No editorial when a board member berated her
Board member put attack of reporter
on meeting agenda
_______________________________________________________________________________
As to be expected, the local paper was quick to defend its reporter in the
matter of the county commissioner assistant interview in the paper one day,
then as the incident was featured on local AM talk radio the second day.
Besides pointing out negative comments said to the reporter during a public
county meeting, the editorial board there overlooks another incident, when
the same reporter was chastised by an airport authority board member, in a
public meeting, for something she wrote.
We've not heard too much of the exchange that occurred at that May
meeting of the county airport authority board. It is mind boggling that the
attack was part of a planned discussion on a meeting agenda item. Just still
cannot believe it happened.
It was an awkward, uncomfortable moment for me, personally, to have been
in the same room when that exchange was going on.
This wasn't a member of the public complaining. The venom was coming
from an authority board member, during a public meeting, directed at one
reporter.
Fayette County Airport Authority Board Member Joe Maher was certainly
upset that evening with the reporter. He brought along to the meeting his
copy of the newspaper article that the reporter wrote.
Maher berated her something awful. He also berated a fellow authority
board member, for speaking to the reporter in the article that he disliked and
took issue with, in the middle of the public meeting. He was on a roll.
Maher's nasty-toned speech to the reporter followed reaching the meeting
agenda item, "Newspaper Article."
"Newspaper Article," following the infamous agenda item, "Homeland
Security Letter," discussion involved Maher chastising the reporter in a stern,
nasty tone.
The reporter, however, impressively held her own with him that evening. He
didn't rattle her and should have been ashamed for trying to intimidate or
rattle her.
Her story that he criticized, referenced a well-respected professional at a
well-respected state aeronautic office.
Likewise, the airport authority board member quoted in the story, also
brought credibility to the story.
All along that May airport authority board meeting night, Commissioner Al
Ambrosini sat a few chairs away, never defending the reporter and never
intervening on her behalf.
For goodness sakes, he could have said something, since he was quoted,
not knowing what he was talking about, in the story that Maher critiqued.
Ambrosini's silence while Maher told the reporter off seemed more surreal to
me than did Maher's agenda item listed attack itself on the reporter's good
story.
Maher's grilled away at the reporter, as part of a formally listed "Newspaper
Article" May meeting agenda item. Maher's addition to the meeting agenda
discussion on a previously published airport story was unfortunate, mean, out
of line and most unprofessional.
His behavior deserved to have been discussed in a critical editorial that
should have been written.
jt
26 Aug 14
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