SD War College notes the governor is freezing out the Argus Leader:
At the end of the year in 2005, I offered my opinion that the #6 story of 2005 was the Argus Leader's assault on the Governor. Let's take a look at this little blast from the past:
6. Argus Leader’s Assault on the Governor
The Associated Press considered the Argus Leader’s series of stories of the use of the State Airplane by the Governor as one of its top ten stories. Should that be one of the top ten political stories? Some would argue, yes. But there’s something that has come up since that blurs the focus of that issue for me.
After that series of stories, there have been editorials from the Argus Leader’s editor, Randall Beck. (here, here and here) A story is a story, and that’s fine. But in those editorials from the editor, it’s at least apparent to me that he doesn’t care for our state’s chief executive.
One editorial from Mr. Beck blasted a local group for giving the Governor an award. Another took an additional swipe at him. The tone of these editorials comes off as… well, it certainly seems that he has an ax to grind.
And it takes those stories that they consider serious journalism and places them in a light that some would characterize as partisan.
And it hasn't let up. The personalized and mean-spirited assaults have contined since. If anything, it's intensified even further.
Hardly a Sunday goes by without a swipe at our State's chief executive by the State's largest newspaper, either in Randall Beck's column or as part of an editorial. The biggest salvo in the war came when the Argus sued the Governor for information on Governor's hunt invitees. And after Judge Max Gors (a Democrat, no less) recently shot the Argus' arguments down, they've continued unbowed.
I look at it this way. If I knew someone was going to walk up to me on a weekly basis and punch me in the nose, why would I go out of my way to talk to them?
As far as I understand it, open records and similar public information are available according to law. Don't think records are open or available enough? It's easy - change the laws. But in reference to interviews, I don't know that a state or federal law that exists that says "You must make yourself available to reporters as they see fit."
So nobody wants to talk to the Argus because they're tired of getting punched in the nose. Why should they be suprised? There are many old sayings about how one shall reap what they sow.
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