A Cheap Substitute For Fair, Balanced And Honest Journalism

An editorial comment straight from the horse's mouth .....
Published by Clark Kant, Editor In Chief

yellow journalism
n.  Journalism that exploits, distorts, or exaggerates the news to create sensations and attract readers.

The "smear campaign" against Sharon Meyer, Democratic challenger for the office of Gasconade County Clerk, has begun.  Amazingly, it took only two days from her filing on Tuesday of this past week!  The "smear campaign" against her began during the weekly county commission meeting on Thursday, 4/1.  Am I surprised?  No, not at all!  I have seen this before.

I just read the report on the 4/1 commission meeting written by Alex Luft, "reporter" for CountyNewsLIVE.com, and I cannot help but observe how Mr. Luft along with the political enemies of Mrs. Meyer have begun the "smear campaign" against her.  In his report, Mr. Luft repeats allocations made against Mrs. Meyer by longtime "crank and bully", Kyle Lairmore, son of Southern District Associate Commissioner Jerry Lairmore.  Mr. Luft does not go on to tell the reader about the basis for Mrs. Meyer's complaints regarding the Missouri sunshine laws to which Kyle Lairmore refers.  Mr. Luft made no effort to contact Mrs. Meyer so that he might get her version of Kyle Lairmore's "story".  A good journalist would have done this in order to file a more fair and balanced report.  Kyle Lairmore's appearance at the 4/1 county commission was planned and pre-arranged as they have been in the past, most likely orchestrated by his daddy.

Mr. Luft should know better than to file such one-sided, biased reports.  As a graduate of Missouri's prestigious School of Journalism, Luft has been taught better!  I can only conclude that Mr. Luft, a young journalist with great promise, is apparently being influenced by his employer to intentionally shade the truth and file reports with unanswered malicious accusations by individuals who have political axes to grind.  After working in our community for a year now, Mr. Luft should be well-aware who and what Kyle Lairmore is.  Mr. Luft should know that Kyle Lairmore is a frequent visitor at county commission meetings and that, by his bizarre statements and actions, he has long ago destroyed his own personal credibility.  That being the case, why did Luft report on Lairmore's comments at the county commission meeting but then fail to obtain and also report Sharon Meyer's response to Lairmore's comments?  Mr. Luft, you are no Jim Lehrer (one of the best journalists ever produced by the School of Journalism at Mizzou).  And you will never become a professional journalist like Mr. Lehrer if you hang around at CNL.  I advise you to move on and find a REAL job in journalism!

And just for the record, Hank Vonk, who offered a comment in response to Mr. Luft's report, is no independent and objective reader of CNL.  Hank Vonk is a long-time shill for Jeff Noedel and CountyNewsLIVE.com.  He was a shill for Noedel when Noedel ran HermannMuenster.com and nothing has changed in that regard since Noedel started up CNL.  Mr. Vonk frequently "collaborates" with Mr. Noedel and his reporters.  Mr. Vonk drove all the way from Owensville to work with Noedel and Luft as recently as Friday night, 4/2, when the three men co-hosted an amateurish live "internet radio broadcast" about upcoming local and county elections.  Readers must understand that Hank Vonk has had and continues to have a very close relationhsip with Mr. Noedel and CountyNewsLIVE.  WARNING:  He is NO VOICE of INDEPENDENT REASON.  Hank Vonk has had an obvious axe to grind against Sharon Meyer, Sandra Lackman and Northern District Associate Commissioner Matt Penning for a very long time!

Now, here for your convenient reference, is the CNL article to which I refer:

http://countynewslive.com/content/2010/apr/01/roundup-county-commission-meets-first-time-after-filing-offices-closes

This type of unfair, unbalanced, dishonest, yellow journalism is sure to continue throughout the current
political campaign.  Mr. Noedel and his "reporters" have a track record of giving favorable press coverage to those who reciprocate by giving them access.  They give unfavorable press coverage to those who refuse to give them access.  This has gone on since the days of Hermann Muenster when Noedel took sides in the commissioner salary overpayment lawsuit and other disputes at the county courthouse.  Noedel and his staff "play ball" with politicians and non-politicians alike who help them out by giving them a story.  Without access to stories, Noedel and his reporters have nothing but an empty inconsequential blog.  Noedel and his staff obviously know this, so they willingly play into the hands of those who would use the press for their own selfish public relations purposes. 

Furthermore, let it be known that Mr. Noedel bears grudges against those who disagree with his "journalistic" techniques and practices, and he becomes quite angry and condescending when
someone criticizes them.  I know this to be the case on a first-hand basis for I have disagreed with him when he ran HermannMuenster.com, and I know how I and other dissenters were poorly treated because we dared to disagree with his one-sided coverage of some stories.  And he really bears grudges against those who deny him access for interviews.  Because Sharon Meyer's political enemies have given Noedel and his reporters unrestricted access for news stories, Noedel and his reporters take their sides rather than look critically at both sides. 

Professional journalists should never take one side over another when reporting on a story.  But that is exactly what went on at HermannMuenster.com and that is what is currently going on at CountyNewsLIVE.com.  People in the Hermann area see and understand what I am saying, and that is why CountyNewsLIVE.com is struggling to stay afloat.

Mark my words and mark them well!  Jeff Noedel and his "reporters" at CountyNewsLIVE.com will conspire together with Sharon Meyer's political enemies to smear and discredit her in every conceivable way they can between now and the election in November.  They think they can succeed in this, because they have deluded themselves into thinking they have a lot of readers and that these readers will swallow their reporting "hook, line and sinker".

Mr. Noedel, you are free to respond to me here on Hermann Hearsay.  I know that you are reading my articles closely.  We do not censor our visiting commenters as you once censored me on Hermann Muenster.  Hence, I will publish anything you want to submit. But beware, I will have my say as well. This is my website, and you can't censor my words here!  Messrs. Luft, Lairmore and Vonk, you too may respond if you wish to do so.

Oh, and one more thing.  I have assigned Jimmy Oldsun to read your reports.  If we detect any further incidents of "yellow journalism", we will report them to our readers as well as to the individuals you are slamming.  Be journalists over there at CNL.  Be honest, fair and balanced in your reporting!

Clark Kant
Editor In Chief
http://www.hermannhearsay.blogspot.com/