How would they do it?
I was talking with a fellow yesterday when I still believed that it was likely that the incumbents would win out in the local election. He made a comment about the fact that he thought the people in Great Falls were basically uninterested in local politics, and would take the path of least resistance.
I said that it is hard for them to be anything else. The local newspaper does not cover local issues in any kind of depth, and the television stations simply do not have the time on the air to get into the gory details of what is going on at the Civic Center.
He responded that he disagreed with me about the Tribune:
“I agree with you that the Tribune could do a better job, but that’s only because I agree with you about what is going on at the City. From the Tribune’s point of view they are only giving both sides of the story and you are just mad that they don’t only take your point of view. The Tribune cannot just assume that everyone at the Civic Center is lying.”
On consideration, that’s a fair point. Being an attorney, too, I should have a better eye for objectivity. While events have since proven us both wrong about the election, I went to bed last night wondering whether I have been too hard on the Tribune. What could they do differently?
The more I thought about it, though, the more I kept coming back to the Secret Box. You know, the voluminous information that the City refuses to produce to the public.
The Tribune often waves the Sunshine banner, supporting Sunshine Week and telling its readers that sunshine is often the best disinfectant. What if the Tribune really took that to heart.
What if they put Eric Newhouse on the Secret Box, and asked him to do a series. Day after day, Eric could discuss specific items of evidence with the Tribune’s lawyer and analyze just how likely it really was that the City or SME had some sort of privilege from disclosure.
He could discuss specific documents like financial statements (Doc. 60) for SME, in which the City has invested millions, and question how they could be protected by the attorney-client privilege? He could ask how the City could send its employees to meetings on City time, yet their notes are protected from disclosure to the taxpayers who pay their salaries (Docs. 19 – 23)? He could ask how emails between City employees (Doc. 36) or Bylaws of an entity the City owns (Doc. 65) can be kept secret from the public? He could ask who falsely told the City Clerk that no Confidentiality Agreement existed, when in fact one did exist?
He could ask a lot of questions.
He could carefully and fully investigate the fact that the City failed to follow the proper legal procedures to protect the documents as set forth in the Great Falls Tribune v. Public Service Commission case. He could set up a timeline and show that the affidavits filed in support of secrecy were an afterthought. He could scour the public records and show that there really was no “independent determination” by the City Commission whereby it was decided these documents would remain secret.
Throughout this series, the Editorial Board could bang the drum against secrecy and demand the release of these documents into the public record.
Isn’t that what a newspaper does?
Would that change the public’s perception about spending tax dollars on secret projects?
I don’t know why the Tribune chooses, instead, to quietly join the MEIC lawsuit to wait and see how it all works out. I don’t know why, but that’s what they have chosen to do.
I think that is worthy of some criticism. They have the talent and the capability. They have simply chosen not to use it in the pursuit of sunshine.
“From the Tribune’s point of view they are only giving both sides of the story … ”
The Tribune is only giving both sides of SOME, NOT ALL, of the story
If the Tribune would do real reporting as you suggest I would subscribe weekly and read the paper cover to cover, including all the ads. Today I rarely read a leftover copy. Just not worth the time of day.
As I have stated many times, the Tribune management drank the Lawton/Gregori KoolAid on HGS and have been drunk on that stuff ever since. The management at the Tribune needs to be detoxified before they can be an effective community newspaper…..
GeeGuy is right on target here and the Tribune would do well to think long and hard on his comments!
Great Falls Guy:
No offense to Gregg, or to you, but Gregg’s suggestions would never work in the really real world.
“Day after day, Eric could discuss specific items of evidence with the Tribune’s lawyer and analyze just how likely it really was that the City or SME had some sort of privilege from disclosure.” Do you know how many people would actually read that? I know I don’t, but I do know it would be significantly less people than the number of people who are just dying to know what color Britney Spear’s hair is this week.
I don’t mean this as a personal attack on Gregg. This is the kind of information that people probably should know, and should be interested in. The simple fact of the matter is, most people are just not going to read a series of articles where an author discusses law with a lawyer and does an analysis on, well, anything. I know it’s suppose to be news, and it is, but for it to be in the paper, it needs to be interesting news. More people are going to read this than anything Gregg suggested.
Also, before it’s even suggested that all that can co-exist, let me just say “No it can’t.” It’s a simple fact of logistics that a daily (weekly, monthly, yearly, whateverly) paper can only be so big. Staff and budget are obvious concerns. Given limited resources, you’ve got to include the news that will get the most readers. When it comes down to it, an article about a cheerleader is going to beat out an article where a lawyer analyzes city Bylaws.
Mihalis just clarified her belief that most people in Great Falls are just as shallow and uninformed as she is.
As this election just proved the people are coming out of a slumber with a hunger for the facts. Timing is ripe for the Tribune to step it up.
We can Hope for Change…
Mihalis, Eric Newhouse has done a number of series on various issues. I apologize that my piece read like it suggested he basically do interviews with lawyers every day. That might just be one piece. There’s an awful lot of ground to cover on this.
Mithalis, The Tribune needs to try real reporting, in-depth, investigative with the facts for a change. Haven’t you noticed that the present model is not working? The paper has shrunk as well as the staff. Time to remodel the model or go broke. Just the humble opinion of someone who canceled their Tribune subscription several years ago because of what I just here stated…..
Great Falls Guy just gave me the laugh of the day. He says he doesn’t read the Tribune, but he criticizes the size of the paper and its stories at length. I’m glad the Tribune continues to cover all sides of stories and doesn’t waste its time with readers such as Great Falls Guy, who have no interest in blaanced, thorough reporting.
See ya around Dona…..