Intentional Intimidation Is Intolerable
First and foremost Picon Press is a journalistic publication. We do the research. We don’t lie. We find evidence in public documents. We look out for the people, and cover angles the larger publications aren’t covering. We try to give equal time to all parties under our microscope. We’re different because we’re opinionated. Vice Media is a huge inspiration for our journalistic style; have an opinion - don’t be a helpless observer - but back that opinion up with evidence, hence, the public documents.
We are busy, busy bees. In the past six months we have made hundreds of public records requests to form our stories and provide our audience with the evidence to back it all up.
Recently we reported on Washoe County’s proposed Comprehensive Employee Support Plan; not really all that controversial on the surface. The idea of a CESP isn’t new, and isn’t unique to Washoe County. The University engages with a private legal provided that charges employees that opt-in fees. The WCSD can give teachers legal support through the Union, or teachers can get malpractice insurance and legal plans through third-party providers. What is unique about Washoe County’s plan is their plan to fund it with tax dollars.
There are some good things and bad things about this. One example could be a civil servant, such as a registrar of voters, is harassed or threatened by members of the public for doing their job. Maybe paying for a deputy or private security to sit outside their home isn’t the worst use of County money; we can see that being fair. That being said, what about Kate Thomas’ defense against the always litigious Mike Clark, specifically in his ‘false light’ lawsuit against her? Is that a good use of Washoe County’s money? What happens if she is found at fault? Does she have to repay the County?
Beyond this, after further analysis we realized that this goes even further than security services and legal fees. The staff report uses the word, “other services,” but doesn’t specify the services. This implies that this pool of $150,000 annually could be used for things like public relations, therapy, etc.. Things like therapy, we can understand - other government entities hard hit by controversy have offered therapy to their staff. But public relations? Could this mean the County could unintentionally fund smear campaigns and questionable lawsuits designed to hurt private entities?
We see this as a threat to our publication, and as an attempt at the intimidation of Picon Press Media, LLC by Washoe County staff, and Eric Brown. Do we, “go after people?,” as we have been accused of doing? No. We find interesting public records that are timely and pertinent to the public discourse and publish them with our comments and analyses. For example, we published documents and bodycam footage of Melody Brown’s (wife or County manager Eric Brown) arrest for suspicion of DUI. We can see why Eric Brown would be upset, but we have no quarrel with him. We do have a problem with his wife, as during her arrest she repeatedly told the officers who her husband was seemingly in an attempt to get them to let her off with a warning. Could Eric Brown use this pool of funds at his discretion to sue us to take down the documents? Per the staff report, yes.
We hope that if you’re reading this, you will understand where we are coming from. We believe in TRANSPARENCY and ACCOUNTABILITY first.