Letters from the Issue of September 14, 2006

And he thinks we are sensationalistic? I have had the opportunity to read the article that Josh Schonwald did in the August 31, 2006 edition of Miami New Times, "These Could Be Yours." I was most upset with the misrepresentations in the article.

When Schonwald first asked me to be interviewed, I said I would only do it if this were done in a discreet and professional manner. As far as I am concerned, this article was done in a sensational fashion and tabloid format. It was nothing that I would ever knowingly be part of. The headline certainly does not reflect my professional practice. Schonwald informed me that this article would address the way breast surgery is being performed, where it is right now, and where it is going. I trusted the piece would reflect this in a professional and accurate measure.

Your article insinuates that I was the first surgeon to perform breast augmentation through the nipple. I'm not. Surgery through the nipple had been described and done for many years. Surgery performed through the nipple and under the muscle had never been described in a medical journal. I performed that type of surgery a year before Dr. Ronald Gruba from San Francisco described this technique in a medical journal approximately one year after I started using the technique. It appears that you intentionally misrepresented the information I gave to you since these items were specifically clarified during the interview.

The photo you included in the article of me with the implant appeared to have been done for sensationalism. This implant was a 300 cc implant. The way this was depicted is unacceptable. There was an intentional distortion of what should have been a perfectly typical photograph. This distortion resulted in what looked like a glob of jelly, which is not representative of the procedures I perform.

Leonard A. Roudner, M.D.
Coral Gables

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Make up your mind: What is the point of Francisco Alvarado's September 7 story, "Redeveloping History"? I read the attached letter from Greenberg Traurig, and you did in fact abide by what they asked of you. You in no way accused Mr. Martin of any wrong- doing, but in doing so, your article had no opinion or reason for publication. The headline, "Miami's top developer says he has no history with drug dealers. You judge." is defamatory enough. Your opinion is in no way stated in this article, but you are asking the Miami community to read this article and judge for themselves. The least you could do is have an opinion and a backbone instead of protecting your company from lawsuit. Don't you feel that this type of reporting is ethically wrong?

You also don't give your readers very much information. They are judging based on the few words you write instead of on years of history that Mr. Martin has in Miami's business community. Where do you get off? If Mr. Martin does in fact suffer from loss of approvals and business due to this article, are you not concerned with legal consequences?

I am an avid New Times reader, but I do sometimes feel that your publication crosses that line between real news and sensationalism. It is your responsibility to provide accurate news relevant to our society and not to damage the integrity of journalism. I am sure that if Mr. Alvarado wanted to bastardize journalism, he would work at the Star or some trash like that. As a reader, it is this type of spineless news that would make me not pick up another edition of New Times. Perhaps one reader does not make a difference to you, but I am probably not the only one who feels this way.

Aniece Meinhold
Miami

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Forget Madonna: I read the Bitch column, and sometimes I even like it. The August 31 piece on the kickoff of the Havana Club, "Moby Grape," was a hoot. I've been to the one in New York, and the cheap cigar-rude little prick motif is exactly the same there. They bill it as an exclusive joint for movie stars and sports dudes, but it's mostly populated by insurance execs from Long Island. I beat it out of there as quickly as I could. Well, truth be told, I stayed until my host stopped giving me free drinks. But you see my point.

Tim Brosnan
Miami

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Four Miami New Times staff writers took first places in the recently completed Florida Press Club's 55th Annual Excellence in Journalism Competition. In the Class D division for small papers, Emily Witt took a first in feature writing, and Trevor Aaronson won for government news. Former staffers Josh Schonwald and Mariah Blake took top honors in sports, feature, and religion writing.