Where's the beef?

Where's the beef?

The article in today’s Times-News by Reporter
Jim Martin entitled “Ribbon to be cut at biofuels
plant” raises more questions than it answers.

The headline’s vacuity was echoed in the story’s
lead paragraph which reads:”Erie Management
Group will kick off operations at Lake Erie Biofuels
with a ribbon-cutting ceremony this morning.”

It then gave us the astonishing news that “Owner
Samuel P. (Pat) Black is expected to be on hand
along with Erie Mayor Joe Sinnot and U.S.
Representative Phil English of Erie.” Wow!

This is the stuff of self-serving company press
releases, hardly warranting a reporter’s byline,
which usually implies that the reporter has
actually done some original legwork on a story,
not merely lip-synced the corporate line. Except
for the riveting ribbon-cutting action, the rest of
the article was old hat, warmed over recent
history

According to the article, the $50 million plant
“meets new voluntary quality assurance
standards.” What in the world does that mean?
It appears to mean that quality control is whatever
the company says it is, which is no standard at all.
But we’re not sure. The reporter didn’t ask.

Why should Erieites care about the opening of
this plant? How many jobs will it create? Will its
product lower the cost of fuel locally. If so, how
much. If not, why not? The reporter didn't ask.

In an earlier article touching on this subject,
Reporter Martin quoted a municipal port
authority official as saying Erie Biofuels expects
to export 1.5 million gallons per month of its
product through the Port of Erie to a European
market. That’s more than one-fourth of the
plant’s annual output.

Why would Erie Biofuel export any of its product
when there’s a serious shortage of fuels in the
U.S.?We don’t know, because the reporter didn’t
ask the question.

Last question. Where are the Times-News
editors who are presumed to review reporters’
work and keep them focused on the pertinent facts?