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Yes... there are only two reporters at Raw. The rest are columnists. John and I are the only reporters. I am an associate editor and writer for the publication (will run away after I finish the below)...
I never touched the Gannon story. I still feel it was too obvious (and I see what is becoming of it now) and I generally don't like sex scandals. That was John's story and Mike Rogers as well, both of whom are excellent journalists and both of whom are openly gay.
That said, this goes far back.
A while back there was a rumor about a Dem leader making its round, as such things do. The people at this particular forum are eager to destroy any Dem who does not fit a particular mold. Now I am all for open discourse, but character assassination of people on our side of the isle is not productive, especially when it is based on rumor. I posted that this particular thing was not true. I knew it was not true because I spoke with the Communications Director for that person, whom I have found to be pretty honest with me in regard to such matters. At that time I was working on the Clermont sticker story (not sure if you know it, but Google it). It was a really stressful piece because of the number of sources and the amount anxiety they had regarding their safety and/or livelihood. This particular article may have shed some light as to why Kerry resigned, at least I thought it might. In any case, I felt that the obvious non-stop attacks on Kerry were not necessary, given that no one really knew what happened. Not that I knew either, fully, but the article gave me a sense of what the whole story might have been. At the time, I could not explain why I felt as such, given that I was still working on the story. So I simply wrote a positive, wispy sort of thing just asking people to stop the firing squad circle and focus on issues. Apparently on that same day another story broke about a person who (I don't know what happened because the violent response overshadowed any explanation) somehow verbally attacked this particular group. I don't know if the anger spilled over to me, but the reaction was unreal.
I was treated like I had landed from Falwell's bloody camp with a swastika on or something equal to such warrant such a reaction. The personal attacks went beyond even your typical bashing. Then a few members of the group (some of whom have actually apologized since and stopped posting at that particular forum) drew pixel suicide pictures of me and really just humiliated me on a level I thought I could never experience from people I don't even know. Now, what most of them knew or maybe not, is that I have MCTD (I pretty vocal about it and about raising awareness and such). It is a rare form of Lupus which has elements of RA and Scleroderma. On that day, the suicide drawings were not merely the boiling point. It was what followed after, which I cannot get into because it went beyond me and included my editor. We never spoke of it publicly. Then odd things started to happen... my articles were no longer posted and if they were, they were automatically slammed. Insults still floated around. Hate mail arrived from the supposed progressive members of this forum.
I was invited to a meeting about Social Security; a sort of War room meeting. Everything was fine until I was suddenly, oops, forgotten about. One particular person felt it was okay to report our work without crediting us. It went on and on. We said nothing about it. We kept it private.
Now also around this time I had started working on OSPA because the AP had taken my story as their own (not the first). When I phoned the AP national desk, I was told that they did not credit non-AP members. I pay for my own research and I make little money, if any in order to work in a manner I feel to be ethical. The AP has not only access to resources but the reporters also make a solid living. Taking my story was akin to taking food out of my mouth, in my opinion anyway. The point is, I was so angry, that I decided that the AP had to be bypassed if we were to reclaim integrity as a pillar of journalism.
This was months ago, the AP thing that is as well as my project. I had finally managed to work out the plan and such, which is why we issued the press release the other day regarding OSPA. So these people, from this particular forum, decide that I have stolen their idea, lol. I even get an email demanding that they be on "the ground floor." Okay, I am still silent. Still not publicly discussing it.
Today a friend of mine sent me two links of threads in that forum. The insults were not as horrid as before, but they were still insults. Now, I have spoken with my editor because I am really and quite frankly sick of this bashing. We again agreed that we will not dignify it with a response. Then I got a third link. That was the end of my calm. As you can see, I am still trying not to attack anyone, but I cannot continue being bashed by the right on a daily basis as well as the left. I cannot do all of this alone you guys. I cannot report, structure OSPA, be sick, fend off the wingnuts, and also have to fight off my own supposed "side."
I am certain John will not be happy that I posted even this much. At this point, if I don't get some of this anger out of my system, I will simply quit altogether. So that is why I am venting, cryptically, but venting. I know even this is vague, but I honestly do not like publicly taking one another down. I will say this: people ask why the MSM is not reporting, they will complain and bitch about it relentlessly. Yet the people who are reporting are par for the smear course. So what option do we, in indie press have, if the MSM ignores us or worse steals and distorts our work; the right smears us; and the left smears us?
This is why one by one we are silenced. I can take on the wignuts... I don't care. I can circumvent MSM and do my work, even paying for it. I don't care. What I do care about is that the people I am doing this for show at least some level of respect for me, just even as a human being, if not of value in any other way. That is all I ask. Apparently that is asking too much.
Anyway, hope this addresses my rant better. Sorry I cannot say more. I just cannot.
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