KVIA Lowering the Bar for Journalism

One of the biggest things a journalist has to watch out for is becoming a messenger for somebody or some group's agenda.  Your aim is to report the news, not to turn yourself into a stick wielded by those with special interests to smack their enemies with.  That's what bloggers are for.  

It seems KVIA has no problem being used by Four Names Allala and her growing band of misfits.  You can read the latest story pertaining to the emails on chucoleaks HERE. 

The story starts out rather pointedly:

"Chucoleaks.org is once again revealing some of City Manager Joyce Wilson's emails, and in this case it's Three Legged Monkey Owner Mike Armstrong who is taking issue with them."

Well, that's exciting.  One would expect to see emails from the City Manager  in this story.  Well, there are no emails from (or to) Joyce Wilson in this story.  NONE.  NOT A SINGLE REFERENCE TO JOYCE WILSON IS PROVIDED IN THE EMAILS THAT THIS STORY WAS BUILT ON.  Obviously the reporter, Ashlie Rodriguez is an idiot.  Is she also a liar?  Depends on whether she threw the City Manager part in there on purpose to hype her story that is decidedly not about the City Manager.  If she did it by accident - she's just a bad journalist.  No matter what, she's been taken advantage of by someone with an agenda.

The news director over at KVIA should know better than to let a story go out the door that is full of blatantly misleading information.  Especially since the reporter didn't even try to contact the city for comment.  You have a single source story and most of the time they get spiked.  You need at least two sources and it's a no-brainer to ask the people accused of wrong doing what they their take is on the situation.  I guess they couldn't ask Wilson since she isn't mentioned in the emails...

Here's the real kicker - it's actually good story if you take out the baseless accusation that Joyce Wilson somehow had something to do with it.  I have said in the past that the city attorney, Emma Acosta and others have purposely screwed the owner of the Three Legged Monkey (TLM) based on a pack of lies invented by the city attorney's family member.  These emails show that there was a concerted effort to get him and that even the cops were tired of trying to entrap the guy.  Hell, I'm the guy who posted the proof of the frivilous 911 calls when no real media outlet would. 

Assuming that an email from a cop saying "higher ups" means Joyce Wilson and only Joyce Wilson is just stupid and shows that the reporter doesn't know much about the story or anything about plural nouns.  The term "higher-ups" could mean Emma Acosta, the mayor or his assistant at the time - Sylvia Firth (now city attorney).  We don't know who exactly, but we do know that no one single person is named and a reporter can not retain a shred of integrity by making inferences based on the biased opinions of her sources.  There is as much evidence in the emails to point to President Obama and Governor Rick Perry as the "higher-ups" as there is pointing to Joyce Wilson - which is to say "none."

You may remember that Firth's family member is a ring leader in the vendetta against TLM.  Her position in the mayor's office allowed what was a typical do-gooder neighbor's bullshit to turn into a situation where the city got involved in violating a citizen's right to do business.  "Higher-ups" could have been Firth and the mayor given that's where all of this started.

We also know that Emma Acosta got in on the act to shut them down after the neighborhood association threatened to run someone against her.  She cut them a deal to endorse their association head for her seat once she announced she'd be running for mayor.  It is possible that she is a part of the "higher-ups" telling the police to pressure them. 

There are also deputy city managers between the chief and the city manager that could be the "higher-ups."  The universe of "higher-ups" is quite large and no good journalist would make an inference given the size of the pool of possible suspects.  By assuming they were talking about Joyce Wilson, she handed over control of the station's newsroom to Four Names Allala and her band of misfits.  Way to go KVIA - you're now somebody's bitch. 

Not since I received photographic evidence of one very controversial attorney standing over an El Paso Times' reporter's shoulder telling him what to write for a story involving her known adversaries, have I seen such an unethical infiltration of a news department.  Dr. Barthy Byrd used to send her top journalism candidates over to KVIA for internships (I was one), but I bet she'd never do it again after she saw this garbage. 

Once we can get away from the false premise of the story (Joyce Wilson's email), there's actually some funny stuff going on.

Again, I've always said that Mike Armstrong has been unfairly targeted and is also a complete moron.  He proved me right both with the emails and his ridiculous quotes in the story.

The story says: "Armstrong says the emails prove the city is purposely trying to shut him down."  They didn't quote him directly, but I wish they had.  For Armstrong to point to these emails as evidence that the city wants to shut him down is like inferring that a guy who is wearing head to toe Dallas Cowboys schwag is a Cowboys fan because he told someone he hated the Redskins.  Has Mike Armstrong not seen where the city and council members have explicitly said they want to shut him down? They've only said it out loud a million times on the record!  Seriously, these emails are nothing compared to what they have said and done publicly.   What an idiot!  Although, I think he's a bigger moron because he didn't do his own open records request on his bar in the first place. 

