“Being a reporter in a small town is not an easy job. You will always have someone mad at you. Especially if you are doing your job right.”
George F. Cleary Sr., Gloucester City News Publisher Emeritus 1948-1985
BY BILL CLEARY
(CNBNews.net)I started working in the newspaper business when I was 14-years-old cleaning up the printing press at Publishers Inc, here in Gloucester City. I also worked for 11 years as a letter carrier. Throughout that period I continued to work part-time at theGloucester City News. Over the course of my 54-year working career I had never been fired from a job.
That is until now.
You can imagine my surprise when I received an email on Monday, April 15 from Albert Countryman, publisher and editor of the Gloucester City News telling me I was fired.
It reads in part,
I cut this out {the GCEDC cheer} because of the many complaints I heard from Bob Booth, president of the GCBA and members of the Gloucester City Economic Development Corporation – especially when I came back from Ireland. At this point, it is time to terminate our relationship and let both entities, Clearysnotebook and the Gloucester City News, stand on their own. This decision is final, as I have consulted with my father and my fiancé.
Countryman was responding to my question about why he left out acheer from my column in last week’s Gloucester City News. (see column) I had given credit to Gloucester City Economic Development Corporation (GCEDC) for taking on the monumental task of trying to revitalize the city’s dying business community. This is the second time I had given the seven trustees a compliment for volunteering their services. (see article)
I have been writing a weekly column for the Gloucester City Newssince my wife and I sold Countryman the paper in 2002. My weekly “Tips and Snippets” column covered a variety of news events. I also wrote an opinion column every so often, some of which were controversial. And, I did many investigative articles on a number of topics.
Those articles also appeared on ClearysNoteBook (CNBNews.net), which was founded in 2006. Originally I built that blog for theGloucester City News. When it was finished Countryman said he was no longer interested in owning a website.
After all that work, I wasn’t keen on letting the website die. Thus ClearysNoteBook was born. Today the news site contains 21,947 articles and 18,557 comments.
Anyone who has followed my newspaper career knows that I am not one who is easily intimidated by threats when it comes to printing the truth. I have always tried my best to give both sides of a story. If I am wrong, I will admit it, and make an effort to correct my mistake. If someone is critical of my work, I print that opinion too.
One of the phrases I like to quote was written by the French writer Voltaire, “I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.“
So, what happened? Why did I get fired?
In late December or early January I was trying to find out information about the Gloucester City Economic Development Corporation. I asked a number of people about the GCEDC, including Countryman. He said he heard about it but didn’t know anything further. Later I found out that a resolution, along with an ordinance (see #022-2012) was passed, at the November council meeting authorizing the dissolution of the Enterprise Zone Development Corporation (UEZ), and transferring responsibilites to the GCEDC. The resolution that was approved dealt with the $400,000 UEZ loan to the trustees. The ordinance was published in the Gloucester City News. Why he didn’t mention that to me is a mystery. I had also asked Kathy Jentsch,city clerk, a similar question in December about the corporation’s financing. She too, said she didn’t know?
As I continued to do research about the corporation I kept hitting blind corners. For that reason it took weeks for me to put all the facts together about the GCEDC.
As previously mentioned, I had never been fired before, so to say I was shocked is an understatement. The fact that Mr. Countryman, a man whom I had mentored for years, did not have the decency to discuss this issue with me in person, or at the very least, call me, is an insult.
After reading his email I telephoned Countryman at the office. I asked again, “Albert, why didn’t you print the cheer for the GCEDC?” His para phase response, “They don’t {meaning the GCEDC)} want anything in the paper that is written by you about them, be it good, or bad.”
Did I miss something? Has Gloucester City been moved to a Third World country? Doesn’t the city editor, along with the GCEDC trustees, realize that our constitution gives each of us freedom of speech?
Apparently not!
What is even more disturbing to me is that a newspaper publisher would capitulate to outside pressure to silence someone. It makes you wonder. Have there been other times that he hasn’t printed something just because of it being a controversial issue? Or because a politician had threaten to take away the city's legal notices?
As for my critics, I realized long ago you can’t please all the people, all of the time. It just can’t be done, so I gave up trying.
I’ll continue to write about what is happening in this city and elsewhere. I do it not for the money, obviously, but because I enjoy it. Furthermore, I feel I provide a service to the public. They know that I will present the news uncensored, news that is not influenced by politicians, or others, who have their own personal agenda. This is my way of saying thank you to the public for supporting theGloucester City News during the 54 years it was owned by the Cleary family.
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