The Horrible Truth

From Michele Goddard's blog :

It has at times been a slugfest but for the most part very helpful in engaging a group of people who are unhappy with the staus [sic] quo in the central Louisiana media.
There is however, one new requirement. You must be willing to have a verifiable email to become a part of the discussion. We do not have to know who you are, just that you are willing to at least identify a part of your existence online.

Regarding the onslaught of comments she received, Goddard changed her blog from anonymous posts to a general ban on posts from outsiders. Coming from a woman who solicits her information from unreliable sources on the Internet I find this odd. She frequently allowed out of line or completely racist comments to permeate her site while she maintained strict editorial control over what was posted. This fact, as it stands, shows the hypocrisy of her outlined statement. We are unhappy at the status quo, Michele, but you are part of it and you continue to be a major part of the problem. Now, you want people to submit themselves to your will in order to publish mainstream stories that have little or no effect on changing the status quo. How splendid!

But, the real sin of CenLaMedia is the fact that Michele Goddard refuses to publish stories or look into real stories that have effect on her readers/watchers lives. For example, Michele recently turned down a story opportunity of a lifetime dealing with insider information about the current Cleco vs. The City of Alexandria case. From her blog post dated May 25th, 2007 :

This story had us looking for answers Thursday and it is another good example of how we can be transparent, show the anatomy of a story and separate fact from fiction.

It is a pleasant notion that you are not a medical professional because you obviously would fail basic anatomy and it leaves me wondering how you went through any school of journalism. Michele continues on with her point stating,

The statement in the emailed comment above is not factual. Here are the facts and why this is not a news story.
CLECO Executives, like any other high level employee of a publicly traded company have a small window of opportunity to sell their earned options/shares. This is regulated by the SEC and there are public filings required. A quick visit to the CLECO website at this link, SEC filings shows all of the executives and what stock they have sold in May and for how much.

The comment mentioned in her post, culled from another local blog CenLa Antics on the 23rd of May at 6:35 pm, revealed how Cleco execs had dumped upwards of $430,000 in stock which had been reported by news agencies across the country. The main issue asked why KALB or the Town Talk did not pick up on this story. Her response merely points the basics of business and how one can access SEC filings on the company. She talks of how the anonymous commenter is obviously wrong as she has done some research. Her research entailed: calling the public relations head of Cleco. In this case, Michele has failed to produce any real outside resources to back her belief that this is a non-story. Calling the public relations person of Cleco is not research or investigative journalism. In fact, one can make the case that this shows she is completely ignorant of journalistic procedure. If you wish to look into a story about insiders dumping stock in the company they run the first call would be to an outsider auditor or a stock broker who lives outside the area with no vested interest in the company. Calling Susan Broussard proves nothing to the readers who see their spin as nothing more than a sham. Not to mention that she cannot interpret file sizes.

What I am calling attention to is Michele's disregard to the standards of ethical journalism and her lack of care about working outside the "status quo". In order to cover events inside the city she solicits comments from random people instead of sending her reporters on real investigative missions. Not only that, when given a juicy piece to publish, she refuses to accurately report the story.

We need real journalism in the Central Louisiana area. We do not need a news director who can barely come up with stories on her own. We especially do not need a news director who cannot investigate a worthwhile story on her own. Acumen and professionalism are key to any position, but it is my position that Michele Godard lacks both of these qualities.