The Joplin Globe's top reporter, Jeff Lehr, continued his reporting on the Newton County offshoot of the investigation as he related the surrender of fugitive pastor George Otis Johnston, who faces eight felony statutory sodomy counts.
The Globe story revealed that Johnston, the pastor of the Grandview Valley Baptist Church North, may have been holed up in Newtonia during the time he was purportedly on vacation outside of the area:
The Globe received anonymous tips on Friday that Johnston was staying at a house in Newtonia. But neither the newspaper nor the Sheriff's Department has been able to confirm Johnston's whereabouts prior to his surrender on Friday.
Neosho Daily News Associate Editor John Ford, given his most meaty story in years, continues to run with it, holding his own and more, with the Globe's Lehr and Derek Spellman.
Ford's story concentrates on the children who have been removed from the East Newton-area compound, highlighted by this quote from Newton County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Bill Dobbs:
"These allegations are extremely disturbing, especially in the view of the element of religious coercion which is present," said Dobbs. "Another thing that is extremely disturbing is the behavior has gone on for a period of several years with the possibility of several victims. I feel there is certainly the danger of the disturbing acts continuing to be at the church as long as Mr. Johnston is at large."
Of course, that statement was made before Johnston turned himself in. The Daily updated the story at that point, with Ford again handling the reporting duties.
Local television stations naturally played up the news of Johnston's surrender and his subsequent posting of $100,000 bond. I didn't notice any station having a particular edge in the reporting.
It should be interesting to see which local station takes hold of the investigation and runs with it now that the initial notoriety has worn off. Tara Brown of KODE pulled ahead early, but KOAM's reporting has been right up there the whole way.
11 comments:
Randy - Did you actually watch the 10pm KODE newscast?
You didn't notice anyone having a particular edge? The reason that Tara was not on the desk @ 5 & 6 was because she was down in Newton and McDonald counties knocking on doors of parents who had their children taken away in protective custody and talking to members of the "cult" to get their reactions. And before anyone say's it...no this isn't Tara. I have a feeling you didn't watch Tara's 10 report Randy.
I don't think I'd call it a "media battle"...your the only one who makes these things a "battle" Randy.
My apologies on the KODE comment. The allergies hit yesterday, I slept through the 10 p.m. newscast, and I made the mistake of figuring nothing had been updated. As for the comment on the media battle, believe me, this is not something I created. The coverage of the Grand Valley Independent Baptist Church and its Newton County offshoot is definitely a media battle. Anytime a sensational story like this breaks, the media go into sccop mode. If you are the one who was scooped. you search for a different angle or you come in with blanket coverage. When the big boys come in, and when Associated Press or one of the metropolitan newspapers or the networks get involved, you want to show that you can do your job just as well or better than they do. When it is handled right, this can be an enormous benefit to readers and viewers.
Randy - this is not a media battle...only in the minds of people like you on the sidelines who see this as some kind of Hollywood-type adventure...it's like people who dream of being firemen run out to the sidewalk when they hear a fire truck screaming in the distance.
How can it be a battle when a huge percent of people who watch local newscast are likely to watch the same newscast all the time - they don't know what another station is running - they get what they are served up their station. Most people don't read the Globe, the Daily, the Carthage Press, the Joplin Daily and all the other papers...they MAY read two papers, but don't as a rule see them as competitive.
It's wanna be reporters and some reporters who see this as a competition....just a gimmick....the way stations have "storm" centers - not weather centers...always playing for the sensational...also like so many of the people on the Weather Channel who can hardly hold back from publicly wishing for a hurricane so they can stand on the boardwalk in driving rain and "report" - five feet from shelter which they take the minute the camera and mike are off.
Please stop cheerleading in front of an empty stadium.
If that comment came from a reporter or from someone involved in area media then it goes a long way toward vindicating many of the comments I have made during the past several months about the area media and their lack of digging into major issues. The competition is what benefits readers and viewers, at least when it is done correctly. When a number of reporters are digging through documents and interviewing one person after another in an effort to find the truth, it definitely is a competition, and that is a good thing. Reporters should have pride in landing the big story, interviewing the guy that no one else has landed, uncovering that document that provides the key to a major story. If they don't, they're in the wrong business.
