Weekly News story misreports Shelter Bay forum

We live in challenging times and a plague of misinformation stands in the way of finding solutions. We are cautioned that instead of social media, we should seek truth in “real news,” traditional journalism. Sadly, this paper chose to cover the recent Shelter Bay town hall by quoting anonymous social media posts on Shelter Bay issues instead of reporting what actually took place at the meeting. The writer’s bias against the current board was not well concealed in the poorly written piece.

Phrases like “sources did say,” “the Weekly News was told” and “posting on social media” don’t inspire a lot of confidence in the veracity of the account. The only direct quotes other than anonymous references to the meeting were by sanctioned directors Kontos and McCaughan, who were not in attendance at the town hall. The reporter chose to describe the two as “reform candidates,” suggesting there is some virtue in the way they have attacked fellow trustees and Shelter Bay staff. A statement about the board not seeking damages from former board member Swigert for his malfeasance at Rainbow Park was attributed to board president Wendy Poulton, who did not attend the meeting. Why it was included in the reporting is unclear.

What the reporter failed to tell the readers is that the board members in attendance did an excellent job of addressing some of Shelter Bay’s very complex issues. They were forthright in their answers and kept their composure, even while one angry attendee repeatedly shouted “liar” when the answers she heard did not agree with what she had gleaned from Facebook.

The La Conner Weekly News owes the Shelter Bay community an apology for amplifying misinformation when it could have been sharing the truth.

Doug Snider

Shelter Bay