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Monday, February 11, 2008

•  

  Local reporter on Texas UFO case leaves newspaper; integrity of local,
    national news media explored

February 09, 2008

The local newspaper reporter in Stephenville, Texas, who helped
cover a UFO sighting case there is no longer working at the Stephenville
Empire-Tribune newspaper, effective last Thursday, Feb. 7.

Journalist
Angelia Joiner had been covering the UFO story which broke early in January and
brought national and international news media representatives and researchers to
Stephenville, other nearby small towns and the surrounding
region.

Mainstream media such as the Associated Press, CNN and other
major TV networks and newspapers covered the incident with great interest. The
international press also paid special attention to the UFO sightings in
Stephenville and towns in the area.

Media personalities such as CNN’s
Larry King and NBC’s Today show host Matt Lauer explored the sightings on their
shows.

In Stephenville, Joiner was a staff writer at the small-town
newspaper there. She did an excellent job of researching and interviewing local
residents who were surprised, curious and concerned about the very unusual
objects they reportedly saw.

As national and international interest in
the case grew in January, Joiner was contacted for information as the reporter
on the scene with some of the best knowledge of the local community.

Her
articles helped inform not only local residents who relied on professional
reporting for their community, but also assisted other Americans and people
internationally understand that Stephenville people and residents in the area
were down-to-Earth, solid and of good character.

The factual and
level-headed journalism Joiner provided helped the national news media
understand and respect the citizens in these communities. This resulted in some
of the most serious and credible reporting in the national media on such an
incident in recent memory.

The AP article was carried in hundreds of
papers and news outlets. People like Larry King and Matt Lauer talked about the
subject with intelligence and open minds.

All these outcomes were related
in part to the high level of credibility of local witnesses who were courageous
enough to come forward and the professionalism of local reporter Joiner and her
colleagues in the national and international news media.

However, some of
these witnesses and Joiner seem to be paying a price for doing their civic duty
and communicating about an incident that appeared to be very significant, and
could even have affected the public safety of the communities in the
area.

CENSORSHIP AND "NEED TO KNOW"

According to information
obtained for this report, management at the Stephenville Empire-Tribune did not
want further coverage in the paper of the sightings by local citizens of
something that appeared to be highly unusual. Pressures may have been placed on
newspaper management to discontinue articles on the subject.

According to
the newspaper’s Web site, "The Stephenville Empire-Tribune is a mid-morning
paper published six days a week by Erath Publishers, Inc., a Consolidated
Southwest Media company which is owned by American Consolidated Media. The
Empire-Tribune is a member of the Associated Press, Texas Press Association,
West Texas Press Association and the Inland Press Association."

Publisher
Rochelle Stidham and Managing Editor Sara Vanden Berge were contacted for their
comments for this report but did not immediately respond.

Did the paper’s
management face pressures to end coverage of the UFO sighting by a local peace
officer, respected businessman and pilot and reportedly dozens of other local
citizens? Did they back away from accounts of local citizens who said they were
apparently being threatened for talking about what they saw?

Is this a
case of media censorship or self-censorship and political correctness? Is it
about professional courage and moral integrity? And, can the newspaper now be
trusted by the community to cover important aspects of public health and safety,
local political activities and other sometimes sensitive topics?

These
seem to be questions for the citizens who read and subscribe to the paper and
advertisers who use that newspaper.

The corporate owners of the
Empire-Tribune (Consolidated Southwest Media, American Consolidated Media) and
the professional news and journalism organizations with which the paper is
affiliated (Associated Press, Texas Press Association, West Texas Press
Association, Inland Press Association) might also want to review developments
there.

As for the former reporter Joiner who had covered the concerns and
accounts of local citizens so professionally, life goes on.

She appears
to be confident that she did the best job she could have for her community as a
responsible local journalist who realized something important had happened to
her fellow citizens, neighbors and friends.

"I appreciate the
opportunity I have had at the newspaper," Joiner said. "A story of this
magnitude drained the limited resources a small newspaper has. I performed my
other duties to the best of my ability."

Even as the national and
international media interest calmed down somewhat, other ominous developments
were occurring in the Stephenville area.

A local resident stated he had
received threatening phone calls and threats of implied bodily harm or death for
talking publicly about what he saw.

An intruder had also appeared on his
rural property at 1 a.m., causing the resident to be concerned about the safety
of his family.

See my Feb. 7 article: "Texas UFO
witnesses threatened for talking to media?"

As Joiner was covering
this more serious aspect of the UFO sighting case (in articles published Feb. 3
and Feb. 4) which appeared to be a law enforcement and criminal matter affecting
public safety, she was reportedly told by newspaper management to back off.

"My directions were to move on to
something else," Joiner said.

The reason given to Joiner for this was,
"because our readership had grown tired of the UFO stories."

However,
Joiner was still a contact person and resource for community residents,
researchers, news media representatives and others.

While trying to obey
management’s directives to cover topics other than the UFO sightings and related
developments, Joiner said, "It was a difficult task to achieve. I was still
receiving a surprising number of e-mails and phone calls on the
subject."

