No Journalistic Integrity at the Omaha World-Herald

We just can't get over the editorial audacity and irresponsible journalism that we are seeing daily in the Douglas Street Rag, aka, the Omaha World-Herald when it comes to the recall.

This poor excuse for a local daily has done everything within its power to prevent the recall of Mayor Suttle, apparently forgetting that it was the same paper that supported the recall of Mayor Boyle some 23 years ago.

Not only has its editorial page consistently 'warned' its readers of the dangers of a recall, but its publisher, Terry Kroeger, even wrote his own editorial on the opposite page, nothing we remember happening in our past readings of a once respected daily.

The paper's editorial page has been consistently supported by the light-weight, intellectually less than curious reporters on the subject who seem to frame everything in the eyes of Mr. Kroeger and those who pay their salaries. So much for journalistic integrity.

Even the paper's so-called columnists Mike Kelly and Robert Nelson can find nothing to write of the recall or Mr. Suttle that doesn't fully reflect the views of the editorial page. In one of his most recent opines on the subject, Kelly noted that, "At an Omaha Nighthawks football game this fall, I'm told , some boos could be heard when Suttle was introduced. It happens with people whose jobs are in the public eye." If any one else had written such a poorly supported statement, Kelly would have railed against it in a heartbeat, but since he was writing about it all he had to say is that, "I'm told." Well, he wasn't there, and if he had been he would have recognized that Suttle received more than just 'some boos', but he's free to write whatever unsupported facts he wants in his column. Sadly, he must think people believe what he writes.

Kelly's associate, the wacky Robert Nelson, is no better.

Probably the most egregious over-step was the virtual publishing of names of signers of the petitions. While we believe in freedom of the press and believe that the daily had the right to do so we also believe that by doing so they intimidated signers, left them to ridicule and retribution and more importantly probably did more to curtail any future petition efforts than any legislator in Lincoln could have possibly done. One can only wonder whether this paper will do the same on issues they support in the future. Journalistic integrity and the right to free speech should also take into consideration journalistic responsibility which for example is why the paper doesn't publish names of rape victims and juveniles despite the availability of those names on police reports.

Now the paper is encouraging its ever-declining readership to worry about Omaha's reputation because a Wall Street Journal reporter is coming to town to cover the recall effort next week.

And of course, twice in one week the editorial page has reminded, if not demanded, that all voters in Omaha mark January 25th as a date on which they must do their civic duty and vote. The real reason they want everyone to turn out is because that is the only possible, the only possible way that Suttle can avoid a recall. The fact is that they know a low voter turnout will result in Suttle's ouster. What the local daily can't do, however, is create passion among folks who have no passion to support Suttle even if they have no passion to remove him. Upon Suttle's removal the editorial page will once again share it's disappointment at the lower voter turn-out while failing to admit that its exhortations failed to increase the number.

The Omaha World-Herald has become a much diminished and much less respectable newspaper by its totally tilted drive to keep a failed, incompetent, arrogant, tone-deaf tax-and-spender in office. It has mobilized all of its resources from the editorial page to its columnists and so-called reporters of the news to abet its publisher's desires. In so doing it has displayed a total lack of journalistic integrity. It should be ashamed of itself. Sadly, this once bastion of reporting and integrity is now best used to line one's bird cage.