MEDIA NOTES: ACCURACY IN THE WASHINGTON POST
The Washington Post claims to be the local newspaper for the Washington area but has yet to figure out some of the peculiarities of the suburbs, especially in Virginia. For one thing, the Post believes that the cities of Falls Church and Fairfax and the county of Fairfax constitute a single, Pangea-like entity called "Fairfax." This has come up in the Post's coverage of the attempt by two conservative Episcopal churches to break away from the Diocese of Virginia. The Post could not accurately place the actual location of the churches in question. Today the Post published an edited version of my second letter on the subject. The first letter resulted in a correction published December 5. Below are the full versions of both letters.
January 4, 2007
Editor, The Washington Post
Just curious, but in what sense is The Falls Church located in "Fairfax," as the Post reported on its front page today? It is obviously not in Fairfax City since that municipality lies several miles to the west, and it is not located in Fairfax County. As the name implies, The Falls Church is in Falls Church, a small but decidedly independent city which is bordered by Arlington County on one side and Fairfax County on the other.
The Post managed to place Truro Church in Fairfax City and noted that it is located near the intersection of two major thoroughfares. Well, The Falls Church is located near the intersection of Broad Street (Virginia Route 7) and South Washington Street (U.S. Route 29), which is the central intersection of Falls Church. So why can't you figure out that it is in Falls Church? Where do you think that little city got its name, anyway?
Virginia is literally unique in its separation of city and county. Falls Church has its own city council, school system, library, police force, etc. It used to share courts with Fairfax County but switched to sharing them with Arlington County. Believe me, no one in Falls Church city thinks he or she lives in Fairfax County. People will pay more for a house specifically to live in the city.
The Post acknowledged in a correction December 5, 2006, that The Falls Church is in Falls Church and not in Fairfax County. Today's story seems to indicate that the editors do not read the corrections.
Sincerely,
Richard L. Lobb
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ORRECTIONS
Tuesday, December 5, 2006; Page A02
· A Dec. 4 article incorrectly said that two Episcopal churches considering a split from the national church are located in Fairfax County. The Falls Church is in the city of Falls Church, and Truro Church is in Fairfax City.
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Letter to the Editor December 4, 2006
Editor, The Washington Post:
I am not an Episcopalian (I belong to the Roman varsity squad) and have no great interest in whether the Episcopal church suffers a schism, but I can tell you for a fact that The Falls Church is not located in Fairfax County, as you reported today, but rather, as the name implies, in the City of Falls Church, which is independent of, and separate from, its giant neighbor. The Falls Church is located right smack in the center of that little city and is a major local institution.
Furthermore, Truro Church is not in Fairfax County, either. It is located in the center of the City of Fairfax, a jurisdiction that zealously guards its independence from the county.
Virginia’s separation of city and county is literally unique since no other state arranges local government that way. I lived for many years in Fairfax County with a Falls Church mailing address, and now have a Fairfax mailing address, without ever having lived in either of those cities.
The Post seems to have a hard time grasping this concept and comes up with strange circumlocutions such as describing a location as “the Alexandria section of Fairfax County” (“Jurors Debate Murder Charge Against Youth, 14” by Jamie Stockwell, B06 11/03/2006), which makes it sound like that entire, rather large, city is in Fairfax County -- which it is not. Just say, “in Fairfax County near Alexandria.”
And please put The Falls Church back into the city that is named for it.
Sincerely,
Richard L. Lobb