The Express Times: Comforting the Comfortable, Afflicting the Afflicted

I'm old enough to remember the days, long before the Internet, when newspapers were the gatekeepers. They did provide a public service by sending out small armies every night to cover everything, from municipal meetings to high school sports. But they regulated what public knew, and what it did not, and often in a dishonest way. Thanks to the Internet, those days are over. Thanks to the Internet, people like me can tell you when a newspaper like The Express Times is feeding you a big, fat juicy bullshit burger. The Express Times is doing just that, with extra horseshit sauce.

Although Congress and Harrisburg are both usually caught up talking about abortion or gay rights, that's really a smokescreen. The real problem in this country, as most of you already know, is that you don't make enough money. Many of you may be making less than you were ten years ago. while working longer hours. Some of you have been forced to take on an extra job, not for a Summer home or a trip to Europe, but to pay for your children's education. In some cases, it's to put food on the table.

In 2012, the income of the wealthiest 1% rose 20 %. Good for them. For the rest of is, it was just 1%. In fact, for the bottom 90% of the population, income dropped about six percent between 2010 and 2013.

The American Dream is becoming a nightmare.

In a climate like this, organized labor is more important than ever. That includes public sector unions, as anyone working in Northampton County should realize. Yet starting last week, The Express Times launched an attack on them.

It started with a story about an annual fund drive conducted by the Nazareth Borough Police Association. Mayor Carl Strye and a Council member obviously contacted the press in an effort to get some bad publicity. Never mind that Strye was the President of a social club that for decades has been routinely charged with possessing illegal poker machines. Never mind that Strye's fire company conducts one or perhaps two fundraisers of its own every year.

The Mayor hinted that money raised might help pay for some of the litigation in the grievances that these officers are forced to file (and win) against the Borough.

My guess is that some money might go to that, but as I explained in a post last week, the money raised also funds random acts of kindness. This includes a used car that police officers purchased for a woman after her own jalopy was totaled in a hit-and-run. It includes $500 in cash to a single mother who is at her wit's end and already works two jobs.  It also includes $500 in college money for a high school senior who writes an essay that officers like.

The reporter who wrote this story knows all this because I told her and wrote about it on this blog. Though the Express Times has no problem lifting one of my stories to create its own, as it did with last week's story about the firing and re-firing of the Plainfield Police Chief, it failed to acknowledge these uses of the money.

In fact, the paper tried to manufacture a few resident complaints. It called two citizens I know in an attempt to get one of them to bash the police union for conducting a fundraiser. These residents refused to play along, even when the reporter told them that residents were complaining.

After publishing a story designed to smear the Nazareth police union without telling the public the full story, the editorial board jumped in and awarded these officers a turkey for daring to solicit funds. Never mind that one of them, Officer Stephen Schleig, had just received a commendation for saving a citizen's life. According to EMT Anthony Skorochod, Officer Schleig started an "AED fibrillation which saved the guys life." (Of course, Skorochod and the other EMTs deserve recognition as well).

Basically, the paper allowed itself to be used by a power structure in Nazareth that is intent on destroying the police union.

Is it any wonder that officers like Lahovsky won't return the paper's calls?

The newspaper continues its bashing. On Sunday, it published an editorial citing four recent arbitration rulings as proof that the "process is out of whack."

A little more than one year ago, I might have agreed with this editorial. But I sat in on the kangaroo court in which Bethlehem City Council voted to fire Officer Hoffman. It opened my eyes. That was a predetermined decision if ever there was one. I saw and heard Bethlehem police officers who were subpoenaed to testify against Officer Hoffman. At considerable risk to their own careers, most spoke on his behalf. I watched in disgust as a council member called a bar bouncer a hero, although my own evidence revealed that he was under house arrest at the time.

Nobody was interested in why this happened. Nobody cared that, two years before this accident in which no one was hurt, Officer Hoffman was holding a dying police officer in his arms, trying to keep him alive. He was the first outside officer on the scene when Officer Robert Lasso was brutally murdered.

We increasingly have recognized that veterans suffering from PTSD will often act erratically, and are trying to get them help instead of punishing them. Certainly we should give as much consideration to a police officer.

