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Journal Opinion
On Watchdogs, Then ... And Now"Any public official has an obligation to perform and if they don't perform, the media has an obligation to expose them. ... Where were the watchdogs? It's important that people be made aware that this type of thing existed and spend more time monitoring their public officials and seeing what they're doing and what they're not doing." George McKelvey, Mahoning County treasurer, 1990"... [T]he Mayor of Youngstown instructed City officials not to speak with [Business Journal reporters.] This edict had a chilling effect upon the free exchange of information between City officials and The Youngstown Business Journal so necessary in a democratic society." Eugene J. Fehr, Mahoning County magistrate, in his decision in Youngstown Publishing Co. v. YoungstownGeorge McKelvey, Youngstown's mayor, has a different view today of the watch-dog role of the media than when he was county treasurer. In 1990, he chastised the press for failing to bark or bite as it was revealed that not only had area organized crime figures avoided paying taxes -- elected officials helped them evade these taxes.Today McKelvey's concept of responsible reporting is coverage that casts him, his administration and its programs in the most flattering light possible. Those who raise questions -- as has this paper regarding the convocation center -- are enemies of progress, naysayers, self-haters and loony birds. In mid-February 2003, McKelvey reacted to coverage he deemed unfavorable by instructing city officials to not talk or cooperate with The Business Journal's reporters, forcing this paper to make repeated written requests for public records and then to file a lawsuit to obtain them when the requests were brushed off.Last week Fehr ruled in our favor and awarded The Business Journal its attorney's fees as provided for by Ohio law when government officials systematically fail to provide public records.The most recent flash point for the mayor and his cronies was our MidDecember edition. In it, a leading businessman and early advocate of the convocation center project, Bruce Zoldan, expressed serious concerns over how construction of the $41 million facility is being financed. That front-page story devoted 17 paragraphs to Zoldan and a company vice president outlining Zoldan's position, and 17 to McKelvey and Youngstown Finance Director David Bozanich who detailed the city's position. Also on the front page was the start of a 13-paragraph story based primarily on an interview with the convocation center's new executive director. McKelvey's response: "Everything [The Business Journal has] reported has been proven wrong. They are muck. They are sick."If, as has been reported in The Valley Voice, the mayor does get a post with the Bush administration (noted for both its predilection for secrecy and its eagerness to demonize its critics), he will feel at home."