Ron The Cop

HT S-R HBO

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SRadio Show To Take To Air April 9

Radio station set to swap formats/Parker Howell, Spokesman-Review

Newsroom E-mail Today: We go on the air with 790 KJRB next Wednesday, April 9 (with veteran co-hosts Dan Mitchinson and Dick Haugen, pictured). … The only requirement for the newsroom is that we continue to produce good stories, because it is our journalism that is the foundation of the radio initiative. Dan and Dick – in addition to doing some of their own reporting – will be using our content throughout the day on the air. In addition to our stories, they’ll be using our audio. … We will be presenting about 2 minutes of Spokesman-Review news at the bottom of the hour, Monday-Friday, from 6:30 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. It will be a mix of local, regional and state news. Depending on the event, there may be some national news. Our newsroom station is not finished yet so we’ll be spending the first couple of weeks in the KJRB studio on the South Hill. Eventually we hope to add a week-in-review show and perhaps a call-in talk show – both of which would again feature our content and our employees/Carla Savalli, senior editor for local news, Spokesman-Review.

Posted by DFO | 2 Apr 4:46 PM

Not to rain on this parade but I do miss Mark Fuhrman. He was an important and much needed “independent” voice in the Spokane Region.

Carla Savalli got it right but for all the wrong reasons:

It’s the same journalism,” she said. “It’s the quality of work that we do, just imposed on another format. So in that respect it’s not strange at all. It just gives us a chance to go out and get another audience who will hopefully, presumably, subscribe to the newspaper if they aren’t already, or go online.”[…]

Even with the recent layoffs, this is still the largest news-gathering force in the region,” Savalli said. “So we’ve got a lot of muscle to throw at the airwaves, so I hope it makes a difference for Mapleton. Two minutes is pretty limiting, I’ll tell you that.”

Perhaps Ms. Savalli should read the Fancher Report. As I’ve commented before this is worth a read. I believe the Cowles Co media domination then circa the 70’s and now is about the same – 80% when total ad revenue is considered.

Posted by rocketsbrain | 2 Apr 6:25 PM

UPDATE:

I posted an excerpt of my comment above in a thread started by DFO at S-R’s Huckleberries Online blog. A regular commenter asked the following question and I replied. Apparently my comment was deemed inappropriate and was removed. I’ll let the readers decide if this was an act of censorship.

Ron the Cop

*****

RBT, are you ever going to stop your obsession with the Fancher Report? I mean, c’mon, even I let go of Jayson Ronk’s lies to the citizens of Kootenai County.(But he was so good at screwing taxpayers out of money, that IACI hired him!)

Posted by ThomG | 5 Apr 8:01 AM

TG,

When Hell freezes over:-)

The Fancher Report is as valid today as it was when it was written (Read more here). SRadio is just one more example of the control of news in Spokane. I have nothing against SRadio itself it’s actually a very creative venture, I just want more diversity of “independent” news outlets in Spokane.

Whether you agreed with Mark Fuhrman or not, he was an important “independent” voice in Spokane politics. There were many stories that broke on the Fuhrman Show including the biggest being the recusal of sitting US Attorney Jim McDevitt for the Easter District of WA. IMHO the squelching of Mark Fuhrman was a hit plain and simple by the “usual suspects.” This new venture between the S-R and Mapleton Communications LLC just solidifies my belief of this collusion.

As I replied to Dr. Olsen in another S-R thread:

Dr. Olsen, You are so correct and I concur.

Yes, it is the shinning light of an independent and engaged free press that serves as a fundamental independent check on the abuses of power of our government that WE THE PEOPLE choose to govern.

We are in the debt of our founding fathers that recognized and encouraged a diverse and vibrant free press which they empowered with great responsibility in the 1st Amendment of the US Constitution.

This is what makes us fundamentally distinct from those repressive and totalitarian governments like the Iranian Regime. These regimes suppress the free flow of information and repress severely those who would criticize those who hold positions of power and trust. After all, all power flows from . . .

WE THE PEOPLE

Det. Ron Wright (Retired)

Posted by rocketsbrain | 5 Apr 11:58 AM

I wrote DFO as to what was offending and got this reply back:

OK. What put this one on the delete list? Most of this is up at News is a
Conversation? What is the “usual suspects”? TG asked a legitimate question
and I responded. Look this whole things smacks of the MO that sent Tom
Grant packing from KXLY and then later from FOX28. I have direct evidence
of this prior play. I working on finding the same fingerprints on the “take
out” of the Furhman Show. Is it just coincidental that the S-R and Mapleton
Communications are now in a joint venture on this radio project?

You might be interested in this letter I sent to Mapleton Communications
prior to the sales becoming final.

RBT

I killed it. as i’ve told you before i have no interest in your obsession with the cowles … i’ve told you a coupla times now that you’re welcome to post about other subjects. but i’m not going to let my blog become your personal rant chamber for conspiracy theories … few if anybody on my side of the state line are interested … i’m certainly not — dfo

I wrote back:

DFO

OK your blog and sand box. I wouldn’t have posted the reply if TG hadn’t asked. You might as well kill his post too as it makes no sense now.