In the Lahovsly case, I read the ruling. The paper has, too. It knows Lahovski was exonerated on all but one minor matter. In fact, the record in that case shows that Nazareth officials were exercising a vendetta.

The teacher mentioned received a suspension equivalent to 1/3 of a year.

The Express Times is exhibiting an anti-union bias at a time when most of its readers are struggling to make ends meet. But does it serve those readers or does it serve developers like Mark Mulligan, who will soon be the paper's landlord? Is it interested in telling the truth, or is it interested in access?

I admire and respect much of what The Express Times has done over the years. But in the final analysis, that paper is a sell-out no different than The Morning Call is a sell-out from within the NIZ. One reports to Mulligan, the other to J.B. Reilly.

Washington Post Headline

"Uranus might be full of surprises"

Mine certainly is.

(This headline discovery was made by a distinguished academician who has miraculously retained a sense of humor).

Bottom-Feeding Blogger Receives Major Award

Last night, while the rest of you were circled around the TV or curled up with a good book, I was diving into Lamont McClure's garbage cans, looking for dirt. As most of you know, I'm a bottom-feeding blogger with no redeeming virtues. But now, I'm a bottom-feeding blogger with a major award. Believe it or not, it's for journalism.

The Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association has given me second place in its annual Keystone Press awards. It's in the "ongoing news coverage" category for my NIZ stories published at The Bethlehem Press, a weekly newspaper that comes out every Wednesday.

I was up against heavyweights like The Abington Journal and The Susquehanna County Independent, not the dailies. They have their own category. The Morning Call picked up five awards. I was unable to locate the correct category for The Express Times, and will update this post when I find it.

I was in a small category. But hey, a win's still a win.

I want to thank those of you who sent emails to The Press last year, urging them to fire me. You inspired me.

The Bethlehem Press did pretty well in the awards category this year. Here are the other winners:

Dana Grubb - Second place, column writing.

Karen Samuels - Honorable mention, column writing.

Brandon Taylor - Second place feature beat reporting; Second place photo story.

Tim Gilman - Honorable mention, feature photo.

Linda Anthony - First place, photo story.

Ed Courier - Honorable mention, graphic/photo illustration.

Bethlehem Police Chide Media In Andretti Case

Bloggers are regularly accused of jumping the gun, and in my case, it's sometimes true. Because this is an interactive site, readers can tell me I'm dead wrong about something almost as soon as I publish. The mainstream media jumps the gun, too, and recently did so with a report that a report about Indy race car driver Marco Andretti.

CBS News, among others, had claimed that Marco drove through the gate of a municiapl parking garage, instead of paying the fee.

In their report clearing the grandson of Nazareth racing legend Mario Andretti, Bethlehem Police take a little shot at the media.

"Local media outlets began calling the department and were told that the matter was an open investigation. It is the department’s procedure not to comment on open investigations. Nevertheless, some local media outlets published reports of the incident."

Did It Feel Good to Get Gilbert?

"Character assassinated. Nomination withdrawn. It's got to feel very rewarding."

That's one of the anonymous criticisms directed at me yesterday for my report about Fiscal Affairs Director nominee Bruce Gilbert. County Exec John Stoffa pulled the nomination after learning that Gilbert no longer had five votes.

The truth is that I feel pretty bad about it. I happen to like Gilbert, and despite my report, think he has been a productive, smart and dedicated member of Northampton County Council.

He also has five great kids. I'm sure these revelations hurt them.

But I also feel this story was necessary. Despite all of the negative financial information, compounded by Gilbert's lame explanations, five members of County Council were still ready to vote for Gilbert last week.

Even Monday, after a disappointing Gilbert news conference, Council President John Cusick told the Express Times' Sarah Cassi he'd still be voting for the embattled nominee.

Tuesday, Cusick suddenly reversed course. "The totality of it was so shocking," he now hypocritically claims.

What a difference a day makes!

What was really so shocking to Cusick was the public firestorm. That happened only because the press, despite lost profits and reduced manpower, did its job. Had there been no Patch, Express Times or Morning Call, this would have been a power play. Cusick already had his sights set on Gilbert's replacement.

If there were no press, Patch or even blogs, it would not be long before part-time Council members would be earning $100,000 a year.

