Has the Star covered the Prescott mural story?

by David Safier

I haven't seen the Prescott mural story in the Star, either the paper edition or on its blogs. J. Fang featured it on El Blog, and local Marlene Phillips spotlighted it in the Examiner, but the Star? Unless I missed it, the mural is a tree that fell in the forest when no one from the southern Arizona paper of record was there to hear it.

Maybe, if I was feeling generous toward the Star, I could excuse the omission, since the "lighten that brown skin" order and the racist comments out of car windows didn't happen in southern Arizona.

But still. With SB1070 such a huge issue, anything that smacks of racism in Arizona, especially at the institutional level, is statewide news. Even nationwide news.

I mean, when it makes The Washington Post, I think it deserves a mention in the Tucson area paper of record too.

The Star excuses its lack of in-depth national and world news coverage by saying it's focusing on local news. Even in the most parochial meaning of the term "local," that includes Arizona news that reflects issues important to this area as well, even if it happens a few hours drive outside the paper's subscription area.

There's still time to make the Sunday edition. Anybody on the editorial board listening?

It's foolish of me to think the Star listens to anything written on El Blog. It may be that, when a tree falls in El Blog-land, it can't be heard in Star headquarters. More likely, though, it's heard, but the editorial board sticks its fingers in its ears and sings, "La La La, can't hear you!"

UPDATE: It's on HuffPo too.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Now it's on the NY Daily News too. Written by a local staffer, no less.

And AOL News.

And the Herald Sun in Australia.

And the Atlanta Journal Consititution.

I've looked high and low on the Star website and haven't found a murmur about this. If it's there and I missed it, someone please let me know so I can apologize.