Nippers.com Comments Get Rowdy Over News-Press

Craig Smith had a small bit in one of his recent posts about discussion over at Nippers.com about the News-Press. Nipper himself actually commented on the Jerry Robert's suit against the paper:

Did you know that Jerry Roberts, the former News-Press Editor sued over the thread that was on Nippers about the News-Press issues? He believed that the "Hamburger" satire was about him (although his name was never mentioned in it) and he sued for $200,000. Interesting how the "champion of free speech" will use a legal hammer to smash anything written that could be remotely critical of him.

I doubt News-Press Editor Travis Armstrong would call Nipper tacky -- as he has accused Council Member Helene Schneider of late -- but I might when pressed.

When a Cause Celeb is Really a Cause Celebre

A reader 'passed along' an editorial from the News-Press today that has to raise the question yet again about the wall between editorial, ownership and the news. We've had a few probable trolls lately telling us that Travis is making sense lately -- but when does Travis step aside and let Nipper write the editorial?

The editorial brings up the 'PC Crowd's' call for cutting our use of plastic water bottles by saying we are 'all wet' and that global warming is an italicized-for-emphasis cause celeb (actually cause celebre (sans les accents) not the book title Cause Celeb). I brought this issue up a few weeks ago while blogging about LiveEarth.

Why was there not an admonition of some sort that the writer (likely given the syntax) and/or at least the owner of the very newspaper that is being read is an author and known expert on the issue. Is it too convenient to not include bylines on editorials? 'Oh...Travis wrote that...not me".

Full disclosure is a part of running an ethical newspaper that keeps a wall between ownership, editorial and the news. This should have been an opinion on the right read page -- with Arthur's name on it. Why wasn't it? Anything else could be looked at as a conflict and any reader has to wonder why his financial ties to bottled water weren't disclosed. Even if TKA actually wrote the editorial, the information should have been disclosed.

The News-Press wants you to believe that they are anti-growth but goes on to question global warming like it is a fad. I wonder often about the disconnect between an editorial one day and an editorial several days later. Although it is not too scandalous, now I know it is a question of not knowing the difference between celeb and celebre.