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Flame of the Week The site's going down the toilet

And it's all Thomas C. Greene's fault

[This week it's a long, seemingly well-thought-out letter, but a flame none the less, and ole Thom Greene is the target - for a second week running (he secretly loves it though). It may not be as entertaining as those flames from the less eloquent, more concise flamers we usually feature, but hey, there's a big trailer trash hoedown in the Mid West this week, so choice has been limited.]

I have read The Register for some time now, as I appreciate and enjoy reading the site's pointed commentary about goings-on in the computer industry. I even accept that The Register will occasionally publish an inaccurate story, simply due to the nature of the reporting style your site has adopted.

However, the reporting by Thomas C. Greene regarding the U.S. presidential election has been biased in a manner that I've not previously seen in your site's reporting. Greene's obvious bias in favour of Al Gore has been, and continues to be, not in a manner that suggests that Greene doesn't have all the information available before he posts his stories, but rather is biased in a manner that suggests that Greene is excluding information and perspectives from his stories that don't happen to support his particular political ideology.

This development I find to be very troubling. I would have expected The Reg to thoroughly skewer the mishaps and failings of each main contender for president, pointing out the stupidities generated by both campaigns. This would have been both amusing and informative, as, per your site's reputation, it likely would have included information not reported on by the mainstream press. Instead, the coverage that Mr.Greene has generated on the topic has amounted to little more than pro-Gore propaganda.

Although Mr. Greene has at times criticized the Gore campaign, he clearly does not do so with the same passion that he applies to his criticism of the Bush campaign. It seems that while he relishes the opportunity to bash the Republicans, his doing so to the Democrats is only a half-hearted effort at appearing to be objective.

I suppose that the crux of my complaint is that the quality of Mr.Greene's reporting is so far below that which I've come to expect from The Register. Mr. Greene has neither the stingingly sarcastic wit in his writing style, nor the insightful observational skills in his reporting, that seem to be de rigueur for most of your reporters.

Perhaps The Register editorial staff truly does have a politically liberal bias, and therefore condones Mr. Greene's slanted manner of journalism under the guise of being a reporter for The Register. If this is the case, I never would have expected The Register to do such a thing, and I am quite disappointed to see that it is being done.

It is with regret that I tell you that I am perilously close to deciding not to continue to read The Register any longer. Your site obviously has the editorial license to slant news coverage in whatever direction you choose, but it's been the slant towards the truth that initially made me a reader and supporter of your site. If the editorial staff has now decided that the truth is no longer the goal, but is merely something to be manipulated in order to achieve some other ends, then there are other outlets from which I can obtain information about the computing industry. I will be sad to abandon The Register in favour of those others, but if I cannot trust the validity of your site's reporting, then I have no other acceptable choice.

Todd Beck

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