The caller on Friday said he had asked Pinal County Sheriff Chris Vasquez why the Tribune was publishing so many stories critical of the sheriff.
The sheriff told him it was because the two reporters had made a deal to go to work for his opponent Paul Babeu should his opponent win.
What was i going to do about this? the caller asked.
Well, if it’s true, they would be fired, I said.
Do I believe it’s true? Absolutely not.
Here’s the rest of the story:
On Aug. 6, we were copied on an email that Vasquez had authored
In his email, the sheriff accused two of our reporters of having cut a deal with opponent Paul Babeu. The deal was that they do critical stories on Vasquez and in return would receive employment if Babeu wins election to the sheriff’s office.
Tribune East Valley editor Patti Epler talked to Vasquez who confirmed he had sent the email. He said he sent it to a few friends and they evidently broadly distributed the email.
Here is an excerpt:
“Since the East Valley Tribune’s two reporters, Jason Massad and David
Biscobean (sic) began their biased reporting against me have you ever wondered
why I am the only elected official they are writing about. I now have the
answer. Both reporters have been offered the public information positions
now held by Mike Minter and Vanessa White. Both position pay much better
than what they make.”
In the email, Vasquez said his information came from two high-ranking members of the Pinal County Republican Party and a “close friend” who writes for the Tribune.
Vasquez said the reporters “are owned by Paul Babeu.”
Epler was a member of the newsroom task force that created our current ethics policy. She is not one to take allegations of unethical behavior lightly.
So, she did three things: First, she interviewed the reporters and asked if either of them had had discussions with Babeu about employment. Their denial was unequivocal.
Second, she contacted Babeu. He, too, denied any such deal.
Third, she contacted Vasquez. Here is an excerpt from her email:
“First, you should know that if this is in fact true, this would be considered grounds for termination for both of these reporters. Our corporate employment policy as well as our ethics code specifically prohibits editorial employees from participating in any way in a political campaign.
“Second, Tribune reporters and editors are barred from seeking employment or discussing employment with entities they report about.
“So I am taking your allegations extremely seriously at this point and would ask that you help me figure out if these assertions are in fact true. I have to say I’m a little surprised that I have never heard from you or your PIOs about any of the issues you raise, including biased reporting. Most people who have those kinds of concerns contact the editors right away if they think stories are inaccurate and unfair and certainly your issues with Jason and David seem to go far beyond that point.”
Vasquez politely replied in an email that he could not divulge his sources and that he thought they were credible because he felt he had been singled out for harsh reporting.
“Where there is smoke, there is fire,” he told Epler.
The two also talked over the phone.
In disclosing this serious accusation from a county sheriff and how we’ve dealt with it, I wish to also disclose that neither Epler nor I have ever met Vasquez or Babeu.
What I know about Vasquez comes from Biscobing’s reporting.
I know, for instance, that Vasquez plagiarized more than a dozen times in his monthly letters since taking office three years ago, lifting text from numerous Web sites, journalists, lawmakers and even President Bush. And he didn’t think it was a big deal.
Could it be where there is smoke there is fire?
