I submitted this letter to the managing editor of the Gazette on Friday night, Jan. 8, 2021, after confirming an ad I had an ethical problem with was printing.
To whom it may concern:
I find myself unable to continue working at the Daily Mining Gazette.
Running Erik Kiilunen’s attack ad against the local health department is an unacceptable breach of ethics. The Gazette has declined to run multiple letters to the editor penned by Mr. Kiilunen because of the personal attacks and false assertions they contained. For the Gazette to agree to run them as an advertisement instead means they have literally sold out their ethics.
I respect, and often promote, the right of all Americans to dissent. However, publicly berating local officials for executing the job they are bound by law to do is nothing less than promoting anarchy and assaulting the rule of law.
Kiilunen’s statements have been found to be too-often exaggerated, when not outright false, within the very reporting inside the Gazette. To amplify his falsehoods and personal attacks is an abdication of journalistic responsibility, the results of which we have already seen borne out on the national stage just this week. To take money for it is reprehensible.
To be sure, while my own time here has been brief, the Gazette has been suffering for decades. This is evident in the age of the technology made available to its employees, and the prevalence of empty desks in the office. Despite the shortcomings, I had hoped that through effort over time, we could collectively put out a product that not only we, but the community could be proud to call their own.
However, the failure to recognize Saturday’s full-page ad as an obvious threat to the rule of law in Copper Country means I cannot hold that hope any longer. The Gazette’s management is bereft of judgement. Beyond that, the leadership of the Gazette have shown a willingness to self-censor at the behest of the non-local management.
The Daily Mining Gazette, and its ownership Ogden Newspapers, has sold out the facts, and journalism ethics, in favor of advertising dollars and protecting its own management practices. This is antithetical to my beliefs as a journalist, and an American. I cannot contribute my work to a publication that would so carelessly pursue profit.
I resign my position as Associate Editor, effective immediately.
Sincerely, and with regret,
Joshua Vissers