ARE GARZA AND GRACIA OUT TO SLANT THE NEWS THEIR WAY?

 Special to El Rrun-Rrun

Media folks are notorious for hanging out together, chasing down stories, and exchanging inside info about government, politicians and other noteworthy – and not so nice – people in the

communities they work.

In just about every city with a major newspaper, there is often a watering hole near the newspaper or broadcaster where they seem to congregate naturally to compare notes and generally excoriate local politicians. There  is always the usual carping about editors, other reporters and the advertising department.

This also happens at public events where news hounds usually find themselves in some corner trading gossip on those present and about local government and law enforcement types.

It was at one of these impromptu gatherings recently that we heard – albeit second-hand – that Sheriff Eric Garza and right-hand chief deputy Robert Gracia had been seen visiting the editorial offices of KRGV- News 5 and Valle Azteca. We wondered why they would visit the offices since Garza and Gracia make extensive use of social media to put out their message.

Well, it turns out that the word had got out that the dynamic duo were there to complain about the nature of the coverage they were getting from some reporters, notably investigative reporter Enrique Lerma and to complain about his coverage which they considered "negative" toward the sheriff and his chief deputy. As is usually the case, they were there to see if the news editor could rein in Lerma, who recently collaborated with Rolling Stone Magazine on an eye-opening article on the "coyote" cartel operating in northern Tamaulipas, notably Reynosa and Rio Bravo. 

(The scuttlebutt, according to some, is that Garza's house mate is bods with a news director there.)

Many of us have refrained from working on stories on the southern side of the river because of the danger inherent in digging too much into the cartel activity there. Just about every aspect of north Tamaulipas life has been penetrated by these criminals and you really have to know your way around to perform your job adequately. Lerma – hands down – is one of the better reporters on  both sides of the border. And many of us envy his sources.

Now it seems that some politicians – like Garza and Gracia – have attempted to slant coverage their way and muzzle criticism of their department or their own performance.

Lerma, who was not at the gathering, declined to comment on the visit or even confirm the subsequent meet he had with his editor. If anything, he is usually fastidiously circumspect about these things to a fault. Most of these reporters' communications with editor types are kept private in a news organization. But given the numerous faux pas blamed on Gracia and Garza, we figured it could have been a number of things that bothered the pair. 

The federal lawsuits alleging retaliation against those who supported the former sheriff, for example, have received widespread coverage. Their ham-fisted approach to personnel matters hasn't helped, and their troubles with the county jails – historically problematic for many past sheriffs in the county –  is also causing the Garza administration continual headaches. And most news types have reported on the civil war raging in the sheriff's department with the arrival of the new administration who has been bereft of tact in dealing with  department personnel, or with the commissioners court for that matter.

Garza has been an office holder before he was sheriff as the county's district clerk. He knows the rules of the game and has played it well in the past. It is Gracia, who had a free hand as a federal law enforcement officer who may have the thin skin and has never been exposed to the give and take between the media and local government officials. He's in a fish bowl now and should get used to it. 

This – the performance, or non-performance of office holders' professional duties – is fair game to all news organizations and editorial boards all across the country and around the world. Editors, for the most part, assure the complaining office holders that they have been given a fair shake in their news organization's coverage and ask them to be specific about what news stories they find objectionable. 

As a rule, editors support their staff in the field and will call attention to their reporters if they find something has not been reported accurately. If they have not, they will correct their staff. If they have, they, for the most part, stand by their reporters despite the office holders' objections. We suspect KRGV News 5 and Valle Azteca hold these same tenets.

In some metropolitan dailies and television stations, the office holders objections often spur editors and editorial boards to zealously defend their reporters First Amendment rights to gather the news and inform the public on the functions of their government. And don't piss off an editor with spurious claims against their staff because it may just lead to even more hand-nose criticism of the particular office holder.

We don't know whether Lerma's editors will stand by their reporters. But given the credibility of his sources and methods, we would suspect that they would.   

In the case of Lerma's coverage of the sheriff's department, the same stories have been covered by most media outlets, social media, and even local bloggers. That the coverage may seem "unfair" is a usual complaint from office holders who have made mistakes or find themselves above their heads in the performance of their jobs.

In J school we were taught that truth is the best defense to libel. The usual response by non-performers is a knee-jerk reaction to hide an uncomfortable truth. A word to the wise, gents, performing well is the best revenge. If you do your job well and serve the public, you have no cause to worry.