As Dr. Phil says I’ve been around the block several times and have been investigating criminal conspiracies for over thirty years. Call me a conspiracy theorist if you will. I’m sure you are familiar with former Sheriff Tony Bamonte, “a cop’s cop”, who solved a Spokane murder in the 30’s that was chronicled by a NYT reporter in “Breaking Blue.” He’s not a “conspiracy theorist” and we concur on most things involving the Cowles Co.

Here’s a little teaser that I picked up regarding Tom Grant and the pressure that the Cowles Co were wielding then against KXLY:

From: Steve Herling
Sent: Monday, May 14, 2001 2:34 PM
To: [xxxx]@webtv.net
Cc: Chris Gilks, Michelle McIntyre, Teddie Gibbon
Subject: Re: Tom Grant

We do not agree with that assessment. RiverPark Square alone is testament to our ability to forgo ad dollars for truth. We have been off their “buy” list for over 2 years costing us hundreds of thousands of dollars because we supported the reporting, whether Tom Grant or any of our staff (yes there were other of our reporters on RPS than Tom). We never have shied from the truth for dollars and we’ve proven it. We have reported negative news about car dealers and taken the hit….

Det. Ron Wright (Retired)

SCROLL FOR UPDATE
S-R Editor Steve Smith posted this comment regarding the today’s S-R article on public records disclosures. I posted a comment regarding the hypocrisy of the S-R continuing to maintain a relationship with Duane Swinton of Witherspoon & Kelley. For more on this see the Camas Magazine site for:

Duane Swinton and Cowles Inc.

Of course my comment has been censored already by the thought police:-)

Ron the Cop

Public records and the state audit

Posted by Steven A. Smith | 2 Apr 10:37 AM

Good morning,

Was anyone else surprised that, according to Rich Roesler in a Page 1 story this morning, Spokane County and the city of Spokane Valley fared well in a statewide audit of citizen access to public records? (Link here)

Our experience with those two entities isn’t quite that rosy.

But it is much better than our ongoing experience with the city of Spokane.

Marlene Feist, apparently having seen more of the audit than has been widely disclosed as yet, suggests the city did better than most.

Of course, Rich cites a case in which the city never did fulfill an auditor’s request for records of police travel.

The fact is, even with somewhat more open officials in city government these days, the default at City Hall, at least insofar as newspaper requests go, is to delay, delay, delay and then complain that the state should be paying for the costs of searching out the requested records.

Perhaps the final audit, when it’s released, will prompt some changes where they really need to take place — in the Spokane city attorney’s office.

steve

There are 2 comments on this post. (XML Subscribe to comments on this post)

I remember in September 2005, Washington Attorney General McKenna visited the Lilac City, holding a public meeting requesting input from the public regarding the States AG office position re the freedom of information disclosures. He wanted public records more accessible to the public and expressed some of his thoughts making it easier for the citizens to obtain. McKenna stated, his objective was to introduce legislation to remove any obstacles that existed. He felt there were too many hoops to jump through when a person asked for records that they were entitled. I remember seeing, Dennis Hession and Rocky Treppiedi, in the audience. I remember Rocky Treppiedi publicly asking that the AG make it more difficult for citizens to get public information. It was Treppiedi`s position local governments were required to hand over too much information and that more records should be withheld and not be handed out to anybody. I was sitting near a group of Attorneys and I overheard some whispering how out of line Treppiedi`s statements were. On October 3, 2005 I wrote a letter to Hession giving him my thoughts regarding Treppiedi`s request to the AG and how outlandish they were and was just one more reason for the public not to trust city hall.

Posted by Dick Adams | 2 Apr 4:12 PM

Dear Mr. Smith,

Pot calling the kettle black Mr. Smith:-) What about the continued relationship of the S-R with Duane Swinton of Witherspoon & Kelley and withholding of certain documents of interest to the public?’

Det. Ron Wright (Retired)

Posted by Det. Ron Wright (Retired) | 2 Apr 4:30 PM

UPDATE:

Dr. John Olsen posted this comment regarding the ongoing debate on the proposed Spokane PD Ombudsman. I agreed with his assessment and so far my comment has survived the day:

Perhaps if Mayor Verner were to expand the “Oversight/Ombudsman” position’s responsibility to the wider view as a touchpoint with visibility/press .. it might find more community support?

I’ve learned over the past two years that pursuing grievance’s with law suits is not nearly so effective as “shining the light of the press and media” into the dark corners of our government and agencies that are purported to be here to help us. gus

Steve… hope your eye surgery is healing without complications… j

Posted by John a olsen | 4 Apr 6:35 AM

Dr. Olsen,

You are so correct and I concur.

Yes, it is the shinning light of an independent and engaged free press that serves as a fundamental independent check on the abuses of power of our government that WE THE PEOPLE choose to govern.

We are in the debt of our founding fathers that recognized and encouraged a diverse and vibrant free press which they empowered with great responsibility in the 1st Amendment of the US Constitution.

This is what makes us fundamentally distinct from those repressive and totalitarian governments like the Iranian Regime. These regimes suppress the free flow of information and repress severely those who would criticize those who hold positions of power and trust. After all, all power flows from . . .

WE THE PEOPLE

Det. Ron Wright (Retired)

Posted by Det. Ron Wright (Retired) | 4 Apr 8:57 AM