Mike’s been keeping track of the goings on with Luzerne County Council from Texas. Lou says the Independent Gazette will be back in those meetings next week to witness the fireworks. Lou then brings up the topic for this show: muckraking. This term will be featured in the September issue of the Gazette. In fact, resigning Wilkes-Barre police Chief Dessoye even used it in a Citizens’ Voice story which ran last week . . . but Dessoye’s use seems to have been a swipe at the Gazette and other forms of alternative media. Frank suggests as our next muckraking cartoon a portrayal of horse stalls at Wilkes-Barre City Hall needing to be cleaned.
Segment II
Mr. X enters the discussion on muckraking to emphasize that an informed public can make informed decisions . . . and the powers that be really don’t want that. Lou notes that the Gazette is keeping an eye on other media as well as elected public servants. X offers a quiz of mainstream media reports later proven to be false or staged: Jessica Lynch, Pat Tillman, and the toppling of the Saddam Hussein statues being offered as examples. Frank says “subpoenas will fly” if the Gazette were sued by Chief Dessoye (amidst a mention by Dessoye of “cyber bullying” in that Citizens’ Voice article). Lou returns to the trust issue, noting that informants are continuing to seek out the Gazette because the paper will protect their identities.
Segment III
Lou addresses the current campaign season of 2014, asking whether we’ll retain the existing crop of the good ol’ boys network. X lists a number of Libertarian Party candidates around the country being shut out of media coverage and debates. Evidently only Coke and Pepsi will be offered to the voting public. Candidate for PA House in the 118th District, Melanie Madeira calls in to talk a little bit about her campaign, saying she will act in accordance with the US and PA constitutions.
Segment IV
In this short segment Lou presents a preview of some of the Custody for Cash stories in the works. One concerns a woman’s journey from millionaire status to welfare status, the other concerning an allegation of a Luzerne County CYS worker telling a pregnant Wilkes-Barre woman that she might as well get an abortion because the agency was going to get her baby one way or another.