SewerWatch: Pandora Nash-Karner "credibility" question, please

TO: Sandra Duerr, Editor, The Tribune, San Luis Obispo

Hello Sandra,

I'm researching a story, and I was recently looking over one of my previous blog entries (from 2007), at this link:

http://sewerwatch.blogspot.com/2007/05/she-is-los-osos.html

... where I exposed an email from Los Osos resident, and professional marketer/political consultant, Pandora Nash-Karner, to her "undisclosed recipient list," involving the 2005 Los Osos CSD recall election, where she writes:

"Hello all,

It's time to launch a serious letter writing campaign to the local media."

and;

"Attached is a lengthy list of ideas for letters to the editor... Just use the ideas as CONCEPTS to write your own original letter."

and;

"Joyce Albright found out today that the Tribune will be allowing a section, once per week, on the sewer issue. Please do NOT copy the concepts in your letter, otherwise, the media will recognize our efforts as a group effort and we lose our credibility."

Now, I've noticed that, in the years since I've exposed how Nash-Karner coordinates "serious letter writing campaign to the local media," as part of her "behavior based marketing" "strategies," that the Tribune has published several more letters from Nash-Karner, including at this, October 23, 2014, link:

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article39500937.html

... involving an upcoming Los Osos CSD election, and this, March 2, 2014, link:

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article39469821.html

... involving another local government issue.

In this link:

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/article39471081.html

... also from March 2014, your reporter actually uses Nash-Karner as a source in a story about the Los Osos sewer project.

And there are many, many more examples, published by the Tribune, after I exposed that Nash-Karner writes things to her "recipients," like, "Please do NOT copy the concepts in your letter, otherwise, the media will recognize our efforts as a group effort and we lose our credibility."

Additionally, I also exposed (over a decade ago) how, on her marketing business web site, at this link:

http://pandoraarts.com/pandoraandcompany/about.html

... she refers to the media as "tools."

Here's the screenshot [I've embedded it in this email. Hopefully you can view it]:

See? "We use a wide range of tools (for our behavior based marketing strategies), including... the media."

So, with all of that in mind, here's my question:

When Nash-Karner wrote, back in 2005, as part of her coordinated, "serious letter writing campaign to the local media":

"Please do NOT copy the concepts in your letter, otherwise, the media will recognize our efforts as a group effort and we lose our credibility."

... she was wrong about that, right?

In other words, even though the Trib knows that Nash-Karner "uses" your newspaper as a "tool" for her coordinated, "behavior based marketing" "strategies," you still give her "credibility."

So, again, when she writes, "the media will recognize our efforts as a group effort and we lose our credibility," she was wrong about that, and the Trib just doesn't care if they're being "used" as a professional marketing "tool" to influence local government, right?

I mean, the Trib does STILL give Nash-Karner credibility (a lot of it), so, obviously, she was wrong about the "losing credibility in the media" thing, which, would also mean that the Trib just doesn't care if they're being "used" as a professional marketing "tool" to influence local government, right?

I'd love to hear/read your thoughts on this subject. It's such an interesting journalism ethics discussion.

As always, much thanks,

Ron

Oh, and, P.S: This email automatically posted to my blog, SewerWatch, at this link:

http://sewerwatch.blogspot.com/

Thanks again.