"I tried to direct those calls and interviews to after hours or
during lunch hours. And I forwarded e-mails to my home so that I would not be
giving newspaper time to the subject. I honestly tried to do as they had
asked."

The apparent irregularities and journalistic priorities of what
was starting to emerge at the Empire-Tribune probably also started to dawn on
Joiner as she realized things were not going in a good direction at the
paper.

She gave her two-week notice, then was told to leave immediately.

"I had given notice when I realized my boss was unhappy with my
performance, but was unexpectedly asked to pack my things and leave Thursday,"
she said.

Joiner apparently felt that people in her community had "a need
to know" about what was going on when respectable citizens came forward with
their accounts and subsequent serious incidents reportedly involved the safety
of and threats to a local family.

GOING FORWARD

The Stephenville
UFO sighting incident is not the first and will not be the last. The responses
by local and regional public safety officials to such incidents have also
occurred before, and will again. Local, national and international news media
professionals are also part of the picture, past, present and
future.

Americans wearing the military uniform of our country and our
intelligence professionals are certainly also parts of the puzzle involving UFOs
and how our society deals with an apparently sensitive and complex situation.
Their respect and support for good American citizens will remain crucial in the
days ahead.

Many of the residents of the Stephenville region are just
such good Americans. Reporter Joiner knew this because she knows the people of
her community.

Local journalists typically work on topics involving all
kinds of community activities: the local schools and hospitals, area peace
officers and public safety personnel, businesses and employers, civic groups and
organizations. And when they do, reporters often feel a sense of responsibility
to do their best for their neighbors and their communities.

This works in
reverse too, at the local and national levels. Our newspapers, TV and radio
media, Web-based news and other similar information platforms are sometimes only
as good as the standards we expect of them, and the support we give to honorable
and ethical journalists.

Like the old saying, "In a democracy, citizens
get the government they deserve," the same can be said about our news media. We
get the newspapers and news media we demand, deserve and support.

If we
continue along a path of the "dumbing
down" of Americans, as many have alleged, the fabric of our communities and
our nation may deteriorate.

If we search for truth, integrity and honor
within ourselves, our media and our government officials, we may just find that
too.

The citizens of the Stephenville region, and all the rest of us,
must decide about the directions we want to take. Do we want to continue being
dumbed down? Do we want to stick our head in the sand and close our
eyes?

Or, do we want greater respect as American citizens and intelligent
human beings who have the ability to understand sensitive, complex and, yes,
even highly unusual and unexpected situations?

When events occur that
affect public health and safety, public information, our rights and
responsibilities as citizens, what are our roles and those of our institutions
such as local and national government and the news media?

These are
questions that, it appears, must be faced and dealt with if our communities, our
society and our nation will continue to thrive.

• Report A Correction

STEPHENVILLE, TX – A staff writer with the Stephenville Empire-Tribune
recently found herself at the center of her own story after she
was directed to stop writing about UFO’s and pursue more flattering
articles.
Ultimately, she ended up out of a job.
Angelia Joiner, a staff writer with the Empire-Tribune for the past 18
months, on February 3-4, 2008 wrote two in-depth articles about Ricky
Sorrells who alleged that he was being harassed by the United States
Air Force.
Sorrells was one of several witnesses who claimed to have seen a UFO in
Stephenville and was interviewed by the Associated Press in mid-January.
According to Ms. Joiner’s published account, Sorrells alleges that
“military officials have been harassing him by flying military aircraft
over his property at low altitudes.” The article goes on to state that
the military flyovers have disturbed the man’s livestock and
interrupted sleep patterns.
The articles created a lot of interest within the community, generating
record revenue for the newspaper through increased readership in
January, but eyebrows were raised within the editorial offices.
In an email posted on Open Minds Forum — a message board specializing
in UFology, Disclosure, Exopolitics and Paranormal Studies — Ms. Joiner
revealed that the newspaper wanted her to cease and desist crafting
stories related to the matter.
Pressure may have come from influential citizens within the community.
As one city councilman allegedly put it, “the whole thing was an
embarrassment to the town,” Joiner stated.
The writer then made the decision to submit her two week notice, but
was asked by her boss to leave sooner. Her computer was “confiscated”,
her rolodex came up missing and she was “made to feel like a criminal.”

• Stephenville Empire-Tribune: UFO witness claims harassment
• Stephenville Empire-Tribune: More twists in the Sorrells’ saga
• YouTube: CNN covers Stephenville Texas U.F.O. Sighting
• CNN: UFO fever
• Open Minds Forum: Angelia Joiner’s email to a message board administrator
• Open Minds Forum: Read all posts by former newspaper writer Angelia Joiner (posted as “ajoiner”)
• Above Top Secrets: Dublin Texas UFO witness Ricky Sorrells being harassed by the Air Force (MUST READ)
• UFO Blog: Stephenville, Texas UFO – Empire-Tribune Writer Silenced! (Commentary)