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This letter deserves a response
Richard Wiens Editor
It’s a tough call deciding when to respond to letters to the editor. Despite their name, most provide commentary or ask questions about some aspect of the wider community. Even if I happen to be in a position to provide answers or more information about issues the letter writer raises, I generally prefer to let the presentation stand alone — at least until other letter writers respond to it.
The letter on this page from Harbor Commissioner-elect Jack Reese is an exception because it seems to truly be a letter to me. After all, I’m the answer to his question, “who chooses the local news that appears in the paper?”
It also merits immediate response because it’s heavy on innuendo rather than outright facts or straightforward opinions. That comes through in phrases like “it has long been rumored” and “if there is any truth to this ‘deal.’” Unlike his letter, I’ll limit my response to what I actually know.
Reese, a former county supervisor, raises the specter of the newspaper being in the “pocket” of District Attorney Mike Riese, who supposedly has a “deal” that allows him to filter certain news before it appears in print.
That might explain, the letter goes on, why The Triplicate has not yet reported on a lawsuit recently filed against the county and the DA by his former top assistant, Karen Olson, when the newspaper has already printed stories about recent lawsuits against local police agencies.
Once the documents are procured, lawsuit stories can be rushed into print or they can be analyzed to determine their most salient allegations. In the latter case, appropriate parties are then given time to comment on those allegations. We’ve been dealing with a glut of meaty lawsuits lately, including one filed by a city police officer and a blast of others filed in federal court by a single L.A. law firm.
Olson’s is the most recent to arrive; it’s 100-plus pages and makes myriad allegations. We’re working on it. As of Friday, we had analyzed the document and begun interviews. We contacted the DA until Monday. We plan to publish the article Wednesday.
Will he be allowed to somehow “filter” this article or any others? Sorry, but I’ll be out the door before that opportunity is ever given to the DA or anyone else.
Before I took this job almost a year ago, I was told I’d have autonomy from the publisher and the newspaper’s owner, Bend, Ore.-based Western Communications, in exercising news judgment. They’ve kept that promise. So if the fix were on, I’d be the fixer. Alas, no one has even tried to ply me with favors. As for the DA, I could cite plenty of stories — two in the last week — that I’m sure he would have preferred not be printed.
Readers can decide for themselves about the rest of Reese’s letter, such as whether we cover too much news from outlying counties instead of staying local. I will tell you that we plan to re-institute a police blotter feature that had been removed before my arrival, to provide more details about where those sirens are going in calls that don’t lead to full-fledged articles. And we’ve already rebuilt a Neighbors section that would welcome news such as his grandson’s 7th birthday falling on 7-7-07.
He’s right about The Triplicate’s coverage of the death of Bruno de Solenni. I’ve never been prouder of my staff.
It was the kind of work that can help bring the community together in difficult times, something that Jack Reese will now be called upon to do as a harbor commissioner.
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Opinion 
