When you read most newspapers and news Web sites these days, you will probably be confronted by gore and negativity, and you will quickly learn one lesson: things are getting worse. A lot of people are in denial, blaming media outlets for the barrage of bad news, but I’m not sure this is a fair accusation. Let’s face it, bad news sells. People want to know if they need to avoid leaving their homes that day for fear of a terrorist attack, plague or general madness, and newspapers are, of course, happy to sell papers.
But plenty of newspapers, such as Alachua County Today, pride themselves on covering all sides – both positive and negative. This is why I was quite perplexed when a commissioner at the City of Archer refused to offer reasonable responses to me when I wanted to report her side of a story. She told me we were too negative with a previous article, and “the City of Archer has nothing more to say” to us. She informed me that the city officials did not want me to write anything about Archer.
I was nearly speechless. I had to repeat her words to ensure I had not misheard her, but to my surprise, she never corrected herself. I told her that the story I was covering was important to our readers, who are also the people she was elected to represent. I told her our readers wanted to know the truth – whether that looks bad for her or not – and I was going to write the story with or without her quotes. She quickly rebutted, saying “I hope nobody else talks to you!”
Is this the manner a public official should be interacting with the media, who are merely here to inform the public about important issues?
This commissioner apparently wants a closed government where media cannot interfere. So, in my quest to uncover the rest of the story, I called other public officials, both past and present, to find out what was going on, only to discover that lips were sealed because this particular commissioner is threatening a lawsuit for comments – opinions – made by other public officials. What a nightmare! Not only is she refusing to offer her insight into issues concerning her citizens, but her actions are forcing other officials into a corner. Not that these officials don’t have a right to talk to the media, but they want to avoid the legal fees and inconveniences that are pre-packaged with lawsuits.
I am disgusted by her actions. After telling her I would have to report the story without her comments, and I questioned whether she was representing Archer residents well, she finally told me she wanted to see positive stories about Archer in the newspaper.
So, I guess the question I have is, would you rather see negative, but accurate, news about your government, or try to act like you live in a utopian society where government officials are infallible and everyone is happy?
Think about it.
