Carolina Journal editor Richard Wagner had a seat at the table this week, as leaders of the state’s major news publications shared their concerns with Gov. Mike Easley about his staff’s efforts to thwart reporters seeking information about state government. Wagner reports, “I asked the governor why his office had placed Carolina Journal on do-not-call list and whether he would rescind the directive that excluded CJ. The governor said his office considered CJ a newspaper of a nonprofit, advocacy organization and as such was placed on the do-not-call list. [News & Observer editor John] Drescher and [North Carolina Press Association executive director Beth] Grace responded that CJ was a bona-fide member of the media.When asked by the governor whether she would send him a letter affirming CJ‘s membership in the NCPA, Grace confirmed that she would.”An account of the two-hour meeting appeared not only in the newspapers of two participants, The N&O and Charlotte Observer, but also in the “Under The Dome” blog and in an Associated Press story that hit major media outlets such as the Greensboro News & Record and Winston-Salem Journal. Speaking of “Under the Dome,” Meck Deck blogger Jeff Taylor earned recognition in that forum again recently when he questioned which blogs had attracted the interest of Easley staffers as they discussed public records requests. Taylor’s impact also extended to Tara Servatius’ WBT Radio program last week, when he discussed crime, the Mecklenburg County budget, taxes, and other issues.