This isn't a case of who is reading or who is not. Though we are probably past the days when a major story could sell hundreds of extra copies of a newspaper, I can tell you that those who are interested in the Grand Valley Independent Baptist Church story are going to flock to KODE if they cannot find their information elsewhere. For the past several days, most of the people who have come to The Turner Report through search engines have come searching for information on this story. On Thursday, this blog had a record number of visitors, with the numbers ranging from 727 on the counter, which traditionally shows the lowest number to 995 on the highest...and remember, except for the initial story of the arrest, which came from The Turner Report, and a couple of minor stories, nearly all of the coverage on this blog has simply been of the media coverage itself.
The newspaper and television people who are working this story have done a remarkable job thus far, something that generally will happen when their bosses stay out of the way and let them do their work.
It is a competition, and yes, the story is sensational, but it is also an important one for this area. We have people who are accused of sexually abusing children under the guise of religion, in two counties. And though the story has not yet been explored (though I have no doubt it will be), we are likely looking at people who have used rules protecting legitimate churches from taxation and ripped off some of the poorest school districts in southwest Missouri.
I am sorry that your experiences with media seem to be bitter, but I am always heartened when I see reporters being allowed to do their jobs, and rewarding the readers and viewers with the results.
Good comments Anonymous. Randy, far too often you attack the reporters at the bottom of the chain when they are victims of bad management. Your comments demoralize and anger. I hope you do a better job of motivating your students than you do the news media.
I am curious about the last comment. Most of the time I have been extremely supportive of the reporters at our local newspapers and television stations. My criticisms have been directed at decisions such as the one made by KODE and KSNF to put the crawl at the bottom of the screen, or the decision at KSNF to change the 5 p.m. newscast into a comedy. Time after time, I have noted accomplishments by area reporters, both in the print and electronic media. I was supportive of reporters during the time I was an editor, and I haven't changed that philosophy one bit. In the years since I left the newspaper scene, I have always been available to reporters looking for methods of getting information when they seem to have run into a stone wall, and I have also been happy to help reporters who have asked for critiques (by e-mail or by telephone, not in The Turner Report) of their work.
My criticisms of the print media have generally been leveled at decisions made at the top concerning which stories are covered and what emphasis they are given.
For anyone to suggest I have not been on the side of the reporters whose work is the backbone of newspapers and television newscasts is simply not true.
Randy, why do you think competition is a good thing for the public when it comes to reporting but a bad thing when it comes to education? After all, isn’t reporting a form of education? So, if you believe that a state run monopoly is a virtue for our schools then why not for the media as a whole?
Simple: The job of the media is to keep an eye on the government, including public school systems. The more voices we have who are doing that the better. Otherwise, we end up with a state operated media that reports on nothing but positive, governement-approved news. The public school system is designed to teach everyone from gifted students to those with severe physical and mental disabilities. We are the only country that does that, yet that very willingness to offer public education to everyone is used by voucher proponents who lump in the scores of those on the lower end of the scale to "prove" the myth that public schools are failing. If the elitists who favor vouchers have their way, they eventually will leave the public schools teaching only those whose disabilities make them a hardship for the private schools.
I WOULD LIKE TO REPLY TO SOME OF THE COMMENTS ABOUT THE DIFFERANT REPORTERS AT ALL THE LOCAL STATIONS. ALOT OF THE COMMENTS ARE PETTY AND DOWN RIGHT MEAN. NOW I KNOW SOME OF YOU WILL GO ALL SPASTIC WITH THIS, BUT THAT HAS NEVER STOPPED ME BEFORE. IN THE BOOK OF JOSHUA CHAPTER 1 VERSE 8 IT TALKS ABOUT BEING PETTY AND FACETIOUS. THOSE PEOPLE ARE JEALOUS. KEEP GOING TARA AND JENNIFER
Post a Comment