It is easy for people to attack other people cloaked in anonymity and while I was going through the comments this week a few of them irked me.
When a reader asked if I planned to personally attend the Joplin R-8 Board of Education meeting Tuesday night, I replied that I wasn't. One of the reasons I offered is that I am currently involved in a lawsuit against the school district.
That answer must have satisfied the person who asked the question, but another reader thought I was showing my cowardice because I was afraid to get out of my apartment and face these people.
To that anonymous jerk, I point out that I was going to Board of Education meetings when the man behind my firing, former Superintendent C. J. Huff and the Board that fired me were still there. There were important stories going on at that time that involved the serious misuse of taxpayer money.
My lawsuit is part of the reason, but though the school district's name is on it, the people who were named individually in the action, Huff, his former H. R. director Tina Smith and the seven people who were on the Board of Education at that time are all long since gone.
While there are still important things happening at the Board of Education meetings, I do not feel the need to attend all of the meetings at this time. I continue to provide coverage of things that are happening in the school district and as I noted in my response to the first reader's question, the board meetings are televised. It is not quite the same, but it does offer a fairly accurate rendition of what goes on at the meeting.
Another major reason at this time of the year is that I am able to watch the board meetings online at the same time that the St. Louis Cardinals game is on the television.
Another smart aleck reader, perhaps the same one, seems to think that I am lazy because I run news releases on the Turner Report.
"Your ability to cut and paste press releases is remarkable," the reader commented.
Normally, I don't respond to that kind of comment. This time, I did.
"That is only one of my abilities," I wrote. "Far more remarkable is how I can hit the word 'publish' and the comment of a jackass appears out of nowhere. The last one I did that on wrote, 'Your ability to cut and paste press releases is remarkable.' "
I do run news releases. I run anything that has information that might interest you. Whenever I run a news release, I tell you right at the top where it came from. That is a far different practice from the Joplin Globe and many other newspapers, which take news releases, run them as is or almost as is then add the words "From staff reports" at the top.
I will put my amount of original content up against anyone's.
The top 10 most visited posts on the Turner Report, Inside Joplin and Inside Joplin Obituaries are listed below with links to the posts.
The Turner Report
1. Judd McPherson warns people on enemies list: I have a large circle of very influential friends
2. McPherson responds to Turner Report: Post was "a new low, even for you"
3. Search for Sarah Burton continues- Joplin woman has been missing for more than a month
4. Those bastards! GateHouse Media closes the Carthage Press
5. Autopsy, murder victim shot four times, including once in chest, Joplin man held without bond
6. A newspaper can succeed in Carthage
7. Highway Patrol offers breakdown of Missouri laws going into effect today
8. Gatehouse Media to Carthage Press readers: Neosho Daily will cover your news
9. Ruling expected on former Jasper fireman's lawyer's request to withdraw from child molestation case
10. McCaskill: I'm holding town meetings, doing my job, Hawley is working out, meeting with dark money backers
Inside Joplin
1. Man watching JPD officers at murder scene arrested for stealing a car
2. Joplin Police Department enlists public's help in finding 12-year-old girl
3. Joplin PD arrests Joplin, Galena men passed out in car at Zora and Range Line for DUI, meth trafficking
4. Carthage Police searching for missing teen
5. After arrest, new Jasper resident, formerly from Lamar, tells officer he'll try to quit meth
6. Joplin Police searching for missing, endangered man
7. Joplin Police Department Arrests August 29-30
8. Joplin Police Department Arrests August 28-29
9. Joplin Police Department Arrests August 30-31
10. Jasper traffic stop results in arrest, meth confiscation
Inside Joplin Obituaries
1. John Williams
2. Logan Brown
3. Leonard Doss
4. Joe Borland
5. Marvin Haase
6. Lewis Boan
7. Nancy Embrey
8. Mary Cowan
9. Jeffrey Moore
10. Alberta Foster
Help support the Turner Report/Inside Joplin news operation with a subscription or contribution. Help keep this alternative news source continue to provide news and commentary for the Joplin area. You can subscribe or make a contribution at the PayPal buttons below or you can mail a contribution, large or small, to Randy Turner, 2306 E. 8th, Apt. G, Joplin, MO
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2 comments:
So, with the demise of the Carthage Press will you be starting a print version of The Turner Report and Inside Joplin?
Interesting thing- most of your journalism comes from your apartment at your computer. Do you go out and investigate? Do you practice what you preach about journalism? You find out about lawsuits from casenet. When was the last time you interviewed someone? Take pictures at the scene?
You like to tell others how to be a journalist, but you forgotten yourself.
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