I know i'm going to take some flak for this, but in California, what was done at that meeting is against the law. You can't publish something that a person reasonably expected to keep private. I realize that the claim is that the e-mail was sent to a county-owned phone, but that statement is a mis-characterization of how e-mail works. E-mail is sent to an individual e-mail address. It just happened to be accessed on a county phone. I didn't hear the whole e-mail address, but I heard g-mail. So unless the county owns the e-mail address, the publication of that e-mail would have violated what we call in California, the right to privacy. I don't know of Kansas recognizes that right.
As I understand the problem, the publisher of a newspaper referred to some citizens of Elk Country as "boobs" and "unsociable idiots." We've got a lot of those in California too. Frankly, every county in the country has their share of boobs and unsociable idiots. But the comment alone isn't the problem, the problem seems to be that the publisher collects money in the form of tax dollars from the citizens of elk county (including the aforementioned boobs and idiots) for a service he provides.
A motion was made to discontinue the use of this publisher's services, and if I heard correctly, that motion failed. The reason was that this publisher has the widest distribution in Elk County, and the county government wants to reach the most people. Sounds logical to me.
Now I know that the recipients of this name-calling are upset. But I'm sure even those boobs and unsociable idiots have committed far worse mud-slinging. My momma always told me that sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me.
Seems to me like the best solution is Democracy. The council showed you the way they think. They are going to use the newspaper with the widest publication in Elk County. Well??? If you all are so offended, vote with your dollars and make a different newspaper the widest publication. Then make your proposal to the council and see what happens.
In other words, don't get mad, get even.
