PROOF THAT THE REP WILL NOT SEPARATE COMMERCIAL RELATIONSHIPS FROM THE NEWS?

A SCPR reader a little while ago alerted the SCPR to the fact The Repository is not allowing comments on the story Canton quarterly magazine produced in partnership with GateHouse Ohio.

Yours truly had not noticed.

But is The Rep's "denial to comment" a surprise?

Absolutely not!

To the SCPR, this denial of opportunity to comment is evidence that the news operation at The Rep/CantonRep.com is not independent of its commercial operations contrary to Rep publisher Kevin Kampman's assertion in the story itself.

The powers that be at The Rep have treated Mayor Healy and his administration with "kid gloves" from the beginning of the Mayor's downhill slide going back to November/December 2008.

The SCPR has suspected for some time now that there was a reason why The Repository has been so accommodating to Mayor Healy and so "soft" on its reporting about the numerous questionable things going on with his administration of City Hall.

The SCPR reported the impending Repository/GateHouse/Healy Administration commercial relationship on March 17th. CLICK HERE to see the original SCPR story.

It wasn't until two days ago that The Repository reported on the story.

Publisher Kampman and Executive Editor Jeff Gauger (who, in the opinon of the SCPR grossly mismanages the Comments section) know full well that they are not going to get congratulations from Rep/CantonRep.com readers on GateHouse's blurring of the commercial operations with hard news operations.

So the solution?

Don't allow comments!

What unmitigated hypocrites Kampman, Gauger and The Repository/GateHouse Media Ohio are!!!

With regularity their editors pontificate about openness, accessibility and transparency.

With Kampman et al those qualities are for others; not themselves.

Shame on Kevin Kampman!