It's by no means rewarding. Ask any reporter. But in a representative democracy, it is very necessary.

Portnoy's Complaint

Let me tell you a little secret. It was by no means a foregone conclusion that Northampton County Exec John Stoffa would ever appeal Judge Baratta's logically flawed decision about Gracedale. Baratta ruled that although the nursing home certainly impacts the public purse, an initiative concerning its sale somehow does not "extend" to the budget. I appealed Barratta on the signatures without batting an eye, but Stoffa agonized for days, even to the point where he was losing sleep.

What bothers him is that even if I am right and there really are only about 13,000 legitimate signatures for an initiative on Gracedale's fate, that's still a lot of people. He's also very reluctant to challenge the wisdom of Northampton County's bench.

He did appeal, not because he wanted to, but because he felt he had no choice. As the highest elected official in Northampton County, he has a duty to protect and defend the Home Rule Charter, and the logical result of Judge Baratta's ruling would bring County government to its knees. In the finest statement I've ever heard him make, he declared, "We can't have 23,000 county executives making a decision and have a representative government."

Stoffa made this comment at a news conference attended by The Express Times, WFMZ, Easton Patch, and one bottom-feeding blogger. Morning Call reporter Jenna Portnoy, the beat reporter assigned to Northampton County government, was absent.

She did speak to Stoffa later that day, and wrote about it. In a lead-in sentence that is more editorial than story, Portnoy misrepresents Stoffa completely. "Northampton County Executive John Stoffa is so determined to keep county voters from weighing in on the sale of Gracedale nursing home that he's taking the fight to Commonwealth Court," she "reports." As I've already indicated, Stoffa appealed in spite of a strong conviction that the voters should have a say.

I have no idea what Jenna was thinking.

The mainstream media prides itself on objectivity, and for the most part, they succeed. I'll add that Jenna Portnoy is an excellent reporter and has written countless balanced and factual accounts. As a disreputable blogger, I won't even try. I might ruin my reputation.

Are You Ready For Another BM?

I've told you before about my latest, and probably last, trip to WMFZ-TV 69's Business Matters. I was there to do a show pitting one bottom feeding blogger against three "real" journalists. They never had a chance. You see, before my show, I got all fired up watching Ron Angle and Michelle Young as a tag team against Mike Schlossberg and Jude Denis. (See video here). Many people died.

Tonight, if you're interested in an intelligent discussion of the New Media's impact on journalism, you won't find it on Channel 69. But if you tune in at 8 PM, you can see me kick the shit out of Express Times Editor-in-Chief Joe Owens and Morning Call Highbrow Jon Micek about their lousy election coverage.

I also do a Jake Towne impersonation.

Now Owens has deluded himself that he came out on top, and he did make a comeback, but Angle gave me the match on points.

Micek just ran out of there and headed back to the land of midnight payraises, where everyone is in love and he only has to talk to politicians.

If you see it, let me know who won.

AOL Patch Coming to the LV, Possibly Next Week

AOL's foray into "hyperlocal journalism" - Patch - is coming to the Lehigh Valley, possibly as soon as next week. That's according to LV Regional Editor Susan Koomar, who I met yesterday. She was a panelist at a Northampton Community College symposium on the swirling changes in the news biz.

Patch's goal is to have 12 local editors in the Lehigh Valley, each covering different areas. Five are already on board, and two are still being trained in NYC. Emmaus may go live as soon as next week.

If you'd like to see an example of this site in operation, take a look at the one set up for the Ardmore area. You'll notice a lot of local news and sports, with a heavy emphasis on video. In addition, a fairly detailed calendar of upcoming events is included, and Koomar explained that readers can add their own functions.

As Jeff Pooley noted in his own study of Patch, Allentown will go uncovered. It's a gold mine of stories, but Koomer claims it's simply too big for one editor.

Local editors - armed with laptop, phone, camera and police scanner - are set loose in their communities and seem to be doing most of the work, although they are allowed to use some freelancers.

This might flop. But it might also prove to be the only source for news in smaller communities, which are increasingly being ignored by or newspapers.

AOl plans to be in over 500 communities by the end of the year.

