No Thanks
Volunteer Hoosier works hard to bring you news you can't get elsewhere. We recognize that not everyone has the time (nor the inclination) to be their own reporter. The nature of this medium allows for immediacy in a way not offered by other media sources, so we are rightfully proud to be able to bring you news when it comes to us.
During the past year, our reporting has been factual and timely, often "scooping" other outlets. Fellow blogger Roger Baylor and his NA Confidential is yet another reliable source for news about public affairs.
The one rule both Roger and I abide by is that we don't publish until we have the facts. When our readership wants answers, we provide them.
Recently, our readers expressed great curiosity about the details of New Albany's contract for sanitation. When we learned the contract had not yet been signed by the parties, we inquired of the city and others to learn what was happening. We requested to be informed when the contract was executed and to be included on the distribution list for any press releases or official announcements thereof.
Alas, being a reporter is a thankless job; no release was issued, so I repeated my request and was sent a copy of the signed contract. When rampant speculation ensued as to what might happen in the new year without a contract, this Web log made the announcement that the contract had been signed. Later, accusations of a coverup were circulated and speculation began about details of the contract that ranged from schadenfreude to pure character assassination.
To allay any legitimate and sincere concerns, VH published, in two installments, the agreement between the City of New Albany and Clark-Floyd Landfill LLC/Eco-Tech LLC d/b/a Southern Indiana Waste Systems.
The document was and is public information. It became more public and readily accessible upon publication on these pages. Any resident could read the contract and evaluate it. It remains available even now.
By making this agreement public, the parties were alerted to inadequacies in the drafting of the agreement, ambiguities that did not reflect the actual intent of the parties. Those flaws were corrected on the next working day. Those technical corrections are not reflected on these pages as of yet, but then, they were technical, not material. I am certain that any interested party can obtain a copy of the amended agreement at the City County Building.
VH doesn't typically attribute its reports to its sources. In so doing, we put our personal reputation for truth-telling on the line. No weasel words like "according to so-and-so." It's risky, and readers will have to make their own judgments about how accurate the reports on these pages have been over the past months. Our conscience is clear.
In this instance, we reported first the signing of the agreement, then demonstrated the existence of the agreement for those who doubted our first reports, and subsequently transcribed the entire agreement for public consideration.
No thanks are necessary. You're welcome. Glad to do it.
When we are mistaken, we correct those mistakes. But we don't publish until we know the truth, and you will continue to see it here.
VH decided to post the signed contract here so that the public could decide for themselves what the contract contained.
For those curiously obsessed about this reporter's "right" to seek out and publish information, public or otherwise, here's a passage that pretty much defines it:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Most state constitutions and long-standing jurisprudence have extended these rights as against the states, their agents and creations.
And here's more discussion of the topic:
http://frwebgate1.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate.cgi?WAISdocID=485585434890+0+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve
During the past year, our reporting has been factual and timely, often "scooping" other outlets. Fellow blogger Roger Baylor and his NA Confidential is yet another reliable source for news about public affairs.
The one rule both Roger and I abide by is that we don't publish until we have the facts. When our readership wants answers, we provide them.
Recently, our readers expressed great curiosity about the details of New Albany's contract for sanitation. When we learned the contract had not yet been signed by the parties, we inquired of the city and others to learn what was happening. We requested to be informed when the contract was executed and to be included on the distribution list for any press releases or official announcements thereof.
Alas, being a reporter is a thankless job; no release was issued, so I repeated my request and was sent a copy of the signed contract. When rampant speculation ensued as to what might happen in the new year without a contract, this Web log made the announcement that the contract had been signed. Later, accusations of a coverup were circulated and speculation began about details of the contract that ranged from schadenfreude to pure character assassination.
To allay any legitimate and sincere concerns, VH published, in two installments, the agreement between the City of New Albany and Clark-Floyd Landfill LLC/Eco-Tech LLC d/b/a Southern Indiana Waste Systems.
The document was and is public information. It became more public and readily accessible upon publication on these pages. Any resident could read the contract and evaluate it. It remains available even now.
By making this agreement public, the parties were alerted to inadequacies in the drafting of the agreement, ambiguities that did not reflect the actual intent of the parties. Those flaws were corrected on the next working day. Those technical corrections are not reflected on these pages as of yet, but then, they were technical, not material. I am certain that any interested party can obtain a copy of the amended agreement at the City County Building.
VH doesn't typically attribute its reports to its sources. In so doing, we put our personal reputation for truth-telling on the line. No weasel words like "according to so-and-so." It's risky, and readers will have to make their own judgments about how accurate the reports on these pages have been over the past months. Our conscience is clear.
In this instance, we reported first the signing of the agreement, then demonstrated the existence of the agreement for those who doubted our first reports, and subsequently transcribed the entire agreement for public consideration.
No thanks are necessary. You're welcome. Glad to do it.
When we are mistaken, we correct those mistakes. But we don't publish until we know the truth, and you will continue to see it here.
VH decided to post the signed contract here so that the public could decide for themselves what the contract contained.
For those curiously obsessed about this reporter's "right" to seek out and publish information, public or otherwise, here's a passage that pretty much defines it:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Most state constitutions and long-standing jurisprudence have extended these rights as against the states, their agents and creations.
And here's more discussion of the topic:
http://frwebgate1.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate.cgi?WAISdocID=485585434890+0+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve
posted by All4Word at 11:13 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home