Doesn't anybody want to talk to the Joplin Globe?

For the dwindling number who continue to read the Joplin Globe, one thing that continues to amuse is the Globe's increasing lack of success at getting people to talk to its reporters, especially when it comes to articles dealing with the Joplin R-8 School District or with Joplin city government.

The newspaper's problems were on display again in an article  about Joplin businessman Jon Buck's decision to withdraw from the legal actions against the R-8 Board of Education.

Buck didn't talk to them, which led to this fascinating paragraph from reporter Emily Younker:

Buck told the Globe by telephone on Monday morning that he was unable to talk at that time but suggested an interview after lunch; attempts to reach him later in the day were unsuccessful.

The lawyer for Buck and the two other plaintiffs in the case, Joshua Bard and Jamie Johnson, also refused to comment.

Last week, the Globe made a big deal out of R-8 Board member Debbie Fort's not returning calls or giving the newspaper quotes. It happened about a dozen times, the reporter (or more likely the editor who forced the reporter to add that tidbit of information) said.

It appears that the only people who are talking to the Globe are those who are aligned with the side the Globe has been supporting, both in its editorials and in its news articles.

My book, Silver Lining in a Funnel Cloud, details the Globe's efforts to fight former City Manager Mark Rohr's battles for him, leading the charge against Councilman Bill Scearce with allegations concerning a bookie operation from two decades earlier. When investigator Tom Loraine cleared Scearce and found considerable evidence against Councilman Mike Woolston concerning the sale of property in the tornado area, the Globe soft pedaled both findings, as well as Loraine's recommendation to get rid of master developer Wallace-Bajjali immediately.

The Globe's attacks on those who voted to fire Mark Rohr continued, including a page one story, seven months after the incident occurred, detailing Councilman Ben Rosenberg's traffic stop for driving with his poodle on his lap, which is also detailed in my book.

Is it going to be any wonder when the state audit of the City of Joplin is released and those who receive most of their news from the Globe are completely stunned by the level of corruption that has occurred in this city?

Now many of the city's elected officials are steering clear of answering questions for Globe reporters.

I totally understand where the people who are refusing to comment are coming from. Two years ago, prior to my hearing, I received a phone call from Emily Younker, asking me to comment on my situation.

I told her I was not going to give any comments, but since I had written a considerable amount about my situation on this blog, I told her to feel free to use anything I had written.

In the next day's Globe, there were no attempts to use even one word from the Turner Report. "Turner refused to comment."

I can't really feel too bad about the Globe's predicament. If the Globe had been doing its job these past few years, the Turner Report would never have been able to take hold in this area.

Thank you, Carol Stark!
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