He then goes on to spout off some conspiracy theory about a resort hotel that the city wants to put on the property.  I'm guessing he never heard the city when they cited all the calls to the police, the parking problems and the general condition of his regular crowd as the reason they wanted him out.  Because they couldn't force the lease holder to kick him out, the city just bought the land back so they could become the lease holder and kick him out.  All of these facts are well known to everyone... everyone but this moron Mike Armstrong.  There is no hotel and why this idiot would invent one is beyond me.

Mike Armstrong should have already had a million dollar payday from the city and the neighborhood association, but he's so stupid he can't pull it off.  The facts are on his side - they're much worse than his invented hotel scheme could ever be.  Somehow the idiot doesn't realize he's his own worst enemy.  There's no reason to lie when the facts are on your side. Yet, this idiot keeps lying. 

Bottom line - the city and everybody else who tried to kill TLM were out of line.  What they did to TLM was disgusting.  However, this news story isn't about that.  It's about emails that don't contain Joyce Wilson's name.   Now, if they can get some emails showing where Wilson told Allen to go after them - then they have something.  Until then - KVIA has defamed Joyce Wilson and I hope they get sued.   

Comments

[trickdaddy]

Glad to see you brought the Neighbor Lady back and writing your blogs. Much funnier and interesting plus she writes great fiction.

[been in the CV for 15 years]

KVIA is firmly in bitch position with Three Names and Norma. I've told you that all along, DK. Check out Norma's blog to see a couple of their anchors playing kissy face with her.

Ashley the reporter isn't the problem. The "news director" combs over every word that gets out on the air. If she doesn't approve it, it doesn't see the light of day. Ask the photogs over there how things are in their department - it's run by the "news director's" husband.

When you have a news station being run by someone with a huge "Xicana with an 'X'" chip on her shoulder, and an anchor who is falling into line right behind her, what do you expect? My cousin went to high school with Norma and the anchor - they've been pals for a long time. Don't expect to see anything different coming from Where News Comes First.

As for TLM, I'll be sorry to see it go away if that's what ultimately happens. Sketchy crowd sometimes, but mostly just a good neighborhood bar, no matter what Sylvia Borunda Firth and her mother say.

[u]

Problem is that after an asst chief says there is nothing to find someone with the power to make the police continue with the harrassement continued with it. Only 3 people have that power. They are the Chief, the DCM over the police department and Wilson. The Chief wont do it and the DCM wont either as neither will take any action without Wilsons say so.

[Tired of the nutty haters]

David, you are correct about the e-mails. However, the city manager's staff (her secretary and executive assistant) were involved way more than they should have been. They need to go. The city manager seems to trust the wrong people.

And please do not include the city attorney on this. You need to get the background on the "family" relationship. It's not there. No love there at all. Irene Borunda is a nut job and the family tries to distance themselves. It is a "by marriage" relationship and they want nothing to do with her.

Emma Acosta is the culprit behind this. At first, she ignored this crazy neighborhood group. However, Mark Benetiz, who is part of this group, promised her support in her run for mayor. I suspect he wants to run for her seat. When this occurred, she demanded the city go after the 3LM.

I liked Mike Armstrong at first, but then he started looking and sounding like that sleazy David Cooper. And placing girls that look like they should have a pole with them at all times on the street corners was not a wise move.

[Rotten Peppers]

"...controversial attorney standing over an El Paso Times' reporter's shoulder telling him what to write for a story..."

Well, isn't that is just what the Mountain Star surrogates in the guise of Burton and Horchow did with JW taking their dictation to transmit to CC? The emails actually show that happening, even their dictating the mayor's letter of "support" to PCL.

Journalists aren't the only corrupt influence in this town.

[Phoenix daughter]

I saw this story and agree entirely that to connect the city manager to any "conspiracy" was a stretch. I am not an insider, I have no position one way or another on that bar but I thought KVIA's story had an agenda. Why?

[Rotten Peppers]

KVIA isn't the only yellow journalism in town. The Yellow Prize of the Year goes to EP Times for trying, at first, to downplay the opposition to the stadium and then being revealed as the stadium's chief benefactor! The City buys their white elephant building at an inflated value!

The pieces of this puzzle falling together show El Paso as truly the sleaziest city in the US. Foster-Wood can be proud of their contibution to the growing pile of s**t that is El Paso government.