Bill White, Gatekeeper

Unlike many journalists, Morning Call columnist Bill White has been something of a blog fan over the years. Instead of cringing at us, he's called attention to a number of good local blogs, which actually has helped drive interest. But like Popeye, Bill has his limits. Popeye says, "That's all I can stands, I can't stands no more!" Being a journalist, Bill is a little more sophisticated in his warning about bottom-feeders like me. "[S]ome of these bloggers are so clearly motivated by their own biases, even obsessions, that their information is seriously tainted. Much as I admire a lot of the reporting I've seen, some of it is driven by such a complicated web of vendettas and bromances that any pretense of consistent standards or credibility, at least on certain topics, is out the window."

Looks like I'm guilty as charged. I'm biased, have no editors and the only people with whom I can discuss story ideas are even nuttier than me or worse, live in Allentown or the slate belt. Sometimes I do get my facts wrong, although I know few bloggers who deliberately mislead readers. I do write stories that never appear in a newspaper. But I try not to dictate their agenda.

According to White, people like me present "challenges" for people like you.

Because of our admitted deficiencies, we're not to be trusted. Fortunately, "gatekeepers" like Bill understand the "importance of accuracy and fairness."

Gatekeeper? I've always thought of Bill as a baseball lovin', taco muchin', animal lovin', pie muchin', Eagles-lovin', grammar enhancer. But gatekeeper? To what, an all-you-can-eat buffet, decorated with Christmas lights from everywhere except East Allentown?

Gatekeeper or not, he certainly has my number. But I don't think he has yours. His column basically presupposes that you're stupid enough to believe everything you read here. But most of my readers are newsies who closely read the papers and are more than willing to take me on, whether it is on the facts or because of my own admitted bias. You see, I believe that an yobjective reporter is an objective impossibility. Plus, This is an interactive venue, unlike newspapers. Here, what you say matters and is read. I often end up learning more from the comments than I do when I research a blog posting. There, a reporter or editor would rather go through root canal than respond to a comment from the unwashed masses.

Bill's column also makes the case that newspapers tend to be more trustworthy. Although we can all recite exceptions to that rule, I'll give him that point, too. Both local papers have excellent reporters who can learn in minutes what takes me days. I admire and respect most of them, including Bill. At our best, I think of us as mere complements to the MSM. At or worst, we can be impediments.

But one of his points is downright laughable. He hints "there may be a good reason why that story you're reading on someone's blog still hasn't appeared in your newspaper ... ." Of course, Bill is trying to tell you that some of our stories are garbage. Once again, I think you're smart enough to decide that for yourself, although I swear green-headed aliens really did stick an 80' antenna up my rectum. Honest!

More often than not, the "good reason" why that story has never appeared in a newspaper is because there's been no reporter there to cover it.

Let me provide an example. Last week, I attended a Hanover Township Supervisors' meeting. In a report from the Township Manager, I learned that Bethlehem had shortchanged its own library around $400,000 last year. Yes, this is the same City that missed its $2 million pension payment last year. It's the same City that finished the year $8.5 million in the red. After the meeting, the Manager showed me all the figures. Now that's a story, but there was no daily print reporter there to get it.

The following day, I called the library's executive director for comment, but she never returned my call. Do you think she would have done that to a daily reporter?

You can read a story about that $400,000 shortage here. If truth be told, it belongs in both papers, where the report would be more "fair and accurate" because, for one thing, the librarian would have answered a reporter's call.

I can name other examples of important stories completely missed by the dailies, most likely because of a shortage of manpower. I can also name several local newspaper stories that first appeared on local blogs, including Controller Steve Barron's threat to T-Mobile. Bill wrote a hilarious column, but that story originated at LVCI's blog.

Increasingly, there has been no gatekeeper and no local stories. That leaves us, with all our warts. It's true that we are unfiltered, but we also tend to be a little more real.

Reading Eagle Closes Door on Web Comments

From the Editor's Notebook: "We continued to see personal attacks, including many that were racial, sexual and hateful. Some people even posed as others and tried to make it look as if they were writing things they weren't. It may be a game for them, but it's not for those who are the targets of those nasty comments."

