This really bears repeating: so much for investigative reporting. Or reporting at all. The Gazette really let us down.
Since Ned Chilton’s day, the Gazette has been the one voice in the state that could be counted on to speak truth to power. I guess it was too much to expect that noble tradition to continue when a Chilton is in on the scam. Betty just wasn’t going to have the integrity of a board she sits on questioned in her own paper — even if that board was enabling a scam the likes of which West Virginia hasn’t seen since the Arch Moore days.
All you crooked political operators take note: If you want foolproof insurance against a Gazette expose, just put Betty on your board. That was the hope when she was appointed, and it worked to perfection.
May 10, 2007 at 12:27 am
Morgantown is all abuzz with the “transition team” meetings run by the Garrisoids. Some people are quite upset when they hear of a meeting they weren’t invited to.
May 10, 2007 at 12:44 am
finally figured out why John Fisher wasn’t fired from the law school last year - he’s the NCAA rep for WVU.
May 10, 2007 at 9:25 pm
John Fisher will be fired from the COL the day that Hippie Killer is named Vice President for Research and Development.
And deans are never, ever fired, you fool. They are promoted to be a Special Assistant to the Provost, and then mysteriously find other work after six months. Don’t you ever read Pravda (aka the Mountaineer Spirit)?
May 10, 2007 at 9:25 pm
The Gazette is now fully in the pocket of the WV Democratic Party no matter what. This happened because there is at least a hint of a conservative alternative at the voting booths in this state in most places. They hate conservatives so much, that they lean towards the democrats in most everything…if a democratic leader has decreed that it’s a good idea for Garrison to be WVU Prez, then it must be a good idea…the Gazette will NOT rock the democratic boat…
May 10, 2007 at 10:03 pm
James, you obviously don’t know a goddamn thing about anything.
May 11, 2007 at 3:42 pm
Hey AngryDrunkWV, I bet you a case of beer that a dean or two gets “promoted” before the end of May.
May 11, 2007 at 8:01 pm
Name names, anonymous.
May 12, 2007 at 4:23 pm
Jame’s post is too simple to fuck with. What a moron.
May 13, 2007 at 2:07 pm
Since the topic is the Gazette, can I just say that Phil Kabler’s political “column” is absolutely awful? He basically uses it to cheer for Joe Manchin. Kabler should promote Joe, but he should at least be somewhat balanced. Mostly it’s just drivel. Three months of Phil Kabler is worth one week of Fanny Seiler. Is Phil just too lazy to dig or does he just have no sources (and therefore just uses the governor’s press office)?
May 13, 2007 at 3:49 pm
Let’s not romanticize Fanny so much — all she ever did was write what amounted to a weekly statehouse gossip column. I wasn’t a fan. Hell, I don’t know what she’d do these days, since every state employee’s salary can now be known after a 10 second download.
I imagine there are lots of reasons why you’ll never read that many “bad” stories about Joe in the Gazette. But I know for sure that one of those reasons why is Betty being grateful to Joe for keeping her on the WVU Board of Governors. Without things like the BOG, Mrs. Chilton is just another rich coal widow.
To be clear though, while I’ve been harsh, I never wanted to turn this into a Gazette hate fest. I just wanted to call a spade a spade.
The Charleston Gazette is still a much better paper than the people of West Virginia deserve.
May 13, 2007 at 7:50 pm
Without question, the Gazette is a great paper for its size. My point is just that it seems like Phil let’s things go. I think Searls is good. Scott Finn (now with WVPR) was good too. The Gazette does a lot of things well, but their statehouse coverage isn’t that hot.
May 14, 2007 at 5:40 pm
Well,HK’s point was that the Gazette has gone downhill and he’s right. I just pointed out why it has gone downhill. They used to take on ALL persons in power no matter what letter they had after their name, I always admired that because it kept them on their toes. They only take on the safe ones now and we all suffer.
RE the name calling, I wan’t trying to win any argument but that means I did.
May 14, 2007 at 5:58 pm
I’m not even saying that they’ve gone downhill.
I mean, they might have, but I’m not prepared to site specific examples.
May 14, 2007 at 8:42 pm
Maybe downhill was too strong of a word. They have definitely slipped. As far as specific examples, wouldn’t you have expected more of a negative reaction from the Gazette after Manchin appointed his wife to the state board of education? What would have the Gazette of the early 70’s have done if Arch Moore had done the same thing?
There wasn’t a lot of noise from the Gazette over the appointment of Manchin’s nephew to some other high post.
You’ve done a much better job than the Gazette (albeit heavy on the profanity) covering the appointment of Garrison and on the inner workings of the HEPC.
Maybe it’s unfair to single out the Gazette. The rest of the local media isn’t doing a great job either. Increasingly it’s Internet blogs that break news stories nowadays.
May 14, 2007 at 9:43 pm
I actually think the Gazette does a pretty good job. They give Manchin a free pass, but it seems that most everyone else does too. And it’s the best media source in the state without question. If you doubt that, just read something from the Ogden chain.
That said, I believe the Gazette did cut its number of pages a few years ago, reducing the amount of news.
This shouldn’t be too surprising, though. Lots of newspapers are doing this and the Gazette readership is shrinking (like many newspapers). Therefore, the reduction in coverage was an economic choice more than anything.
May 15, 2007 at 2:00 am
Anonymous, you make a good point in suggesting the financial decisions playing roles in coverage. I guess the Internet cuts into their bottom line (I stopped my paper delivery when they went on-line…).
I remember reading somewhere that the media (both print & TV) have to do more with less today.
I agree, the Gazette is the best written paper in the state and their experienced reporters are first rate.
I’m still troubled with the pass they give Manchin. No politician in this state, with this state’s political history, deserves a free pass.
May 15, 2007 at 2:25 am
2 things here: First, I remember hearing an interview with David Chase a few years back about viewer reaction to the Sopranos. He said that what offended viewers the most wasn’t the graphic murders, rape, drug use, sex or violence. According to HBO, viewers were most
offended by the use of profanity. It wasn’t Ralphie beating the pregnant teenage dancer to death outside the ‘Bing that bothered them — it was those damn dirty words.
I’ll just leave that out there without comment.
Second: Of course the Gazette is a good paper. That has a lot to do with the reporters, and A LOT to do the fact that the Gazette is one of the few remaining family owned newspapers anywhere. But in this instance, the owner’s personal interests all but enabled a major episode of government corruption. And let’s be crystal clear: I promise you that this didn’t have a damn thing to do with budget cuts. It was a decision made at the top.
But such is the duality of life. As big a deal as it is, this was just one story out of what, millions?
People aren’t either “all” good or “all” bad, and neither are newspapers.
May 17, 2007 at 1:26 pm
It is official. Fisher out of the COL.