[Robnelp]

Rotten Peppers...

Do yourself and everyone else in this city a favor and move the hell out of El Paso..You obviously despise living here. You spend your day doing nothing but your best to announce to anyone that will listen what a terrible place this is.
Get the fuck out already!
What kind of moron chooses to reside in a community they hate?
Move on with your pathetic, whiny life and go somewhere else.
You won't miss us and we will be a better place without you stinking up the place with your rotten attitude.

[lslsls]

Right on Robnelp! Rotten Peppers - move to Sunland Park NM or Socorro TX. Might be just the kind of government you really expect to have so you will feel right at home.

[Rotten Peppers]

Robnelp; it is the people who are so tolerant of corruption here, yourself it seems, that need to move and leave the ciyt to the rest of us who have fought for honest and transparent government.

Of course,everyone agrees that government should be open and transparent until doing so fucks up their deal, like the EP Times building purchase and the city hall demolition and stadium rip-off. And who knows what other surprises are awaiting us from Foster-Wood kleptocracy.

Nope...gonna keep on keeping on and make life miserable for you and your mordidcrat friends.

[Tired of the nutty haters]

Sunland Park, NM, and Socorro, TX are the types of government Rotten Peppers is used to. That how his dad operated.

[trickdaddy]

DavidK,
You see how the Neighbor Lady stirs things up! All the "chismosas" in the neighborhood are yelling at each other! You need to use her more often (Jay Koester in hair rollers and a housedress)

[lslsls]

People are not tolerant of corruption here. Many people helped the FBI in the last 10 years capture the ones they have already. Just because someone sent an email doesn't make them corrupt. The cronyism of city council members ended with city manager form of government. That's why certain current and former council people hate the manager-council form of government. They are not allowed to dictate to the lowest level of city employee how and when to "take care of their friends". Trust me - if there is corruption at City Hall its in the bowels of City hall - the departments that can play games with contracts, vendors, consultants - extort extras, favors - and there is no way to know that's happening until someone tells someone on the 10th floor.

Rotten Peppers just hates the stadium deal and has made up its mind that it was corrupt. I have heard for years and years and years that our Federal State and Local governments are all corrupt. But we keep voting in the same type of people and the really good people won't run because of posters like Rotten Peppers that will immediately call them corrupt because they sent out an email to a constituent and answered a question or my God - they actually voted for something to improve El Paso. That will get you the title of "corrupt".

[Rotten Peppers]

lslsls;

Stealing your right to vote is corrupt even if you agree to have it stolen, as you have. As CC has.

I agree with your statement, "...that's why certain current and former council people hate the manager-council form of government. They are not allowed to dictate to the lowest level of city employee how and when to "take care of their friends..."

The issue now is that Foster-Hunt have to buy a majority on CC to effectively co-opt the tax base for themselves, to direct city tax revenues into their pockets via a stadium deal that, IMHO, is the tip of the iceberg compared to what is coming down the line from them next.

[Tired of the nutty haters]

lslsls, you are exactly right. City manager form of government keeps the corruption out.

Rotten to the Peppers doesn't get it. We vote in representatives to REPRESENT US and that means voting on issues for us. The ONLY council members who did not listen to their constituents were Robinson, Acosta, and Holguin. The November election proved it. But because the majority of the voters did not vote the way Rotten to the Peppers wanted them to, they keep claiming corruption, etc. I have yet to see anything showing proof of corruption. I am sure if ANYONE had something, they would have put it on the front page of the web site. Yes, there was unprofessional and unkind behavior on many parts, but you must remember, the ORR did not ask for Acosta's, Holguin's, nor Robinson's e-mails. I am sure you would find much worse. I heard Robinson making very ugly statements about his opponent when he ran for city council. When the poor man died, he then acted as if they were best friends.

[Greg]

Rotten peppers

So according to ur logic since the president and congress isn't allowing us to vote on the fiscal cliff, the president is stealing my right to vote?

Or today with Michael Williams did he still my vote? Since he took away the power of the elected school board without voter approval?

As you can see your logic is flawed. Sorry but you will not be able to vote for everything. We have a representative form of govt where we elect officials to vote FOR us on 99 percent of issues. That's how it is deal with it.

