An interesting clarification
Jack McElroy, editor of the News Sentinel, received a letter from a reader who had some questions regarding the recent lawsuit against Knox County Commission:
Maybe McElroy could answer the following questions in his Sunday column next week. ... Just who is the Plaintiff - McElroy or the News Sentinel? ... This can best be answered by telling us who is paying [attorney Richard] Hollow. Is McElroy paying Hollow out of his personal funds or is the News Sentinel paying?
He responds:
I haven't decided yet whether to address those questions in print, but I thought I'd take the opportunity to answer them here. First, only a citizen can bring suit under the Open Meetings Act. As editor, I was the appropriate representative of the newspaper to fill that role. But clearly the suit was brought by the News Sentinel. I recommended the suit to publisher Bruce Hartmann who made the final decision after conferring with myself, other editors, our attorney and corporate representatives. ... The paper has never made any bones about its role, and I don't think anyone ever thought I had undertaken the suit as an individual.
Although I'm not sure I've ever seen the paper clarifying this point before now, I certainly didn't think McElroy brought the suit as a concerned citizen. Here's the self-evident reason why:
I don't yet know how much the newspaper's legal expenses will be. The bills are still arriving. Certainly we're hoping there will not be an appeal, but we are prepared to continue to press the case vigorously if there is. Right now I'd estimate the cost could easily top $100,000 regardless.
Few citizens of Knox County could bring such an expensive lawsuit on their own, so it's long been rather obvious that Mr. McElroy's status as plaintiff was a mere formality. However, I don't think I've seen that point made in print.