Globe hits with another cult story, but Daily's Ford back on top

When the Joplin Globe entered the McDonald County cult story after an eight-day absence, it looked as if Derek Spellman, Jeff Lehr, and company were going to stake a claim and drive off other print media.
John Ford, back from a too-short break, proved tonight that is not going to be the way it works. The underrated Neosho Daily News associate editor revealed in a story in today's edition that another alleged victim of Granby-area pastor George Otis Johnston is talking to Newton County deputies about sexual abuse. The Daily, as usual, relates a bit more graphic detail than some might like, but it is a thoroughness that has been consistent throughout the last several years in coverage of sex cases. Ford writes:

According to a probable cause statement filed by Deputy Mike Barnett, an investigator with the Newton County Sheriff's Department, the first alleged victim told authorities Johnston began touching her at the age of 8, kissing her on the mouth and putting his tongue in her mouth.

The graphic details begin at that point and I am not going to repeat them, but those who wish to read the allegations can go to the Daily article.
Ford also had a sidebar on the removal of eight more children from the Grandview Valley Baptist Church.

Ford's stories are thorough, detailed and should be appreciated by Daily readers.

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The Globe continues making up for lost time. Tomorrow's edition, which should be online within the next couple of hours, will include the story of the removal of the children. Unfortunately for Globe reporters, because of their editors' insistence on saving all but a few paragraphs for the print edition, the newspaper is almost always behind its competitors on this type of story.
What could make up for that disadvantage is the type of hustling work Spellman and Lehr showed Wednesday in their opening salvo.
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The Springfield News-Leader, after an initial story by former Joplin Globe reporter Melissa DeLoach, relied on AP coverage today
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While the McDonald County weekly newspapers are covering the Grand Valley cult story, their website is hopelessly behind the rest of the world and only features a one-paragraph tease telling people what is in the print edition.
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More national attention will be focused on the area since Marcus Kabel of the Associated Press remains on the story and has filed an update featuring the removal of the children from the East Newton area compound.