[M Morales]

This whole discussion is ridiculous. We VOTED. We knew when we VOTED what we were Voting for, what it meant. We knew the building was coming down and what was going there in its place. I don't feel mislead, lied to or F'd, or black-mailed by our city officials. I do feel that all of these people who are trying to steal my vote are F'D up! I know for a fact I am smarter, more ethical and truer than 4-names Mother Teresa savior of El Paso hypocrite and all the gangsters who are trying to cram this issue down our throats. We voted, we support our City, we support our city manager, the mayor and the business leaders who are going to make things happen here - What is your Agenda opposers?

You don't speak for me and anyone who loves this City and want it to move forward.

[Rip Fan]

4 names is Crazy...they all don't get it... Can't even read the above drivel comments. Bored with you "non deciders" as someone put it. You people are clueless obstructionists and look like it.

[Rotten Peppers]

Greg;

The state law governing venue matters clearly says that it has to be put to the voters separate from its financing, e.g., HOT; a separate vote on the stadium. You were denied that right no matter how much you want to see Stole-Ur-Vote Field n 2014. And we won't stop fighting and trying to scuttle this issue until we have a straight up or down vote on it, which I assume will pass in your favor.

Our right to vote is more important than baseball.

As for the Woody-wail about how that is not possible to save the deal for El Paso, well that is what billionaires do. They create an illusion of an opportunity you have to act on now under their terms or risk losing it. It's why they are billionaires and we are not; we don't lie to 700,000 people for our own benefit. We're not sociopaths.

[Lslsls]

For the last time - Texas law states that no city can build a stadium with general obligation bonds or certificates of obligation without a vote of the citizens. There are no CO's or GO's being used for the stadium. Any money spent by the city for the stadium will come from the General Fund. The General Fund is not funded by CO's or GO's. So given that info the city did not violate state law or El PAsoans right to vote. Get over it people! Understand the law!

[Tired of the nutty haters]

Lslsls, Rotten to the Peppers knows the truth. They just think if they keep repeating the lies, they will come true like magic. Either that or they are stupid enough to believe Almond Joy Townsend.

[M Morales]

Good piece btw. Very enlightening. Saw the KVIA story and wondered at the time what was particularly newsworthy. It certainly did seem like an endorsement for a very questionable website and for a moment, I actually thought about getting on to peruse 1000's of emails for the big smoking gun. Did they actually show the emails or just allude to them as usual (I was either looking at my Nook or computer while I listened and don't remember). EP Times ran story today that was a little better and more newsworthy. Still no villainous emails. Last night when news came on, changed the channel (permanently)

[Tired of the nutty haters]

M Morales, if there was a smoking gun, don't you think it would be the very first e-mail posted on their websites and given to media? There is no smoking gun. They only have smoke and mirrors.

[el paso reporter]

KVIA has gone to shit with Darren Hunt!

[Tired of the nutty haters]

You think DARREN is the problem? Have you seen/heard MARIA GARCIA?

[u]

As to the General Fund of the City. This year 96% of the general fund paid for just 2 departments. Next year those 2 departments will take all of the genetal fund. So how do you think the city can continue to operate. Then add the $400,000,000.00 in underfunded pensions which by law the city has to fund. Add in the lateset debt additions,ballpark funding and other upcoming responsibilities you can expect multiple year over year tax increases.

[Tired of the nutty haters]

And you got these figures where?

[tricia martinez]

el paso reporter, at first I was really pissed off about your comment, but then I had to laugh because I realized you're too much of a twerp to put your name on your post.

Man or woman up and have the balls to use your real name. You can check out mine below.

[u]

The figures come from the Citys budget book.

[M Morales]

JW criminal complaint thrown out. U you better be careful. Maybe you are the one they should be coming after.

[U]

For what,being honest.

[Tired of the nutty haters]

Post the figures, U. Supply the link.

[u]

Sorry but you need to do the work for yourself. The budget book is posted online as is the last audit.

[Had enough]

David K - you know that you have an agenda of your own. The fact Wilson has to walk Lilly through something is pretty indicative that she is (1) senile (2) a puppet (3) incompetent. Who don't you ever call her out. Any of her opponents would have done better: at least by staying awake.
I for one don't want rabble rousers to move out of town. Yes there is some paranoia about the stadium but the corruption is deep and we should fight to change it. At least David, that you have an agenda and present the pieces as they suit you.

[Tired of the nutty haters]

Had enough, you are obviously uneducated. Ann Lilly is a smart woman. She just doesn't feel the need to speak on every subject like Acosta and Byrd. She speaks when necessary. Fall asleep? Yeah right! She runs the meeting better than the mayor.

Prove the corruption, "had enough". Because I think you are "full enough" of cow poo. If there was ANY corruption, the Planters group would have had it plastered on the front page of all their ugly, vile, hateful websites.