Diversity, Social Justice--YesStarshine--Not So Much

One of the last remaining bastions of real journalism at the News-Press had been the Life and Scene sections, which seemingly remained out of the line of Wendy McCaw's wild fire, except when book reviewers chose to skewer self-righteous, or that should be self-wrongeous, Dr. (of Physiology) Laura. Tom Jacobs, the paper's best flat-out writer still prints there, for instance. But today we got to see more bias creep up in an article entitled "Women's lit (on the)101: The Women's Literary Festival celebrates diversity, literacy and social justice." (No link, because a sharing of ideas is not what Wendy is about. Not only do you have to have ideas for that--and blaming 9/11 and everything else on the Teamsters doesn't count as an idea--but you have to think someone else in the world matters.)

It seems the festival might celebrate diversity, literacy, and social justice, but the N-P article surely doesn't. For while it twice lists the speakers the event includes, the one name missing both times is former News-Press columnist Starshine Roshell. I can't imagine she was left off just by accident, or because someone hated all musicals and especially Hair. Nope, it's most likely because the Women's Literary Festival website bio for Roshell includes the following:

Starshine was one of many newsroom staffers who left the News-Press after eight editors resigned in protest in July of 2006. Her resignation letter, posted at http://www.starshineroshell.com/, is regarded as poignant and candidly accurate.

You would think that in a 1042 word article, you might be able to work in a mention of a well-known local writer, especially when she's the only local presenting. Somehow Carolyn See got mentioned twice, even though the festival website announces that she's had a medical emergency and won't attend.

So, who operated on the article, and made excising any mention of the renegade Roshell essential? Was it the writer Bethany Hopkins, who was just an intern when the first 6 left the paper in July? Recently appointed assistant Life editor Charlotte Boechler, who is married to Scott Steepleton, since pouring the fuel of conflicts of interest on the bias bonfire seems like nothing to this compromised crew? Or was it Steepleton himself, still upset Roshell used a dirty word when she quit and her very name makes him get the vapors?