Former editor wins civil suit against Lake County Leader. Will file against MHP next
It is with sadness and confusion I file this column.
Sadness and confusion as to why no news outlet in Montana, having been made aware of it, bothered to write a story about my law suit against The Lake Valley Leader and its parent company, Hagadone. In fact, showed no interest at all. (Back to that in a minute.)
That being said, the link below is the suit I filed against Hagadone in July of 2015 (Click on the cover at the right to see the original filing) and is just now on the verge of being settled.
Since my constructive discharge, on Jan 2, 2015, I count at
least four, going on five, editors who have been run out of town by Leader/Hagadone management. I lost count of reporters but, in the wake of the latest editor's resignation, one of the current reporters also gave notice and will be gone next week.
This should come as no surprise to Lake County residents who have embraced the Valley Journal after just 11 years in the market when the Leader had 100-year head start.
Everything my attorney filed is a matter of public record in the Lake County Courthouse and has been for 11 months and anyone can go down and get a copy. It pretty delicious stuff and no other company deserves more public scrutiny than Hagadone and the Leader.
THE STATE OF JOURNALISM
In a sentence: It's dead.
I've been in the industry for 35 years and fought hard for the rights of journalists to do their jobs without fear of government intervention or advertising concerns.
When one of my colleagues got arrested, I flash stories on my outlets to bring attention to the issue and make sure Americans know what their rights are and that cops cannot violate the First Amendment by blocking access or detaining innocent citizens. (Before all you cop supporters scream, I believe cops are some of our last American Heroes, just as our vets are. There is nothing better than a good cop and nothing worse then a bad one because, just like a superhero, with great power comes great responsibility and temporarily suspending the Constitution is as powerful as it gets.)
Everyone remembers my high-profile arrest from Oct. 1, 2014 by an MHP officer and the national attention it got. I expected that. What I didn't expect the indifferent way my industry colleagues responded. After decades of defending journalists myself, for the first time when I needed some protection through exposure, I got almost none.
Not an interview. Even after the cases were dismissed. And most of them also lost sight of the real issue which was about the First and Fourth Amendments and how the justice system got it right.
Instead of headlines and leads starting with: CASES DISMISSED AGAINST EDITOR. It was: EDITOR PLEADS NO
CONTEST TO DISTURBING THE PEACE.
Huh? And even after I pointed that out to them I was met with either derision or outright apathy. I offered interviews, paperwork, my civil suit.
Zero.
I've said for years, "our industry eats its own," as a piece of dark humor. It's not so funny anymore.
Some old-timers asked me if this was a Badge Of Courage. Twenty years ago, it would have been. Today, it's an albatross and that damn mug shot is my Scarlet Letter.
FUTURE LITIGATION I hope soon to file a civil rights case against the Montana Highway Patrol and I hope, because it will be a federal suit, I can convince some wire contact to cover it. But I'm not sure.
Meanwhile, for the few who care about really bad big businesses and a sluggish court system and the right to work without getting berated personally and professionally for months by people who are far less qualified, here's the original complaint.
Thanks for reading.