County Supervisor Bill Horn, an occasional target of media investigations, is firing back at the Fourth Estate.
In an 1,809-word statement on his website, Horn says:
Unfortunately, what you receive in the newspapers, on radio, television, or over the Internet; does not always reflect “The Whole Story.” I think our new web site feature gives you a better chance of getting the truth and will allow you to draw your own conclusion.
Horn’s spokesman, John Culea, offers his own cutting insights on the media in a 1,340-word piece. Writing in a blog-like opinion format published online, Culea, a former television reporter, says:
The Internet continues to increase in popularity as a news source with Newspapers displaying their editions online along with hundreds of websites offering news digests, breaking stories, opinion, and what to me is a journalistic plague; the blog. While blogs offer a free exchange of ideas and opinions, in truth they exemplify the depths to which media outlets have sunk to keep from going out of business. For newspapers, their blogs may one day be viewed as the final desperate act to survive before being swallowed up in a Jurassic-like communication tar pit.
He continues:
Never forget; the news is a business. Its main purpose is to make money and right now, the gravy train is a little greasy and members of the media are slipping and sliding to keep themselves on their feet and relevant.
Hat tip to San Diego CityBeat for turning this up.