Judge Wikeley gave the green light to the ICO and the Devon County Council knowing full well they had relied upon 13 Ghost Documents and had failed a Court Order??

That’s why I wondered what media in larger cities could do to assist journalists facing such intimidation in small towns and rural areas.

Is it possible for a large paper to offer cover and make these types of requests on behalf of a local paper? Is that done? I live in a very large city now. But, I grew up in a small one. This situation in NC is quite disturbing. I also wondered about the response or efforts to assist from any of the major papers there.

The issue isn’t that the publisher and editor didn’t know what they were doing. The issue is that they knew exactly what they were doing, the sheriff broke the law by refusing them what they were entitled to, and then certain members of the public apparently took it upon themselves to threaten the lives of the publisher and editor without the sheriff’s department appearing to have done much about it.

Second, can small local papers rely on larger ones to make such FOIA requests (on their behalf) thereby giving cover to vulnerable newspapers/journalists? I ask because the financial (advertising), political, and social elements involved in small towns are very real.

Third, I would like to know if any papers/media are planning to follow this recommendation? “In the spirit of Bolles and the Arizona Project his death inspired, maybe we should all file a records request with Lovin for the concealed-carry permit list,…”

You talk a pretty tough game. Maybe you should apply for the open position in Cherokee County and prove what a big tough guy you are. Or are you an armchair general, thinking Brown and Horne should just follow Lovejoy and Bolles, leaving their wives widows and their kids without fathers? (And their staffers in danger as well.)

Never judge a man until you’ve walked a mile in his shoes. That’s true for anyone, and especially true for journalists. Instead, you sit back in comfortable Salt Lake City, not having to worry about your family’s safety, and you call someone about whom you know nothing a “spineless coward.”

You may never have to prove you’re more courageous than the people you’re so glibly judging. If you stay in Utah, I certainly hope you don’t — that place is far more civilized than Cherokee County, and I hope it stays that way. But I can tell you right now that David Brown is twice the journalist you’ll ever be as long as you maintain the “judge first, gather facts later” attitude.