Outsourcing Local Newspaper Jobs
I’m one of the Cincinnati Enquirer employees who took the volunteer severance buyout in September. I’ve been searching CityBeat and other media sources since then to see what’s been going on with the company I dedicated 27 years to (“Paper Cuts,” issue of Dec. 10).
One thing I don’t see is anyone mentioning the outsourcing that’s going on at The Enquirer and its parent company, Gannett. My design job was being sent to India and they were phasing me out.
Gannett is letting a lot of us go due to the economy, and a huge part of it is outsourcing. They’re getting cheap labor from India and turning their backs on Americans in order to solve their problems, but they expect us to buy the newspapers and advertise in them as usual.
Do the people a favor and check into the outsourcing and post it all over the place. No one is doing that in print or on the TV.
Hopefully there are some people out there who still believe in the U.S. and will stop buying and reading The Enquirer and insist that Gannett bring back our jobs. Maybe it will help save CityBeat!
— Anonymous
Realistic Sex Education
I’m writing to express my support for State Sen. Teresa Fedor’s Senate Bill 385 for comprehensive sexuality education. I only recently moved to Ohio, and I’m heartened by bills such as this one.
As a former teacher of teenagers who has seen her students bear children, I know firsthand that teens are having sex and have seen how their futures can be changed in an instant by unintended pregnancies.
It’s a simple fact of life: 95 percent of Americans have premarital sex. Then why are we teaching ideology instead of reality?
Yes, sexual abstinence is the only way to completely avoid sexually transmitted diseases as well as unplanned pregnancy. It’s an idea that should be taught in our schools, but we must go further. We need to teach our children to make responsible decisions about sex and how to protect themselves from sexually transmitted diseases and unplanned pregnancy.
If we teach only abstinence, where does that leave teens who have already chosen to have sex? They’re often reluctant to acknowledge sexual activity, obtain contraception or even discuss sexuality.
Federally funded abstinence-only programs don’t teach students how to access and use contraception. In fact, some of these programs discourage the use of contraception, including condoms, which also help reduce the transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy found in 2004 that teen childbearing cost Ohio taxpayers $352 million.
Our students deserve comprehensive sexual education. SB 385 is a comprehensive and medically accurate approach to sex education that will keep our teens safe and reduce unintended pregnancies as well as the transmission of sexually transmitted infections. This bill has the ability to make an economic impact on our region and, more importantly, a lasting educational impact on our teens.
— Julia Elmer, Hyde Park
Other Shoe Drops
Let me join the chorus of voices around the world cheering journalist Muntather Al-Zaidi for hurling not just one but both of his shoes at President Bush during a press conference in Baghdad. Do I condone this sort of behavior? Let me put it this way: Some people warrant it.
I draw the line at calling Bush a “dog,” though. That was insulting and demeaning. If dogs knew, they’d be outraged.
Still, W’s reflexes were impressive. Good thing, too. He’ll likely need them from here on out.
— Jim Byrnes, Hyde
