Shopper Reporter Admits to Publishing Critical Article and Failing to Meet with the Subject

Over on the local liberal blog is a thread about Charles “lying” Thomas decision to not keep his word from January 2011 that he would be a caretaker for the 5th district City Council seat and would NOT be a candidate for the post this year. Yesterday he filed the necessary paperwork to have any write-in votes counted.

In the comments of this thread, Shopper writer Bean posted that she wrote a critical column about the only legitimate candidate Mark Campen. That he contacted her to meet and discuss it. She acknowledges that they were not able to meet she states “at no fault of Campen.”

So, this is proof from Bean herself that she wrote an unbalanced story and failed to meet and correct any erroneous material in her story. When will E.W. Scripps management (the owner of the Shopper) intervene and quit allowing Bean to further her own agenda with any unethical journalistic tactics?

Bean said in part, “I wrote a very mild criticism about Mark’s county commission service a couple of months ago (he was not very active), and he emailed me wanting to talk about it. We had some scheduling problems (no fault of his), and the qualifying deadline came.” She further stated he never contacted her again. Well, hello it isn’t his turn to call her back. If she were a legitimate journalist she would have 1. made it important to meet with him and 2. would ensure that they establish a meeting.

If Sandra Clark the managing publisher of the Shopper would run the Shopper like a legitimate business unit, Bean would be forbidden from being a rogue, bully reporter with a bias agenda. But, that is the reputation that Bean and Clark have established and E.W. Scripps doesn’t desire to treat this business unit like the other business units they own and operate. No wonder E.W. Scripps had a loss of $2.0 million plus dollars last quarter!


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5 Responses

  1. Anonymous says:

    Larry Van Guilder is the new boss. And he loves Bean. Sandra is just drawing a check.

    Meanwhile advertisers are leaving. Go figure. My guess is readers are leaving too.

  2. Oh lawd, if lvg is in charge, he doesn't have the spine to keep Bean in line. She will simply glare at him and he will resort to the fetal position.

  3. Anonymous says:

    The Shopper is toast. Ever since being sold it has gone downhill. All they do is complain about government and run off business. The realtors left them because of Bean and Sandra Clark whined about the mean relators. Anti-business newspapers don't stay in business long.

  4. I can only speak for myself as a professional journalist. I interviewed Mark personally and got to know him very well on a journalistic and professional endeavor during our interview. He was very accommodating and easily accessible. To read that anyone would have a scheduling problem I find highly interesting. Now, with full disclosure I work at the highly esteemed Focus Paper and we a much higher level of journalistic integrity then that other paper.
    I wonder aloud if Mr. Campen was an advertiser instead of a dedicated community activist would she have tried a little harder to find a mutual time?
    Other questions, why didn't she just email him questions? Use the phone, or have a video chat? As a last case scenario?
    Dan Andrews

  5. Anonymous says:

    “Other questions, why didn't she just email him questions?”

    Because Betty Bean recruited Charlie Thomas? Read her column. This was an inside job by the Shopper to get Thomas elected because of Hillside and Ridgetop. Thomas wanted to vote for Hillside and Ridgetop on every vote to date. Mark Campen was a good Commissioner. But he didn't do what the Shopper wanted. So the Shopper waited until the last minute to get even with Mark.