In Focus

It’s interesting how some people seem to think that school boards, city councils and other organizations with a board of directors that meet regularly control what I write. They don’t. I don’t work for them. I work for the newspaper.

Meetings are public forums. I report the facts, what is said and I report both sides to a story with due diligence. It’s called unbiased reporting.

So when people start messaging me or asking me to change the story to “stick it to someone” or “go easy on them”...that’s not how it works. I have been doing this job for nearly a decade and comments like these will go nowhere. My job is to report what happens as it happened. Nothing more, nothing less. And I am pretty sure I wouldn’t have a job if I wasn’t honest and unbiased about what I was writing about.

I also record everything. Every meeting, every interview, every phone call is recorded. You’d be surprised how many lies I have caught people in simply because I recorded it and I have proof.

I’ve also received comments over the years from people saying things like, “I can’t believe they let you write that.” Well, it’s not a matter of “letting me write it.” Whatever is said at a public meeting is public information. I think people tend to forget this. And sometimes people get upset about what is reported and printed in the paper. But I am just the messenger.

The phrase “don’t shoot the messenger” rings true here. You can yell at me or send me harsh messages, but it’s not my fault. I’m just doing my job. If it wasn’t me doing the reporting, it would be someone else. And sometimes I feel people are just looking for someone else to blame for their own actions.

So, here is my two cents worth. Feel free to share your thoughts, but don’t tell me how to do my job or try to pressure me. Speculation is only rumors that do more harm than good as there is no proof. And people love to gossip. So don’t believe everything you hear without researching the facts. I also recommend you take accountability for your own actions instead of “shooting the messenger.”

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