Live and Learn? Apparently not.

Free journalism- it exists to be our watchful protector, our not-so-silent guardian, our voice that uncovers injustice and deceit.

Basically, our Batman.

That's why investigative, unbiased press is so important- it can bring us the information that we need to know. This lesson was irrevocably seared into my brain back in 2011, when I was but a lad and still innocent to the ways of the world. The local paper of my hometown, the Santa Barbara NewsPress, published a stunning 5-part expose of award-winning police officer Kasi Beutel. The articles uncovered  her shady past, a possible history of faulty DUI convictions, and bankruptcy fraud as reasons for this cop's patent unreliability. The NewsPress scooped enough dirt on Officer Beutel to put her six feet under. Sounds like good reporting, right? Quality journalism strikes again, right? Wrong!

Officer Beutel: the female one

Psych! (And I don't mean the TV show.) What makes this whole series suspect is that the man who penned these tirades: a Mr. Peter Lance, who had been pulled over by Officer Beutel for drunk driving and failed the breath test (he blew a .09, over the legal limit.) Now, Mr. Lance may have had perfectly valid points against Officer Beutel. Certainly, his expose had some merit, such as uncovering that Santa Barbara police vehicles do not come equipped with video cameras. But he is the very definition of a biased reporter. He clearly has a personal stake in the game! To pass this off as objective journalism is to make a mockery of the profession. As LA Times columnist James Rainey wrote, "The DUI opus in the News-Press... was presented as a straight news story, written by someone who has a lot riding on the outcome."

Peter Lance: Someone who has a lot riding on the outcome

This whole Peter Lance debacle made a powerful impact on me. I realized that to have credibility, a journalist must be objective and to some degree removed from the story he's covering. The NewsPress could have delivered a much more effective and powerful story had they used one of their own impartial reporters as opposed to to an independent correspondent with an undeniable bone to pick. Whether the officer is guilty as accused is at this point irrelevant. The issue is so clouded that a clear account of the truth will probably never be revealed. That's a shame. And by the way, Lance has recently begun skewering Beutel through the Newspress once again, which frankly is just dumb. Even Batman learned from his mistakes.

Unfortunately, the SB Newspress does not publicize its archive unless you have an account. Here is a link to the page where you could view the article: http://www.newspress.com/Top/Search/results.jsp?dateOrdered=true&articleIndex=100&pageNum=6
Here's an LA Times article on the subject: http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jul/02/entertainment/la-et-onthemedia-20110702
And here's some good journalism: The Independent (Santa Barbara's variant paper) columnist Nick Welsh brought this conflict of interest into the limelight in the first place:  http://www.independent.c om/news/2011/jun/30/putting-ow-back-bow-wow/