Thank God For The Fourth Estate - A Local Newspaper’s Perspective: October 20, 2006

I have previously written about my interactions with the Frost Illustrated newspaper concerning the problems here. If they didn’t want to look into this story, then I figured nobody else probably would. The day after my home was attacked, there was a short article in a local paper. It gave only the most basic information and would probably be missed by many and soon forgotten by those who did read it. I just assumed that was the end of the story.

I was pleasantly surprised a few days later when Frank Gray, of the local newspaper, called me at home and asked if he could stop by to interview me about the situation here. I have always viewed Frank as an ombudsman of sorts. He holds no legal authority, but his ability to focus the public spotlight can bring results. I saw his telephone call as a really good sign.

Frank arrived at around three in the afternoon. Before I allowed him to enter my home, I explained the situation a bit. I had barely slept for the past three days and my house was really a mess. He agreed not to mention that fact in his story. We spoke for about forty minutes. I did most of the talking, with Frank directing me occasionally with specific questions. I had to apologize a few times for getting way off topic, but there was just too much to say.

After the interview, we stepped outside so Frank could take a picture of me standing beside my house. There were several people standing around that looked at us, some just curiously, others more menacingly. Frank scanned the area then turned to me and asked “Is this typical here?” I told him that there was actually more activity since before the attack. I also explained that I had seen a lot of unfamiliar faces here in the last two days and I took that as a bad sign.

I noticed Harry standing across the street. He was down the block when Frank and I first went outside, but had now moved to the corner and appeared to be curious about what was happening on this side of the street. Harry is one of the older dealers who I have gotten to know a bit over the years. I called to him, asking him if we could speak for a moment, and he walked over to where we were standing. I knew that Frank’s appearance, as well as the newspaper article itself, would be talked about here. I decided it would be best if I got a chance to put my own spin on it first.

I explained that Frank was from the newspaper, and that he was doing a story about our neighborhood. I said that since he was going to do the story whether or not I talked with him, I thought it was best to make sure he got the facts straight. I told Harry I had explained to Frank that what goes on here is no secret, and that it probably would continue. I said there were a lot of older gentlemen here who conduct their business quietly and discreetly, but the kids just make a lot of noise and cause problems for everyone. Frank seemed to catch on that I was subtly identifying Harry as one of these “older gentlemen”, and he asked Harry if he agreed with what I said. Harry replied “These kids are just too noisy. They need to quiet down.”

I think what I did here was a very good move. These guys know that media coverage will bring extra police attention, at least for a little while, so I automatically had Harry‘s attention. Then, I took this opportunity to reiterate my earlier message that I had delivered to Carl. - I am not against the drug dealers so much as I am against the noise. And just like with Carl, I later saw Harry talking with some of the younger guys here and I assumed they were talking about how they should respond to my latest overtures.

Frank’s article came out the following weekend. For the most part, I was very impressed. He took a bunch of rambling and disjointed comments that were laced with a lot of emotion and translated them into a cohesive and intelligible story. This makes Frank a good writer, but it takes more than that to be a great journalist. What Frank’s article lacked was comprehensiveness. Now I am not complaining here about a few minor details being left out. What I am saying is that Frank actually told only half the story. He did a good job of summarizing my struggles against the drug dealers, but he made absolutely no mention of the problems I have had with FWPD and how this has contributed to the problems here.

I sent Frank a quick e-mail saying as much. I complemented him for being able to tell my own story better than I could. But I also reminded him about the problems with the police and asked if he might like to ask a few more questions about this aspect of the situation here. It is hard to imagine that someone who writes as good as Frank does could have accidentally missed half of what I was saying, and I think his failure to respond to my e-mail further supports my belief that it was intentional. One can only speculate about the reasons why, but my assumption is that it stems from a lack of courage to confront or offend those in power.

So Frank helped to let all of Fort Wayne know about the problems the drug dealers were causing here, but he entirely neglected to mention the fact that FWPD was largely responsible for this problem having grown so big. I did speak with Frank one more time about this matter, but I will leave that for a few posts on down the line. However, what I’ve said here should be enough for you to understand how our “local newspaper” sometimes operates. It’s certainly nice to know that the fourth estate is working hard to give a voice to the powerless individual who is being harmed by the ineptitude of governmental agencies such as FWPD.

Seriously though, it appears that when it comes to challenging powerful people, they draw the line at fishmongers. So if you read “A local newspaper,” you will be warned of unscrupulous substitution of fish in the restaurants, but they will not bother to tell you that a member of the Fort Wayne Police Department’s Command Staff appears to be acting in collusion with the guys who openly sell crack cocaine on the streets of your city.

Well, at least they’ve got their priorities straight. I sure can’t wait till they tell me who to vote for this year. Wait, I don’t have to. I’ll just read the blogs before they steel a quote from there to find out what they are going to say. I honestly do thank God for the Fourth Estate - I just think it’s too bad that Fort Wayne doesn’t have one.

Note: Keep in mind that, like my views on FWPD, my asessment of our local media is always being revised. But the bottom line is this: The majority of those who comprise Fort Wayne's news media are either unaware of my story or just unwilling to discuss it. If it's the former, then they are extremely ignorant. If it's the later, then they appear to be cowards. Either way, this makes them not at all dissimilar to FWPD's Command Staff.

UPCOMING POSTS
Monday: The Tide Begins To Turn
Wednesday: Turning To The Other Front