MORRIS COMMUNICATIONS’ St. Augustine Record Mum About Protecting St. Augustine’s Water, Seacoast, History and Heritage -- Record Disrespects Readers

MORRIS COMMUNICATIONS’ deeply flawed and miserably mismanaged St. Augustine Record viewspaper does not know what news is.

You’ve got to hand it to the St. Augustine Record viewspaper. Its efforts to censor and filter the news know no bounds.

The St. Augustine Record viewspaper just won’t report public discussion about nearly anything.

In particular, MORRIS COMMUNICATIONS’ deeply flawed and miserably mismanaged St. Augustine Record viewspaper just won’t report public discussion about the proposed St. Augustine National Historical Park and National Seashore, which would empower a National Civil Rights Museum. It has printed letters and columns about the Park proposal, but never a news story. Why?

At Monday’s first meeting of the federal St. Augustine 450^th Commemoration Commission, Commissioners were asked to support a St. Augustine National Historical Park and National Seashore. Local residents applauded. Those two facts were not reported in the St. Augustine Record. Why? Ask St. Augustine Record Publisher RON DAVIDSON, Editor PETER ELLIS, writer PETER GUINTA and Editorial Page Editor MARGO POPE why that was not covered, either in GUINTA’s news story, or in an editorial. Isn’t it news when people work to better our community, even when the Record doesn’t support it yet?

At Monday’s first meeting of the federal St. Augustine 450^th Commemoration Commission, 450^th Commissioners, led by Chairman Jay Kislak, agreed to allow public questions and comments, with at least nine of us speaking. This proved the Record wrong – and haughty, hubristic, holdover WILLIAM HARRISS lackey PAUL WILLIAMSON wrong -- the day before, the Record twice reported as fact that no public comment would be allowed or is required, discouraging from preparing and attending. The Record did so twice -- once in a “Legal Note” appended to a page one news story, and once in an editorial. Ask St. Augustine Record Publisher RON DAVIDSON, Editor PETER ELLIS, writer PETER GUINTA and Editorial Page Editor MARGO POPE why that was not covered, either in GUINTA’s news story, or in an editorial.

The WRecKord has a routine habit and practice of disrespecting citizens, calling us “activists,” treating us as objects. Objectifying people is the tactic of large organizations, the record is mum about real news affecting real people. The viewspaper is written for rich commercial landlords, not normal people. It caters to its advertisers, both corporate and governmental.

On its 100^th anniversary, The Record made Jay Leno laugh – and millions of American night owls laugh -- with its banner “100 Years of Pubic Service” headline on page one.

The Record is in the habit of taking disinformation from corporate and government disinformation prevaricators, printing it as if it were news. When its hand is called, the viewspaper is mum.

The Record is so utterly lacking in news judgment and reporting skills that, in 2004, it twice reported that Ringo Starr was staying at the Casa Monica, when it was an imposter. The “source” was a Casa Monica publicist. When the real Ringo Starr was here for a concert July 17, 2010, the Record was relatively mum, apparently numb from the numbskull reporting and editing that put a hoax on its front page – twice – in 2004.

The Record is so lacking in editorial judgment and intellectual integrity that it printed an editorial in 2010, asking its readers to contribute money to the First America Foundation, a Sunshine-violating rump group that never got non-profit status (and “never raised a dime” for our 450^th celebration, as City Commissioner William Leary said. FAF is now defunct. The Record has egg all over its face. Not one St. Augustine Record reader gave FAF money. Two St. Augustine Record managers served on FAF’s board. The Record is riddled with such conflicts of interest, which are hardly ever disclosed.

The Record is so utterly lacking in news judgment and reporting skills that, when a truck driver whistleblower was murdered in 2011, it twice put a local activist on the front page based upon prior legal representation of the driver. The activist was ethically required not to answer questions about representation of the truck driver whistleblower , because the attorney-client privilege survives death. That did not keep the Record from publishing misleading, sensationalistic articles by an intern, which encouraged false rumors, speculation and Lashon hora. While the articles falsely attempted to portray the murder victim as having once been a “suspect” (his name was leaked to the Washington Post and he was never charged with a crime), they did not discuss the good he did in encouraging drivers to stand up for safety, or his letter in the New York Times (below).

Pray for those timid souls who write for and run the WRecKord.

They don’t know what news is.

They don’t understand how government works, or that it our Founders protected freedom of the press because newspaper owners are supposed to work for “We, the people.”

They don’t understand their responsibility to the public – people pay for news.

The Record is not free. People buy the Record because they want to know what is going on – accurately.

Yet the Record and their ilk vainly try to manipulate us, try to divide us, and try to smear us and besmirch citizens’ reputations. St. Augustine citizens see right through you, and “owners and controllers” – see the Environmental Information Network’s excellent guide, “The Control Game,” below.