The problem with Carol Stark is that as the editor of the only print news source for the Joplin area, she is thrust into a role as an influential community leader. She has the choice of how she fills that role and no doubt has some guidance and direction from the Globe Publisher Michael Beatty.
With that being said we have to wonder about the glaring lack of integrity and honesty coming from top two at the Globe. Bill Scearce writing a letter to complain about an obvious misuse of power might fall on deaf ears if Beatty is like minded and part of the problem.
The next question is why? Does bad journalism and dishonesty sell more papers? Probably not. Are local power brokers influencing the direction of the Globe? Probably. That would explain the deafening silence when it comes to the non-performance of Wallace Bajjali. The schemes are too numerous to count to make fortunes off of the backs of Joplin taxpayers. Movie theaters, apartments, senior housing, moving the post office and many other adventures that will make money fall out of the sky.
To insure that the money falls into the right pockets it will be necessary to silence opposition and keep the right people in Joplin in power. That includes removing council members by influencing voters and trying to keep city managers in power. I would not be surprised if the Globe has not already selected the next city manager. The actual selection will or already has taken place behind closed doors and then the process will guided to make the final selection appear to be the result of an exhaustive nationwide search.
With the Globe and the Joplin Progress Committee handpicking council members and the new city manager, the big payouts are still there for the right people.
Selling papers is not the #1 priority when fortunes are in the balance. It will take a true investigative journalist to bring light to the dark motives of the Globe.
Beatty does not even send his kids to Joplin Schools. They go to College Heights. So what does he really care? There is no investment from him into the schools.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, the Globe regularly gives "lap dances" to Huff and Puff.
I have said this before and I'll say it again stop buying the Globe and it will go away.
ReplyDeleteDark motives? More likely naive idealism. I understand that it's lots of fun to picture some devious scenario where influential media elite scheme with powerful forces of business to orchestrate a future that will enrich the "haves" and further exploit the "have nots" and exclude the working poor from local country clubs.
ReplyDeleteI just don't believe it. The people at the Globe (and Webb City Sentinel and Carthage Press and Neosho Daily and Newton County News) want most of all to see aggressive community growth. They want to write stories about companies expanding, new buildings going up, big schools being built with all the cool features and newest technologies and latest stuff. They want big developers to lead exciting growth. They want visionary community leaders to leave naysayers and the "we don't need that" crowd in the dust. Those stories are fun and exciting. And it makes reporters feel good to be a part of a movement toward community improvement and big accomplishment. It's why you almost never see a newspaper come out in opposition to any school bond issue. They want to be community cheerleaders, leading the way to victory and pride. They want to be a positive force in the community. And frankly, it's a lot easier than coming up with a definitive answer to the tough questions "can our community afford the long-term costs of this endeavor?" and "Is this investment really going to pay off in the years to come?"
to 7:00 AM Portraying vicious attacks on all opposition as cheerleading is not being honest.
ReplyDeleteAnd "they want to be a positive force in the community" would be a poor description of the Globes performance under Stark.
Ron, the Globe has absolutely no problem whatsoever, reporting bad news about certain council members and city officials. The question is why? Why single out certain people on frivolous BS and let others slide on serious issues that have the potential to be disastrous for the city of Joplin? That doesn't sound like naive idealism to me. That sounds like bribes and kick backs to slant public opinion.
ReplyDelete800 million dollars is a lot of money and could influence some people. Ay least part of that budget is earmarked for greasing palms, not just because it is Joplin but because the projects will not stand on their own merit.
ReplyDeleteNothing idealistic or positive about pulling that Rosenberg police video where he was pulled over for having a dog in his lap, or repeatedly hitting on the idea that Bill Scearce once rented space to a bookie. Those two councilmen fall on the same side of an issue related to Mark Rohr, and the timing of the stories coincided with the controversies surrounding Rohr rather than the real-time occurrence of the offenses in question.
ReplyDeleteThe naivety is to interpret that as idealism rather than politics.
I don't pretend to know Stark or Beatty's motives beyond more superficial considerations. I believe they are interested in keeping their respective jobs, and on the part of Beatty that means keeping the paper afloat and in Stark's case that means keeping Beatty happy. For the people under Stark and Beatty, it means either keeping them happy or at the least, avoiding controversy. Some keep their nose down and cover their beats, some substitute kissing ass for ability. Like most jobs in a lot of ways.
To the extent that problems exist in town, whether at the Globe, in city council, or the school district, I think the main issue is that a lot of these people in power are just not that intelligent. I don't mean this in a snobby way, but as a conclusion arrived at by looking at the fruit of their labor.
Stark would like nothing more than to investigate and reveal issues with the seated city councilmen who were opposed to Rohr. Her management was able to reveal that Rosenberg got pulled over for having a dog in his lap and that he was irritated by having been pulled over. This was placed in a prominent position as if she actually thought this was significant. Similarly with last Sunday's much-anticipated expose that a lot of people read and said "Okay, what was new here? Where was the big reveal, the substance?"
The prominent placement of these stories indicates that Stark actually thinks she's doing good work. She doesn't know any better, because she can't tell the difference. Do you remember in The 40-Year-Old Virgin when Steve Carrell's character attempts to talk about sex but his description is so ridiculous that it's clear he doesn't know anything? That's what Stark's newspaper is like relative to journalism.
Now expand the metaphor to include the school district and the city council. The mess they make in their respective fields reveals they don't know what they're doing. There is a particular term that has become popular lately, called the "Dunning-Kruger effect". Basically, people who are unskilled are not even smart enough to know that they are unskilled. You actually have to know something about a subject to be able to recognize inefficiencies. Ask yourself if that doesn't sum up a lot of the people running this town.
And along with the council and school board not recognizing there own ineptitude, they appoint the members of all these various boards that administer the so called redevelopment programs. TIF boards, CART, Joplin Redevelopment Commission that has bought all this land, parks and recreation, zoning, and so on. These appointees are going to be of like mind as the appointers. So it is a virtual self perpetuating ineptness that governs. Occasionally one individual might bring relevant questions with common sense to the table, but they are quickly cast aside and eventually out as any good inept leader would do. I believe at least one, maybe two, members of the Land acquisition board expressed skepticism at the easily recognizable outlandishly high prices paid for these lands and shortly thereafter announced resignation from the board.
ReplyDeleteThe master developer will now provide a narrative to the council expressing his zeal and bullishness on the potential of the old coca cola property even though he has no money to buy it back, and no legitimate finance institution to loan 600,000 dollars on a property that is worth no more than 150,000 if that. The master developer knows all about dealing with inept city representatives. This isn't his first time.
larry carsten: This is one area where we should suspect corruption, perhaps along with ineptness in others to allow it.
ReplyDeleteThose on the land acquisition board who expressed skepticism, got overruled, and then resigned ... well, that suggests they didn't want to be a party to possibly illegitimate dealings. Perhaps of the sort the investigation strongly suggested were happening.
When it comes to real estate, it seems like most every city has corrupt dealings of one sort or another.