A Tale of Two Newspapers

Because I have no television, I attend lots of public meetings all over the Lehigh Valley. Yes, I am a bottom-feeding blogger with two flip cams, but I mostly prefer to let others do the talking. I do my damage here. But what about the folks who regularly attend meetings? What's their excuse? Is it an ego trip, as some think? Or are these people who care, citizen watchdogs? The two daily papers appear to have different views.

In The Morning Call, a subtle bias from an increasing number of reporters is to look down on the unwashed masses. Rarely will the observations of a mere citizen be reported. When they are, it's often done in a disparaging way.

Doubt me? Let's take a look at a recent posting at Valley 610, where the regulars who speak during Bethlehem's courtesy of the floor are disparaged with the title "Council Karaoke." That happens to be the exact term condescendingly used by Bethlehem officials to refer to their City Council audience. The implication is that these people are pale imitations of the gods sitting behind the dais.

Bob Pfenning is one of the Bethlehem regulars featured. He's also a Northampton County fixture. I know no person with a better understanding of the ins and outs of our goofy gaming laws. In fact, when Mike Dowd was Council Prez, Pfenning was appointed to a committee that ended up recommending the Gaming Authority now in place. Even Angle listens to Pfenning. Even McClure.

Pfenning addressed Bethlehem City Council last week with some legitimate concerns about the introduction of alcohol into the Christmas City's First Night festivities, asking whether "we must have beer and booze to appreciate the arts." For stating his opinion, he is depicted singing the Beer Barrel Polka.

For a different attitude, there's the gritty, in-your-face, Express Times. That daily recently featured Becky Butz, a Nazareth regular, in its Five Questions feature, using words like "diligent" to describe her. Officials liked it so much they ran off a copy and handed it out to the public with their "Nazareth Musings" before Thursday night's workshop.

Becky, a pleasant but opinionated woman, complained about that, too, wondering why only the negative comments were passed out and not the entire piece.

This little borough council assured her there was no malicious intent. They also listened to four other regulars, including Louise Diaz. She's concerned about people who ignore red lights and speed through the Nazareth Circle without yielding to pedestrians. "It's not safe for kids crossing the streets," she laments. Council member Mike Kopach, sitting in front of a big picture of Mario Andretti and a race car, assured her it must be those damn out-of-towners, i.e. people who've lived in Nazareth for les than fifty years. Auslanders. Mayor Fred Daugherty, agreeing that "traffic is a problem," wants their license plate numbers.

Actually, we all drive like maniacs in Nazareth, and I'm pretty sure I'm the person who nearly flattened Ms. Diaz in the Circle when I was texting and reading the newspaper while swilling a Mocha Java. Sorry. We all think we're just like Mario.

But the point is that they listened. They learned the hard way. In 2007, when borough officials cooked up a secret scheme to ruin a beautiful baseball field for a goofy government center expansion, there was nearly a revolution. One of the persons who dragged them into the sunshine, was Becky Butz.

"In a democracy, the highest office is the office of citizen." So says Felix Frankfurter. Nazareth Borough Council finally gets that. So does The Express Times, which was at last night's meeting. The Morning Call was absent.

MC Publisher Loses Job One Week After Labeling News Trouble Claims A Myth

One week after claiming that it is an "exciting time" to be in the news biz, Morning Call Publisher Tim Kennedy has himself become a victim of an apparent budget-cutting axe. Kennedy presided over the largest number of layoffs in Morning Call history, but recently insisted that the notion that newspapers are dead or dying, is a myth.

He's the only publisher at that paper who ever returned one of my calls.

Update: The Express Times has a copy of Kennedy's parting memo, which you can read here.

ET Editor Jim Deegan Zings Lisa Boscola

State Senator Lisa Boscola was on a roll, talking about her love-hate relationship with the press.

"I've been on the front page of the news with a photo, a really great photo, with a really great issue, and I thought the article just explained exactly what I'm trying to do. ... However, I've been on the flip side of it with a lousy frickin' picture, and I'm like, 'Where'd they get that, and why dd they use that. That was done intentionally.'"

At this point, Express Times Editor Jim Deegan quietly interjected, "The camera never lies."

You can see Jim Deegan's video here.

CACLV's Alan Jennings Laments Decline in Investigative Journalism

CACLV's Alan Jennings is an advocate for the poor. He is a powerful voice for those who would otherwise be swept under the rug. His most important partner is the newspaper.

