on second thought, we were pretty stupid to think Les would know news

I agree with Spacedark. I think a newspaper person should be held to a higher standard, but by the same token we are human and typing may not be our strongest suit. That isn’t as important as my real beef. (Oh, Les, do read this. ) He and Morris Communications are part of a corporate machine that has sold America's birthright down the drain in the service of corporate stupidity and greed.

I have it on good authority that when Les went into the departments to announce layoffs, there was no “Thank you for your 20, 25 or 30 or 35 years of service.” It was, “You are no longer employed at the Amarillo Globe-News.”

That reflects a corporate callousness that I find counter to his widely professed Christianity. Further, before Les closed his Facebook page to the public, around the time of the layoffs, he asked people to pray for him. I think if I were in that position, I might have also asked people to pray for the employees who were to be laid off.

Further, if you look at Les’ blog, there really are very few comments there. I don't think most people in the community really care what Les has to say or write. His credibility and the credibility of the Globe-News is pretty much in the toilet. Fact is, so many times Les has said one thing to his own employees and done something else that his own people don’t believe or trust him.

As for the rolls of newsprint, it’s possible that there were only three left right before a just-in-time delivery. After the new truck gets unloaded, he sends one of his crack “investigative” photographers to take nice pictures and -- bingo! -- he has a another way to spin his spin. There are other scenarios, too, but the point is, why should anyone believe him?

By the way, what’s an “investigative” photographer? This implied disdain for investigative reporting -- well, Les can’t escape from showing his disdain for real journalism. How is that statement backed up?

A few years ago, the AGN did a Franklin Covey program, one part of which was to come up with “Wow!” stories -- articles that people would talk about around the water cooler. He told the newsroom that there were no “sacred cows.” Most of the staff just rolled their eyes and knew that was total BS.

Want more? Let’s try this one: In the PTS blog Les cites, he labels it “reporting.” But the very blog post he linked to in order to criticize it slugged it as “rumor” and acknowledged, “I'm publishing this because we're a blog with no standards of verification. And we've heard it from multiple sources.” So why does Les call it “reporting” when it was clearly stated it wasn’t?

Maybe he’ll tell us in his next blog post. Or not.

The fact is that the big Billy and the little Willy have a callow kid running the Amarillo Globe-News. And the workers and the community pay the price.