Just hours prior to the 22 April 2024 YCSD Regular Meeting, Brian Reese of Wavy TV 10 published an article detailing how the school board will adopt what he refers to as a right wing policy group. Several hours after the meeting, Brian Reese was forced to backtrack on his prediction. Regardless of his failed psychic forecast, his ability to be a biased activist posing as a reporter remains in tact.
Location: York County, VA
Author: Brian Reese, Digital Producer, WAVY.com news organization
Date: April 22, 2024
Title: Version 1 at 2:15 PM, Apr 22, 2024: York County School Board set to backtrack on vote, get policy services solely from right-wing group
Note: The YC School Board Meeting was scheduled for 7:00 PM on Apr 22, 2024 providing the General Comment hostile speakers 4 hrs and 45 minutes to extract talking points from this article.
Updated Version 2 at 6:16 AM, Apr 23, 2024: York County School Board won’t get policy services from right-wing group
- Article Title Bias: The title implies a negative connotation by labeling the new organization involved as “right-wing,” where Brian Reese sets a partisan tone right from the outset.
- Descriptive Labels and Language:
- “Right-wing organization”: The SBMA is described with politically charged terminology, where Brian Reese attempts to bias the reader against it without providing detailed information about its policies or goals.
- “Nonpartisan”: Brian Reese selected this label for the Virginia School Boards Association (VSBA), portraying a more neutral or universally acceptable choice compared to the “right-wing” School Board Member Alliance (SBMA).
- “right-wing organization” and “evident right-leaning group” where Brian Reese demonstrates a bias by portraying the SBMA in a negative light based on its political leanings.
- Negative Links: Vice Chair Kimberly Goodwin, Board Chair Lynda Fairman, and Board member Zoran Pajevic are noted for their association with SBMA, where Brian Reese attempts to link them negatively due to the organization’s described political stance.
- Emphasis on Conflict and Distrust:
- Brian Reese’s narrative repeatedly emphasizes distrust and potential conflict within the board and community, suggesting a focus on controversy over constructive information.
- His references to the community’s response, including a petition calling for the resignation of three board members, amplify the sense of ongoing conflict and dissatisfaction, possibly aiming to mobilize public sentiment against the board.
- Conflict Framing: Brian Reese focuses on internal board disagreements and public backlash, which can create a more dramatic, contentious view of the board’s actions.
- Selective Quoting:
- Brian Reese selectively quotes Vice Chair Kimberly Goodwin and board member Mark Shafer expressing concerns and desires for transparency and avoidance of exclusivity, which could frame them in a more favorable, reasonable light.
- Board member Mark Shafer is quoted expressing his preference for the Virginia School Boards Association (VSBA) over SBMA, citing the latter as an “unknown quantity”. This could be seen as giving a voice to opposition against the right-leaning board members, potentially to sway public opinion.
- Brian Reese quotes Barbara Haywood, a former board member, extensively criticizing the new board’s actions, which reinforces a negative image of the current board’s decisions and character without presenting an equivalent defense from the current board members.
- Lack of Response Highlighted:
- The article notes that WAVY (the news source) did not receive responses from SBMA and York School Board Chair Lynda Fairman at the time of publishing, where Brian Reese suggests non-cooperation or secrecy on their part.
- Presentation of Opposition:
- Brian Reese attempts to stoke fear by portraying concerns of the community, including the potential exodus of teachers and a petition for board members to resign. These histrionic attempts at instilling panic and fear in the York County community are detailed without equivalent space given to explanations or rebuttals from those being criticized.
- Barbara Haywood’s comments suggest that the board’s decision was a tactical delay rather than a genuine compromise, framing the board’s actions as manipulative.
- Implications of Future Impact:
- The article ends with a dramatic quote from Barbara Haywood about the community “going up in flames” if the current stance continues, which emphasizes a sense of crisis and impending damage, possibly overstating the situation to elicit a stronger emotional response from the reader.
- Author’s Intent:
- Brian Reese appears to focus on building a narrative of distrust and mismanagement by the current school board, primarily through the voices of opposition. This could be intended to sway public opinion against the board’s recent decisions.
- There’s a notable absence of direct statements or perspectives from the board members labeled as part of a “new partisan right-wing majority,” which may indicate an intent to portray them in a negative light without providing them a platform to explain their decisions or counter the criticisms.
This analysis highlights how the article employs the tactics typical of hit-piece journalism by focusing predominantly on criticism and conflict, using emotionally charged language, and presenting a one-sided view that does not fully represent all perspectives involved in the issue. It focuses on potential York County School Board’s actions, particularly its dealings with SBMA with a limited defense or explanation from those whose actions are under scrutiny.
The actions of the board rendered the Brian Reese article moot and irrelevant as the board voted 4-1 to continue with policy writing services with the Virginia School Boards Association (VSBA). It was obvious during the Public General Comments presentations that many of the hostile speakers had taken their talking points directly from this article which was published at 2:16 PM EDT the day of the meeting. The YC School Board Meeting was at 7:00 PM that night.
Some speakers didn’t change their talking point criticisms of the board after the VSBA vote which made them look out of touch, demonstrated a lack of awareness, and were almost identical and repetitive relative to what they were reading from the podium. This suggests a collaboration between speakers to develop a hostile speaking agenda against the YC School Board during the televised meetings.
Others, who applauded and cheered after the vote for the VSBA, congratulated Shafer and Richardson for driving the vote their way and denigrated Lynda Fairman for her negative vote on the VSBA selection.
This is an embarrassment for Brian Reese since he was provided a detailed package from a source in the YC School System or from a YC School Board member and ran with it without doing due diligence by waiting after the VSBA/SBMA board vote. This demonstrates his continuing and repeated attempts to mobilize and incite action against YC School Board members Lynda Fairman, Kimberly Goodwin and Zoran Pajevic.
