Hermann Hearsay: Sunday, July 25, 2010

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Starting Monday, 7/26, all Hermann Hearsay content which has been FREE will continue to be FREE!

Published by Lois Lame, SSALRCYTMVDQJCP & Assistant Editor

We want to assure our loyal readers that nothing will change this coming Monday, 7/26. Hermann Hearsay has always been FREE, and it will remain FREE. While others may be moving to hide more and more content in order to extract fees from PAID subscribers, Hermann Hearsay intends to remain 100% FREE. We will offer 100% of our content FREE of charge on Monday, 7/26 and we will continue to offer 100% of our content FREE of charge for as long as we shall continue to operate. That is our solemn PROMISE. That is our absolute GUARANTEE!

And why are we so adamant about remaining a FREE site? The answer is simple ..... We want to remain completely and fiercely independent so that we can write about subjects we want to write about and so that we can say exactly what we want to say about those subjects. We are NOT FOR HIRE. We are NOT FOR SALE. We will NOT be influenced by PAID subscribers, and we will NOT be influenced by LOCAL PAID ADVERTISERS. The only advertising revenue we receive is from Google Ads. They don't tell us what to publish. They pay us based upon website hits and page views.

Furthermore, we have no local relationships, business, financial, family or otherwise, which might tend to compromise our ability to objectively report anything but the TRUTH as we know it to be. Though our website may from time to time have reciprocal linking agreements with other websites, there is never any money which changes hands between us. We are independent of those websites, and they are independent of us.

Performance Metrics:

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New Visitors Currently Online: 000,032

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Reciprocal Websites:

www.bergerbaloneywithmayo.blogspot.com/ (Berger News)

www.dschaefer.vemma.com/ (Ultra Premium Nutritional Drinks)

www.heart2heartlyrics.blogspot.com/ (Song Lyrics)

www.hermannhookups.blogspot.com/ (Social Networking)

www.mid-missouri-mule-rides.blogspot.com/ (Family Fun)

www.ngnn.com/ (Hermann, New Haven and Owensville NEWS)

www.rivertownrecipes.blogspot.com/ (Food & Drink Recipes)

www.vemmadrinker.blogspot.com/ (Premium Nutritional Drinks)

www.watkinsonline.com/richardhschaefer (Watkins Products)

Non-Reciprocal Websites:

www.dorasspinningwheel.com/ (Embroidered Caps, Shirts, Etc.)

www.hermannadvertisercourier.com/ (The Hermann A-C)

www.hermannchamberofcommerce.com/ (Hermann C of C)

www.timeforpie.com/ (Pie, Rolls, Scones, Coffee, Lattes & More)

Editorial Comment - On The Horns Of An Editorial Dilemna

Published by Jimmy Oldsun, NDRIRSRWRAFTC & Editor

I don't normally work on a Sunday. But I'm feeling very conflicted today, and I thought it would do me some good to get a nagging concern off my chest by writing about it. My dear readers, my dear friends, I could really use some of your best and wisest advice! I value your opinion!

I've been sitting on a story about the inner workings of our Gasconade County government since this past Friday, 7/23. I have a story to tell about an incident which occurred during the Road Department Meeting in Drake on Thursday morning, 7/22. Members of the editorial board here at Hermann Hearsay have been discussing this story since Friday, and we remain split on whether to publish it. I have discussed the story with Truman T. Tiger, our owner, and also with Clark Kant, our CEO and Senior Managing Editor. They, too, are conflicted about publishing this potentially explosive story. When we couldn't reach a consensus, I told them I'd like to take the issue to our readers and ask you what you think.

Here is our dilemna:

On one hand, we have a story which we believe needs to be reported because:

it is a true story and actually occurred,
it is sourced by a very credible eyewitness,
it is very important (in my judgment) for all citizens of the county to know about this story,
it involves the County Commissioners, the titular "leaders" of Gasconade County, and
it describes their failure to maintain order, decorum and decency during an official county meeting during which county employees were present.

On the other hand, the publication of this potentially explosive story is likely to:

cause great embarrassment to two of our County Commissioners,
create increased division between and personal animosity among our County Commissioners, and
further destroy any possibility that this County Commission as currently comprised will ever be able to work together for the good of the county.

This is the jist of our dilemna. Journalism is tough work. It often calls for tough judgments to be made.

In this case, the judgments which need to be made by Hermann Hearsay are these:

In our democracy, does the public's right to know trump any politician's desire to withhold information from the public so as to avoid widespread personal embarrassment?
In our democracy, should the press withhold a story about government from the public if that story is likely to cause even greater disfunction and disorder than already exists within the government?

I invite you into the inner sanctum of the Hermann Hearsay editorial boardroom. Tell us what you think! Run with the story OR spike the story?