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The Associated Press has stepped up its attack on White House efforts to block coverage of events involving President Obama, warning that once access is cut, “we'll never get it back.”
The slamming of the door happened after Mayor Cain went on "60 minutes" to kick Dan Wallace's butt, and prove to everyone the "the WestEnd debacle" (Jay Foran's term), was good not just for the city, but this would be the strip mall to make all strip malls look crappy.
I was talking with one elected official the other day that was explaining "real media" is dead and in the old days of the PD, they would have.... Well the fact is in the old days of the PD Lakewood reporters were beholding to those that slipped them information. So David George, may he rest in peace, would run anything he was told to run by Dave Estrop.
However I do find it fascinating that virtually every branch of Lakewood government has come to me in the past week demanding I hire investigative reporters to write about what another branch of Lakewood Government is doing wrong or illegally.
When I asked if they would go on record, or be quoted, universally the answer has been "How dare you ask me to go on the record, I have a standing in this community... I have bigger fish to fry that this thing that outrages me... How can you ask me to risk my career, when..."
The other day while at City Hall, I was talking to a person that said "I hate it when you mention 'City Hall' in your posts, we are not all incompetent!" I mentioned the Grandma Rule - "If you are caught in a stolen car, even if you are not driving, or did not steal it you are guilty." They took great exception to the comment, but added it is not fair that those that are incompetent are bringing us down. I asked for names and proof.
"You cannot expect me to throw my career away..."
While people in Lakewood call for news like Patch and the PD, they were both shills for the local government. Look at Colin's work from City Hall now that he works there, it is the same as when he was "a 'real' reporter."
WE started the Observer Project because the word on the street was far more honest and real than anything coming out of City Hall or the Schools. But since we started a real fear of telling the truth has fallen over not the offices, but the residents.
Maybe it is time to change the model. As one elected official said to me, "I know you will lose advertisers and fans and maybe the project, but someone has to step up." I said "can I put you on the record?" the answer, "You cannot expect me to throw my career away..."
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Jim O'Bryan
Lakewood Resident
"The very act of observing disturbs the system." Werner Heisenberg
"If anything I've said seems useful to you, I'm glad.
If not, don't worry. Just forget about it." His Holiness The Dalai Lama
