Quote of the Day: Union Leader & Journalism Ethics

New Hampshire Union Leader Publisher Joe McQuaid and a photographer are in Afghanistan to chronicle New Hampshire National Guard Co. C, 3rd Battalion, 172nd Infantry. Telling the local troops’ story is certainly laudable, but the fact that the Union Leader says its series “is made possible in part through the assistance of BAE Systems, Next Step Orthotics and DEKA Research” seems a little problematic. Yes, two of those firms have products designed to help amputees, but how do you cover a war objectively when you’re indebted to Pentagon contractors?

—John P. Gregg, Valley News political editor

All Eyes on Granite State Debates

There’s just one week to go before New Hampshire’s September 14 primary election. It’s been said that voters really don’t start paying attention to November elections until after Labor Day. If that’s the case, New Hampshire voters have precious little time to decide how to cast their primary votes.

To help sort things out, WMUR-TV and the Union Leader are sponsoring a series of televised debates to be held this week at Saint Anselm College in Manchester. Each debate will be one hour long and will feature questions to the candidates from WMUR and Union Leader journalists. The debates will be broadcast on WMUR and streamed live on WMUR.com.

Here’s a preview from James Pindell in his new role as WMUR.com Political Director. Full debate schedule and participating candidates are below the fold.

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Question of the Day: Female Empowerment

But which is the better path to female empowerment — watching a play in which women openly discuss their body parts, or learning how to shoot a bull’s eye at 50 yards?

— Union Leader editorial, Empowering women: One bullet at a time