78-year-old mayor dukes it out with publisher

[Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!]

Saw this on Foxnews.com and it got my attention ...

GALLUP, N.M. -- A jury trial is scheduled for a New Mexico mayor accused of misdemeanor assault and battery in a case that stems from a fistfight between the mayor and the publisher of the city's newspaper.
Gallup Mayor Harry Mendoza's trial on Tuesday had been scheduled for June, but was delayed when three western New Mexico magistrates recused themselves.
Mendoza, 78, and Gallup Independent publisher Bob Zollinger both claim the other man started the Jan. 6 fight outside a Gallup bank.
The dispute between the men centers on newspaper articles linking Mendoza to the gang rape of a teenage girl in 1948 when Mendoza was 16 years old. The mayor denies the allegations and has filed a defamation lawsuit against Zollinger, who maintains his innocence.

I had to find out about the alleged rape ...
Here is a link to that story ... There is no smoking gun.
I'm not sure I would have run it. I can see why the mayor filed the lawsuit.

http://www.gallupindependent.com/2009/06June/061909wasmendoza.html

 

[Armchair_QB]

Wow. Thin doesn't begin to describe that.

 

[CR19]

Reviving a 62-year old case? Seems a litte bit of a stretch to bring that story back to life.

 

[ucacm]

If I lived in Gallup, I'd let the other guy beat me to death.

 

[dooley_womack1]

Wonder if that paper runs a lot of polls.

 

[HanSenSE]

Reviving a 62-year old case? Seems a litte bit of a stretch to bring that story back to life.

Slow news day. But aren't they all in Gallup?

 

[Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!]

Reviving a 62-year old case? Seems a litte bit of a stretch to bring that story back to life.

Slow news day. But aren't they all in Gallup?

Sounds like the dredged it up twice. In 96 when the guy ran for commission and again recently.

 

[93Devil]

Written by a correspondent?

You cannot fault the paper for trying to find the truth, but there is an expiration date on stuff like this, right? Or this is almost like media double jeopardy?

 

[CR19]

Written by a correspondent?

You cannot fault the paper for trying to find the truth, but there is an expiration date on stuff like this, right? Or this is almost like media double jeopardy?

You can go back to stuff that relates directly to the story. If a member of a Board of Health lost their medical license, there isn't a time limit on reporting that. The problem with this story is that it seems to only be a revival of an old story with no present consequences. One quote from the story is the most telling thing:

"These are not new allegations."

 

[93Devil]

Written by a correspondent?

You cannot fault the paper for trying to find the truth, but there is an expiration date on stuff like this, right? Or this is almost like media double jeopardy?

You can go back to stuff that relates directly to the story. If a member of a Board of Health lost their medical license, there isn't a time limit on reporting that. The problem with this story is that it seems to only be a revival of an old story with no present consequences. One quote from the story is the most telling thing:

"These are not new allegations."

That's what I mean. You can retry a case with new information or evidence, just like to can rewrite the story if something new has been dug up.

But just to reprint it with nothing new? That seems wrong.

 

[Armchair_QB]

Wonder if that paper runs a lot of polls.

BOOOOOOOOOOO

 

[murphyc]

Wonder if that paper runs a lot of polls.

Ha, just what I was thinking.
The story makes a number of references to court records no longer being available, yet they were reported on in 1996. So did the paper get rid of those notes used for the 1996 story?

 

[Batman]

This story reminds me of this classic bit of awesomeness from about 10 years ago. A TV reporter from Jackson, Miss., confronts then-governor Kirk Fordice over a trip the governor took to Europe with a woman not his wife -- at least part of which appeared to be on the state's dime.
The best part starts around the 1:50 mark, when the reporter goes to the governor's home and meets him at the mailbox.

 

[albert77]

This story reminds me of this classic bit of awesomeness from about 10 years ago. A TV reporter from Jackson, Miss., confronts then-governor Kirk Fordice over a trip the governor took to Europe with a woman not his wife -- at least part of which appeared to be on the state's dime.
The best part starts around the 1:50 mark, when the reporter goes to the governor's home and meets him at the mailbox.

Fordice was a Grade A, flaming asshole, but Bert Case used poor judgment in ambushing the man in his driveway. Still, Bert came out of it much the better, because it showed the people just what a petty jerk the guvnah really was.

As for the deal in Gallup, looks like this publisher has a serious axe to grind with the mayor, and he's put himself and his paper on mighty thin ice.

 

[Batman]

This story reminds me of this classic bit of awesomeness from about 10 years ago. A TV reporter from Jackson, Miss., confronts then-governor Kirk Fordice over a trip the governor took to Europe with a woman not his wife -- at least part of which appeared to be on the state's dime.
The best part starts around the 1:50 mark, when the reporter goes to the governor's home and meets him at the mailbox.

Fordice was a Grade A, flaming asshole, but Bert Case used poor judgment in ambushing the man in his driveway. Still, Bert came out of it much the better, because it showed the people just what a petty jerk the guvnah really was.

I didn't really care who was right or who was wrong. I just always found the entire exchange hilarious, as I suspect most of the state of Mississippi did. How often do you find a sitting governor at home, with no security detail? Let alone antagonize him to the point he threatens to whip a crotchety old reporter's ass before flinging his junk mail at him?

 

[tapintoamerica]

I'm not sure there's anything libelous in the most recent story, but ethically speaking, I've got to join the chorus in questioning its relevance. Why bother? If there are no records to prove anything and no new information, let it go.

 

[albert77]

This story reminds me of this classic bit of awesomeness from about 10 years ago. A TV reporter from Jackson, Miss., confronts then-governor Kirk Fordice over a trip the governor took to Europe with a woman not his wife -- at least part of which appeared to be on the state's dime.
The best part starts around the 1:50 mark, when the reporter goes to the governor's home and meets him at the mailbox.

Fordice was a Grade A, flaming asshole, but Bert Case used poor judgment in ambushing the man in his driveway. Still, Bert came out of it much the better, because it showed the people just what a petty jerk the guvnah really was.

I didn't really care who was right or who was wrong. I just always found the entire exchange hilarious, as I suspect most of the state of Mississippi did. How often do you find a sitting governor at home, with no security detail? Let alone antagonize him to the point he threatens to whip a crotchety old reporter's ass before flinging his junk mail at him?

Without a doubt. That whole episode was priceless. Between Fordice's antics and Ray Mabus' toxic divorce, we've had some highly entertaining domestic issues come out of the Governor's Mansion in Jackson.

 

[Tarheel316]

Without a doubt. That whole episode was priceless. Between Fordice's antics and Ray Mabus' toxic divorce, we've had some highly entertaining domestic issues come out of the Governor's Mansion in Jackson.

Tame compared to South Carolina ...