MC Publisher Tim Kennedy Debunks Myth Newspapers On Way Out

In his presentation at Northampton County Community College, Morning Call publisher Tim Kennedy talks about a paradox in the newspaper business. Its reach is greater now than ever, but the economics have never been worse. He then declares that the commonly held belief that newspapers are dead or dying is a myth.

According to Kennedy, journalism is supported by advertising revenue. At one time, newspapers had a near monopoly, but that has changed in recent years.

* Over the past five years, most newspapers have lost about 35% of their advertising revenue.

* The Morning Call has lost half of its profitability.

* Since 2005, The Morning Call has lost $13 million in revenue from "Help Wanted" ads alone.

* That $13 million figure is higher than his budget for newsroom operations today.

Journalism has had nothing to do with this failure. Craigslist yes, but not journalism.

Kennedy likens The Morning Call today to a start up company.

Thinking the Unthinkable, No Newspapers

That's the subject of a panel discussion that will be conducted at Northampton Community College this Thursday, March 25, at 11 AM. The program has been put together by Journalism Professor Rob Hays, with a little help from Adjunct Professor Eric Chiles, who was a member of the Morning Call's editorial board.

Who are the panelists?

1) State Senator Lisa Boscola, who knows how to get ink better than any LV legislator I know, except maybe Ron Angle.

2) CACLV's Alan Jennings, who represents those who would otherwise have no voice.

3) Democracy Rising's Tim Potts, one of Pennsylvania's biggest civic activists.

4) Express Times Editor and columnist Jim Deegan, who will be selling subscriptions cheap.

5) Morning Call Publisher Tim Kennedy, who will introduce the paper's brand new, one-page, format.

This discussion will take place in the Reed Community Room, College Center Room 220. That's the main building on campus. Questions are welcome, and I believe both pols and bloggers will be on hand to provide them.

Morning Call, Bethlehem Press, MIA at Norco Counil Meeting

Last time that Northampton County Council was scheduled to meet, it was unable to produce a quorum and everyone just went home. But last night, all nine members of the Lehigh Valley's second largest legislative body were there, along with Northampton County Exec John Stoffa and most of his cabinet.

County Council appointed people to some boards; complained about airport management; adopted pay raises for elections workers; approved a contract with Nazareth Ambulance Services for Gracedale; hired a brokerage firm to negotiate a low electric rate once the cap comes off PPL; moaned about the proposed tax increase; questioned the continued viability of a bi-county health department and the use of casino money for that instead of tax relief; noted complaints about the quality of food at the jail; and mentioned letters about some sort of trouble at a Bath senior center.

The Morning Call and Bethlehem Press sent nobody to cover to cover this meeting, shirking their responsibilities as journalists. Maybe they were watching the Phillies, which I could forgive. But it's a sad situation for those of us who think newspapers exist to keep an eye on possible government abuse.

Instead of actual news about what is going on in Northampton County, today's Morning Call features a column from Paul Carpenter lamenting the annual debt service associated with the county's $111 million bond, adopted in 2001. As the person who sued to stop that bond and actually won when it was just $110 million, Carpenter's story was music to my ears. But that's just an opinion from someone who rides a motorcycle with no helmet. I've never actually have seen him near the courthouse.

What happens when the papers become so strapped they can no longer afford to send people to find out what is actually going on in local government? Are we there already?

Update: The Express Times, which did send Sarah Cassi to cover last night's County Council meeting, has an accourate and objective report here.

MSM a No Show LC Comm'r Candidates' News Conference

Last time I was at Allentown's Scottish Rite Center for a news conference with Republican Lehigh County Commissioner candidates, Dean Browning met me at the door and ushered me into the GOP's sanctum sanctorum. Once the blindfold came off, there were Primo hoagies and bottled water. I stuffed the ones I could not eat into my pockets and laptop case, and sold them later that day to Pawlowski headquarters, making a tidy profit of $3.25.

