descriptions if they wish to remain employed.

The chronicle is shrinking at every level besides their work force:
*there are less pages,
*the size of each page is smaller and smaller,
*readership is plummeting along with advertising,
*the press room is printing papers for Lufkin, San Antonio et al to stay afloat
*and if their move to the digital market fails.......so will the once venerable publication.

Under these circumstances the Chronicle can ill afford an arrogant half baked writer who produces just a couple of nonsensical tirades a week.

A Casey-like "investigative" editorial on the circumstances surrounding Rick Casey's departure from the Houston Chronicle would ironically reveal Rick Casey for who he is: a pompous ass who aptly demonstrates that what goes around comes around.......

Anonymous said...

Can you think of any other profession besides "journalism" where you can pass yourself off as an authority on a complicated subject, be received with such credibility by a similarly uninformed public, but be so incredibly wrong? The Jayson Blair School of Journalism should call Mr. Casey and see if he's interested in a position.

Anonymous said...

As the HCDAO crumbles under the weight of Rosenthal-like junk justice, the dead wood is being jettisoned at a record pace.

Fixed that for you.

Rage

Anonymous said...

I was wondering if Pat Lykos was ever a guest at the Bates Motel?

Just Sayin' said...

Rage,

I'm convinced you wouldn't know solid timber from dead wood if it hit you square in your forehead.

Even if you weren't so physically short, you'd still have a diminutive intellect.

Just Sayin'

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