The Death of Journalistic Integrity, KOAA Reporting in.

Andy Koen sure loves his Cruella Deville and Cruella sure loves some Andy Koen

I started this SubStack with the thought that some of our younger members of society and the news industry had lost their moral compass. I’ve seen that come to fruition numerous times over the years but there definitely seems like there is a dog-pile effect with some of the younger journalists.

I’ve only been interested with local politics, so when a local journalist actually covered my small town recently, I was curious how that would play out. I wasn’t aware of who he was, I wasn’t aware of his credentials but the resultant story was far less than admirable.

I arrived early, I sat next to my friend and awaited the impending doom and gloom associated with contentious local politics. A police office (older gentlemen) arrived and tested out a seat that allowed him to fit his voluminous frame and all of his police gear in the far back corner. He got up and proceeded to talk with numerous people. Andy Koen from KOAA arrived and began setting up his gear in the exact spot that the officer had claimed moments earlier. The officer gently asked Andy Koen if he might be able to find a different spot but Andy balked claiming that his press privilege granted him the best video shot. The officer differed to the journalist and ended up standing for the whole meeting, not able to sit and rest his body with the body armor and weapons gear taking a toll on his spine.

Next up was the actual meeting. I was vested in the outcome of the meeting so I turned my attention to the matters at hand. I wasn’t really paying attention to who was coming in and out the meeting until local politico Amy Stephens arrived and began paying homage to certain people in the room. The meeting had already started but Amy Stephens took time to address Andy Koen, step up, gave him a big hug and then maneuvered over to sit next to the biggest developer in the room, Mark Waller.

I wasn’t necessarily paying attention to Amy, I understood and knew of her reputation as a member of the local Republican party and that her husband was on the local Town Council, the very same meeting we were there to attend… but her theatrics were something on a different level. Amy maneuvered her way to a seat next to Waller. She immediately began shouting out insults to the crowd. Many of these insults can be heard on the YouTube recording of this meeting. Ultimately, Amy Stephens, a former Colorado House of Representatives Minority Leader, ended up verbally assaulting a local teacher and disabled man with profane insults and gestures.

The meeting continued and Amy Stephens departed but the news and camera crews persisted. It wouldn’t be long after the meeting ended that Andy Koen would publish his news article. In this article, Andy wrote about the Town’s efforts and struggles that brought them to the point that they were at.

From an casual observer’s perspective, Andy’s efforts did not fully encapsulate the whole story, nor did Andy attempt to understand the full story. Andy ignored the behavior of Amy Stephens, failed to consider any public comments and cherry picked different board members to quote and interview.

From Andy’s article:

While that statement is true, it does not address the fact that the monetary value was remedied.

This statement… also went unchallenged.

Council Member Schoening, an unelected Council Member, currently owes $17,800 (growing at a rate of $250/day) to the state of Colorado for her refusal to file campaign finance documents. (re: “I don’t take Developer’s Money…until I do.”)

…but that topic pales in comparison to the residents demanding accountability. Andy chose not to mention or address any of the comments made by the numerous residents who entered comments into public record. Andy also failed to mention many of the issues raised by Councilman Redmond Ramos. Councilman Ramos had spoke at length about the Fraud, Waste and Abuse concerns of spending $20,000 of town funds to investigate potential misuses of $2,592.50 in funds that had already been returned to the town.

“It's great to investigate. We've already directed Our Town manager Mike Foreman to begin an investigation I believe it's been started, there's a huge difference between investigating and coming up with the solution and fighting for the Town versus wasting money over an investigation because we didn't get our way. There's a huge difference. I don't want to waste town money. I want an investigation, I want to make sure everything was done properly and if not let's find out what the remedy is. I'm not going to waste town money, $20,000 to go over an investigation when the potential reward is $2,500.

- Councilman Ramos

The Council Members that seemed to be united on the front of bringing forth the investigation failed to disclose all facts. They had failed to inform their board members and the town residents in attendance, what they already knew: That when the potential misuse of the funds was discovered, the people responsible for the expenditure of those funds immediately got the purchases reversed and provided those funds back to the town.

It would seem to me that there are numerous people that are involved in this event that have cooperated to create a false narrative and to conflate the significance of this single data point.

It’s been reported that Council Members Schoening, Romanello and Elliott all arrived in a single car. While not indicative of wrong doing, it does raise concerns that perhaps collusion was possible and more importantly likely.

13 uses of “we” in 377 words

A common theme from the comments made by Romanello, Elliott, Stephens and Schoening was the use of “we” in their board statements. This detail was missed or not reported by Andy Koen of KOAA. When four board members arrive to a meeting with their minds already made up, arrive together in the same car, make decisions on hiring attorneys (board business) and withhold information from fellow board members, that’s called “a walking quorum”. I’d have considered that an important thread to tug on if I were a self-described “investigative reporter”.

January 3rd, 2023 is still 19 days away and can’t seem to get here soon enough.