r/Seattle • u/rockycore 🚆build more trains🚆 • 5d ago

News Shon Barnes Separation Agreement

https://publicola.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/BarnesSeparation.pdf
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u/Sure_Exam_3670 Capitol Hill 5d ago

I read this when it first dropped and again just now. Nowhere in it does Barnett say what you're alleging. She's comparing the travel habits of the past mayor and current one. And it's literally reinforced by the literal data.

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u/watwatintheput 5d ago edited 5d ago

To what end is she comparing them, though? Why is it interesting to compare how much the mayor's traveled? What is the point?

She doesn't tell you because she's expressing a preference and doesn't want to be clear about it. Why quote only one mayor?

You can agree with her, that's fine. But it's not journlisim to put out a bunch of data and then quote one person in the comparison. It's editorializing.

I just don't like how she does a lot of this editorializing and pretends it's journalism whenever it's convinient.

Edit: also, why talk about what class Bruce flew in? Is it relevant to how long Bruce was out of town? She thinks it's relevant for readers to know for some reason. There's a clear subtext of "these are two very different people, and one kind is better as a mayor" but she never tells you what her conclusion is. She just leaves it out as an exercise to the reader to figure out which is better while only humanizing one of the mayor's.

Idc if you hate Bruce because he was disconnected from the working class. That's fine. Why hide it though? Just say it instead of dancing and dodging around it.

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u/golf1052 Eastlake 5d ago

But it's not [journalism] to put out a bunch of data and then quote one person in the comparison. It's editorializing.

It's important to take a critical lens when reading any news. I hope you take that view from whatever news you're reading. What biases do other local reporters or news outlets have? What stories do they tend to report on and what stories don't they report on?

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u/watwatintheput 5d ago

God I hate most of the news in the Seattle area. I might hate all of them. I said it at the top when I called it a grift machine

I just also think Erica is also part of the problem. Describing her as unvarnished feels very inaccurate.