The County Tire Controversy ..... Part IV: Why does Jeff Noedel, CNL Publisher, go out of his way to slam Matt Penning every chance he gets?

Published by Dick Schaefer, Contributing Writer and Part-time Investigative Reporter

Well, Hermann Hearsay readers and concerned taxpayers, we've finally come to Part IV of my four-part series on the Gasconade County controversy.  I've tried to lay out the material facts of the controversy over the purchasing of tires and tires services in the county.  I've tried to provide some facts and figures.  I've tried to explain why Northern District Associate Commissioner Matt Penning has been concerned about the"irregularities" he has found in the paid tire and tire services invoices he has examined during the approximate four year period from 4/18/2005 through 7/25/2009.  I have tried to tell you why he and others (myself included) believe that Presiding Commissioner Ron Jost and Southern District Associate Commissioner Jerry Lairmore made a very unwise decision on 7/1 when they both voted to move to a "no-bid" purchasing program for tires and tire services.

The local reporting about this county controversy as been more than "interesting" to observe.  I don't know what your observations have been, but my observations have been as follows:

1. Don Kruse at The Hermann Advertiser-Courier hasn't covered every County Commission Meeting during which this topic has been prominently debated.  However, when Don has reported on this controversy, he has been very professional .... fair and balanced, factual and accurate.  Don is a good journalist who received his formal education and training in journalism at Lincoln University in Jefferson City.  I wish Don could attend all the Commission Meetings, but being the only reporter at The A-C, Don is forced to prioritize where he spends his time and what he reports.
2. Anna Wiegenstein at HermannNEWS.com has attended most of the County Commission Meetings during which this topic has been debated.  Anna's reports are also very professional .... fair and balance, factual and accurate.  Anna is a young reporter who graduated from the University of Iowa in Iowa City.  She is a good journalist now.  She will one day be a great journalist.  Glenn and Carol Warnebold got a "good one" when they hired Anna and brought her to Hermann!
3. Dave Marner, Managing Editor, at the Gasconade County Republican attends County Commission Meetings when they are held in Owensville.  His attendance at County Commission Meetings in Hermann has been spotty at best, although I will have to say that Mr. Marner is "Johnny-on-the-spot" when tipped off that something controversial is going to be discussed such as the tire contract controversy or when tipped off that someone is going to be "ambushed" during a County Commission Meeting.  I didn't really care for his article about the tire contract controversy which was printed in this week's edition of the GCR.  I judged the article to be inaccurate and one-sided.  My understanding is that Mr. Marner has a degree in photo-journalism.
4. Jeff Noedel, publisher of CountyNewsLIVE.com, covers the County Commission Meetings very regularly.  Mr. Noedel also covers the Thursday morning (7 a.m.) Road and Bridge Deparment Meetings, particularly when he has been tipped off that something controversial is going to be discussed.  Mr. Noedel's reports about tire contract debates at the County Commission Meetings and Road and Bridge Department Meetings have been (in my opinion) one-sided, biased and more focused on the interpersonal sparring that goes on between the Commissioners than upon the actual facts of the county's poorly managed tire and tire services purchasing program.  I think it is obvious to most observers that Mr. Noedel regularly goes out of his way to cast Northern District Associate Commissioner Matt Penning in the worst possible light he can ..... every chance he can.  I have found Mr. Noedel's reports during these tire contract debates to be biased, one-sided, often inaccurate and often embarrassingly superficial with absolutely NO probing into the actual facts of the matter.  To my knowledge, Mr. Noedel has NO formal education or training in the field of journalism.  It shows!

Why does Jeff Noedel, CNL Publisher, go out of his way to slam Matt Penning every chance he gets?  I haven't been the only person to observe this.  This dynamic has been going on for a very long time.  It didn't begin with the county tire contract controversy, and it will NOT likely end with the county tire contract controversy.

Why does a self-proclaimed "unbiased and independent journalist" do what Noedel does?  To be more specific:

1. Why did Noedel involve himself (along with Commissioners Jost and Lairmore) in the group pile-on accusation, interrogation and brow-beating of Commissioner Penning at the 7/1 Road and Bridge Department Meeting?  Not very "unbiased and independent" if you ask me!  Very unprofessional for a news reporter at any level!  Take a look at Noedel's self-reported, self-incriminating, "copyrighted, all rights reserved", transcript evidence yourself by clicking on:  http://www.countynewslive.com/content/2010/jul/08/full-transcript-last-thursdays-county-road-department-debate  (As a side note, one has to wonder why Presiding Commissioner Jost permitted Mr. Noedel, who has been elected to NO position of authority by the citizens of Gasconade County, would participate in the aggressive, inquisition-style cross-examination of Associate Commissioner Penning?  The only thing these guys didn't do during the cross-examination of Penning was to water-board him!)
2. Why does Noedel "huddle" with Clerk Lesa Lietzow, Presiding Commisioner Ron Jost, and Southern District Associate Commissioner Jerry Lairmore in the County Clerk's office immediately after so many of the County Commission Meetings?  Afterall, Presiding Commissioner Jost (to his credit) always calls for comments and questions from all meeting attendees at the conclusion of each meeting.  If Noedel has questions or comments, why doesn't he voice them at the appropriate time instead of following Lietzow, Jost and Lairmore like a little puppy back into the Clerk's office when the meeting is over?  I'm not a "journalist", so I can't pretend to know the meaning of these actions.  I only know that I never observe journalists Don Kruse or Anna Wiegenstein participate in these exclusive "post-meeting huddles".  They sit in the open portion of the Commission Meetings, they take notes of the meeting, they take a photo or two and then they ask a question (if they have one) and only when invited to do so by the Presiding Commissioner.
3. Why does Noedel exchange email messages with Southern District Associate Commissioner Jerry Lairmore and his son, Kyle Lairmore?  What gives with that?  The emails I have seen (there are several) aren't just friendly casual communications which seek to ask honest and legitimate questions about county business or Missouri Deparment of Conservation business.  No siree Bob!  I would have NO problem with such email communications.  But the ones I have seen contain bitter hate speech directed against various individuals such as Matt Penning, Sharon Meyer, Mike Jacquin and me.  Now, I'm a big boy!  "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me!"  Bring it on, Jeffy Pooh!  But I am concerned about my friends.  What kind of "unbiased and independent journalist" engages in this type of paranoid, hate-driven email communication with an elected public official and his son who is a state employee? 
4. Why does Noedel avoid reporting on the hard facts of the tire contract controversy, choosing instead to parrot the accusations of Jost and Lairmore, who claim that Penning's concerns about county tire and tire services purchasing and accounting are strictly motivated by politics?  Why doesn't Noedel do his homework?  Why doesn't Noedel do some thorough investigative reporting?  Is it because that kind of reporting is too dull, because facts and figures make the eyes of busy readers glaze over, etc.?  Or is it because it would turn up real facts which contradict what Jost and Lairmore are saying?  My friends, is it because Mr. Noedel has long ago decided who he was going support and who he was going to slam ...... with absolutely NO regard for the actual merits of their respective positions?

In my opinion, Mr. Noedel has lost whatever "journalistic objectivity" he may have ever had.  Instead of reporting ON the story, Mr. Noedel has increasingly become PART of the story!  As a "journalist", Mr. Noedel has unfortunately lost all credibility in this community.  More and more, he is becoming the laughing stock of this community!  It is time to move on, Mr. Noedel!