Business as Usual

Until they come to your town it is difficult to put into perspective just how destructive the drive-by media can be.

Over the weekend a local man was arrested after he was accused by city officials of a Columbine-type plan to shoot up the fire hall. The Bigs in the Twin Cities did thier usual bang-up job covering the story, and loaded up on bad information:

Neither the Pioneer Press or Kare 11 could be bothered to send a local reporter to a story 40 miles away, and instead relied on the AP, which botched it badly, reporting multiple untruths:

Andrew George Isaman, 21, had recently been fired.

Not true. Isaman was delivered a letter of suspension only after his belongings were found at the fire hall.

Both officials said Isaman was angry after he was found living in a storage area and was told to move out.

There is no evidence that the young man spent one night at the fire hall.

Isaman allegedly told another man about threats against the fire department. The mayor said that informant was crucial in helping to break the case.

Earlier in the story, Isaman's journals are said to contain violent plans "in detail." Of course, if the journals really described a "plan in detail" there would be no need for an informant to "crack the case."

The Star Tribune was slightly better, although they also referred to Isaman as a "former" firefighter and repeated the oft claimed "threats" against the mayor and chief, although the police report is sketchy on this matter and, again, is third party and in dispute.

Here's our story on this most recent episode.

Stay tuned. Although it is still entirely possible that things will, at some point, arrive where the Bigs have already irresponsibly gone, it may very well not. If not, it will just be another example of a local having his reputation destroyed for some reason none of us will likely ever figure out.