CRITICIZE THE STARTLEGRAM? WOODIE WOULDN’T

The mimeographed message posted recently around Fort Worth City Hall and several other governmental institutions in the city certainly had all the earmarks of authenticity. Signed by Mayor Woodie Woods, it was a lengthy criticism of what it termed the “New York Star-Telegram,” a phrase that refers to the out-of-state ownership of a newspaper that was a hometown institution for decades before selling out in 1974. The message called for a boycott of advertisers in the newspaper in reprisal for what the writer deemed to be unfair coverage of the events at City Hall. More than once in his election campaign, Woods was heard referring to the paper as the “New York Star-Telegram,” but he denied authorship of this recent assault. Close inspection of the memo indicated that Woods, as always, had to be telling the truth. The writer of the memo misspelled the mayor’s name.