Dispatch decides to both create and cover news about casino

When it comes to whether a casino should be built in Columbus, it is pretty clear where the Dispatch stands: Against. But is this good journalism?  More importantly, should newspapers take sides in a dispute?

It has always been a no-no for newspapers to step over the line and create news as well as cover it.  In the pre-Web era, it was much easier to say one thing and do another.  This is because readers had no way to check the facts. That, of course, has all changed with the evolution of digital media and search engines.  Readers can quickly check up on whether journalists are doing their job or if a particular publication has an axe to grind. This change has forced some journalists to cover their tracks, but old habits are hard to correct.  


One newspaper that suffers from shortcomings is this department is the Columbus Dispatch and its patriarch John F. Wolfe.  John F., as he is known in Columbus, has long been known for meddling in local affairs and then assigning its reporters to cover it. The paper champions itself as being a beacon of truth and free from bias. But what has been going on lately is not anything Dispatch journalists should be proud of. The newspaper is using its influence to block a casino from being built in Columbus. Why? Owner John F. Wolfe is against the idea.


 This behavior isn't something new for the Dispatch.  Although the newspaper Wolfe owns has moved more mainstream in the past decade, Wolfe has never been bashful about using the Dispatch Printing Co. to further his own business and political interests. Some might argue this is province of a newspaper publisher.  In fairness to John F.,  I am sure he believes he is only acting in the community's best interests.  But this behavior poses a major conflict for the Dispatch. Let me explain. On one hand, Dispatch editors profess to be ethical and honest and present both sides of an issue. But how can the editors remain impartial if the publisher who owns the newspaper is a central figure in the dispute? The story that appears below is an excellent case study of how the Dispatch engages in questionable conduct by allowing its owner's business interests influence the newspaper's editorial content.  In the battle over construction of Columbus' first casino, the Dispatch has purchased  land adjacent to the casino so it can object to its zoning with the hope of blocking construction.


Dispatch Editor Ben Marrison, no doubt, reluctantly published this story after it was going to become an embarrassment to the paper.  This editorial action was taken to defuse critics  who might claim the publisher wants the Dispatch's involvement to be kept quite. Editors will now tell critics: We are covering that story. Of course, that argument totally ignores the issue of  having a newspaper's owner wage a fight with another business and then using a newspaper (which is supposed to be impartial) to help wage that fight.  I am sure Penn National is not very happy with the way this issue is being handled or covered. Watch for Dispatch editors to rationalize this sort of conflict as being in the public interest in editorials and further news stories even if the slant of the coverage is more a personal selfish interest of John F. Wolfe's than a public interest.- MT

Friday, April 22, 2011  03:04 AM

BY DOUG CARUSO

A subsidiary of The Dispatch Printing Company is objecting to Penn National Gaming's request that Franklin County issue a zoning certificate for the company's casino site.
The county shouldn't issue the zoning certificate because Penn National can't show that it has sewer service for the casino, an attorney for the subsidiary wrote in objection. That's a violation of the county's health and plumbing codes, the objection says.
Just hours before the objection was filed yesterday, Penn National announced plans to break ground at the casino site at 11a.m. on Monday.
Capitol Square Ltd., the real-estate arm of the company that publishes The Dispatch, is now one of those neighbors because one of its subsidiaries purchased a vacant lot next to the casino site. That gives Capitol Square standing to object, Tigges said. The company bought the lot at 3839 Scales Dr. for $95,000 on March 28, county auditor records show.
Attorneys for Penn National said in their application for the zoning certificate that the Ohio Constitution says that zoning issues can't be used to stop casinos. The constitutional amendment that allowed for four Ohio casinos does, however, allow communities to enforce health and building codes
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2011/04/22/casinos-sewer-zoning-disputed.html