Naturally, when I received an invitation to another news conference yesterday, I immediately accepted. But yesterday was a bad day. Thanks to bridgework along the Seventh Street exit, Route 22 was clogged like my arteries, all the way from Airport Road. To make matters worse, once I arrived at the Scottish Rite Center, the damn door was locked. Now there was an intercom next to the door, but everytime I punched in a number, all I heard was a voice as garbled as a McDonald's drive-thru.

"Hello?"

"Mrrph. Hmmnn tee dooor. Hmmmnn tee dooor, OK?"

I had exchanges like that for a good half hour. Finally, I whipped out my cell phone, called the Scottish Rite Cathedral and told them I was the frickin' Pope. But I forgot Scots hate the pope. "You'll never get in, you bloody papist!" Fortunately, I saw a code inspector driving by and told him the place had old smoke detectors. City officials quickly broke the door down.

Unfortunately, I arrived just as Percy Dougherty, Bob Smith and Mike Welsh were finishing their remarks. Fortunately, they had a nice folder containing their remarks. But I still felt pretty bad. You see, aside from me, the only person covering this event for the media was Ken Petrini.

Percy Dougherty is the Chairman of Lehigh County's Board of Commissioners. Bob Smith is President of Allentown's School Board. Mike Welsh is a successful businessman who just waged a courageous state house campaign against popular Jennifer Mann. Whether you vote for them or not, these are three very interesting leaders whose voices should be heard. One of them chairs the largest legislative body in the Lehigh Valley. Yet, neither The Morning Call nor Channel 69 covered this conference. They missed Percy Dougherty's claim that he's been kept in the dark about the budget to be unveiled on Thursday, something that Ken covered extensively in his report. They missed Bob Smith's announcement that Allentown School District is going to have to borrow money in September, something I'll be noting later. They missed how these candidates feel about the Lehigh Valley's state legislators, and the possibility of yet another clean sweep movement.

I know these reporters are stretched very thin right now, are working double beats in many cases, and have to prioritize what they cover. But what good is a democracy when we don't know how candidates come down on specific issues? That's the inevitable consequence of the demise of our newspaper industry. Doesn't this benign neglect encourage apathy?

The Tyrant's Foe and People's Friend

Relentless.

That's the word one government official uses to describe Morning Call reporter Jarrett Renshaw. I agree. Wednesday night, I saw him in action, sleeves rolled up, setting up a video camera before a city council meeting so he could capture anything his shorthand notebook might miss.

Most reporters like to sit in the front of a meeting room, where it's easier to hear. Renshaw likes the back, capturing all the exchanges between council as well as the colorful audience attending council meetings.

Morning Call and Express Times frontline reporters like Renshaw, Darryl Isherwood, Scott Kraus, Paul Muschick, Sarah (Sassy) Cassi and J.D. Malone are the persons who prevent our government from devolving into tyranny.

That's why the financial health of our local papers is such a scary thing. We like to criticize what they miss, with some justification, but just think what will happen if they're not there at all.

Morning Call Parent Contemplating Bankruptcy

A few weeks ago, I met a former Morning Call editor for lunch. He teaches at a local college and let me sit in one one of his journalism classes. He's still in his prime and his students really enjoy him. But he is is one of the 25 to 30 newsroom staffers victimized by last July's Black Friday. He's actually one of the lucky ones who retired early. Some had to sit by the phone on a Sunday night, waiting to learn whether they still had a job.

Of course, the paper continues to go to Zell-hell. Meetings go uncovered. Allentown's budget, for example, was adopted at a meeting covered by a stringer. Not long before that, Lehigh County's Board of Commissioners rejected a grant for trees during a meeting in which there was no coverage at all, not even from a freelancer. Morale is obviously bad. Reporters are clearly stressed. Unfortunately, it's going to get worse before it gets better.

Media mogul Sam Zell, who cobbled together this disaster for The Tribune, dismisses claims of weakening news coverage as "journalistic arrogance." To make sure he's understood, he adds a "Fuck you" at the end of his remarks to a bunch of Zellions who actually applaud this idiot.

And he is an idiot. Both The New York Times and Wall Street Journal are reporting that Morning Call parent Tribune is considering filing for bankruptcy.

The Tribune has rid itself of its most valuable asset - reporters. It's already established that it's morally bankrupt - the rest is just paperwork.

Update: Tribune directors have approved a decision to seek Chapter 11 protection.