UPDATE (5pm, February 26, 2013): This afternoon, the Cherokee Scout announced that its editor, Robert Horne, resigned. Horne originally made the records request discussed in my piece below from earlier today and had been with the Murphy, North Carolina-based paper for seven years.
From the paper’s press release, provided to me by publisher David Brown:
Robert Horne has resigned, effective immediately, as editor of the Cherokee Scout and Andrews Journal…
Horne is leaving the local newspapers to pursue other opportunities as well as relocate closer to family.“We wish Robert well in all his future endeavors,” said David Brown, publisher of the Scout and Journal. “He’s a good man who has done a lot of positive things for the area that should be remembered.”
…
“I have enjoyed my time working at the Cherokee Scout and Andrews Journal,” Horne said. “I have learned a lot from David and the staff here. I will take what I have learned here and use it in my future endeavors. I wish the Scout and Journal all the best moving forward.”
Horne, a veteran of the U.S. Marines who has been with the newspapers since 2005, will remain on staff in a production role until his departure Friday, May 24.
Brown told me that the Scout this evening is carrying the news of Horne’s resignation in print.
COLUMBIA, SC — Things turned around quickly last week for the Cherokee Scout, the latest newspaper to learn how sensitive gun owners can be about public records and how it feels to confront readers who are both angry and, in some cases, armed.
On February 19, Robert Horne, editor of the small-town Cherokee Scout in Murphy, North Carolina, wrote to his county sheriff with an open records request: “Under NC Public Records Law, G.S. 132-1, I am requesting a list of all Cherokee County residents who applied for/and or have received a concealed carry permit.” Horne’s letter did not detail what the newspaper intended to do with the information, except to say that it was not “being sought for commercial purposes.” That same day, Sheriff Keith Lovin wrote back denying Horne’s request, disputing that the information was public record.
The next day, Horne wrote to Lovin repeating his request, noting he had spoken with a NC press association attorney who assured him the records are public, observing that the request came as state lawmakers are debating whether to exempt such information from open records laws, and “respectfully urg[ing]” the sheriff to “follow the state’s open records law and release the information.” But after the sheriff posted the correspondence between the paper and the department on its Facebook page, things got hairy for the Scout.
On February 21, Horne and Scout publisher David Brown published a letter to readers describing being threatened by “near-hysterical residents as a result of the sheriff’s actions.” They went on to explain that the paper “never had any desire nor intention to publish any names of any person carrying a concealed weapon,” but thought “it might be revealing to share, for example, how many residents in a specific area had gun permits.” And while Brown and Horne also accused Sheriff Lovin of “breaking the law” by denying the paper’s request, and went on to say how newspapers “must be vigilant in maintaining the public’s right to know,” they announced the paper was “retracting” its request and dropping the issue with the sheriff’s department.
The next day, Brown published another “Note to Readers”. This one had a much different tone. In it, Brown apologized for what he called the paper’s “tremendous error in judgment,” without being specific. Brown wrote that his newspaper had “never meant to offend the wonderful people of this fine community,” and added that Sheriff Lovin had the interests of county residents at heart when he denied the paper’s records request. Brown also apologized to the sheriff personally.
Though news of the back-and-forth hit the local TV news days ago, it didn’t flare up in national media until yesterday. The criticism came hard.
“Must be vigilant in maintaining the public’s right to know.” If the public wants to know so badly, why not challenge them to do their own investigating?
#1 Posted by Jay, CJR on Tue 26 Feb 2013 at 02:24 PM
Great job putting the story in context, Corey.
#2 Posted by Beau Dure, CJR on Tue 26 Feb 2013 at 08:51 PM
Well done, Corey. I've had family up that way since the 1770s, and it is another world. I'm thinking the state's newspapers, a la the Bolles investigation, should sweep into Cherokee County and start turning over rocks, accmopanied by Warren Buffett's private security. (Buffett owns the dailies along I-40 from Hickory east to Greensboro.)
#3 Posted by Lex Alexander, CJR on Wed 27 Feb 2013 at 04:16 PM
Taking issue with the apology is like shooting fish in a barrel, but those outsiders who are quick to criticize the Scout and Publisher David Brown need to know that the episode was the latest in a long-running battle with the Cherokee County Sheriff's Department. And though the paperhas withdrawn its perfectly legal request, that shouldn't mean that the sheriff has won. Some other publication, journalist or other citizen who's willing and able to go to court should file the same request and sue the sheriff when he denies it. And this enterprise wouldn't be just about making a point; it seems there's a good story in the paper's battle with the sheriff, a story about the difficulty of doing journalism that keeps powerful local officials accountable when they think, and maybe know, that no one else will.
#4 Posted by Al Cross, Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, CJR on Thu 28 Feb 2013 at 12:05 AM
Maybe they should publish Obama's college records, since he is an employee of all of us taxpayers. Furthermore, information on who is collecting food stamps, welfare and medicaid would be much more relevant a public record. We should know who we are paying for, where they live, and be able to see the $50,000 cars in the driveway of the section 8 housing.
#5 Posted by John Fitt, CJR on Thu 28 Feb 2013 at 04:53 PM
Yes John Fitt!!!
I want a HUD Section 8 local database of all Section 8 homes and the landlords who own them! One of my Section 8 neighbors was murdered a couple blocks away, so the wife took the flock of children back to Miami within minutes. SO GLAD to be rid of them trashing the hood !!! Section 8 Landlords are TAXPAYER THIEVES! (unless tenants are physically disabled).
#6 Posted by Unaffiliated Voter, CJR on Thu 28 Feb 2013 at 05:47 PM
"Must be vigilant....." What a bunch of crow droppings. The liberal media ignores liberal / socialist matters are counter to the whole. They have voided the 1st Amendment contract - they are no longer entitled to constitutional protection.
Information was made available in the public domain under different rules of civility. 25 years ago no editor would have dreamt of publishing information simply because 'it ain't e-legal'. Because the media in America have become advocate for the socialist / democrats / communists they should be reclassified as advertisers not alleged journalists.
#7 Posted by Chef Schnauzer, CJR on Sat 2 Mar 2013 at 07:47 AM
As one who has lived in Cherokee County N.C. my entire life, there is more to this story than meets the eye. Mr. Horne has ruffled many feathers during his tenure at our local paper and this was the straw that broke the camel's back. He was asked to leave by many who live here and grew weary of his continued attack on us citizens and the fact he knows nothing about us. The paper is not what it used to be. It became a boxing match between Brown and Horne vs. the Sheriff. For years we have watched as our elected officials that WE THE PEOPLE elected were crucified by these two. Not just the sheriff but the county commissioners as well. They started a hate campaign calling them Good Old Boys and made it sound like we the voters were stupid for who we chose to elect. The paper is much smaller and the people who worked there most of their lives are no longer employed there. I am sad to say that Horne and Brown have brought down a local institution all on their own.
#8 Posted by Local Taxpayer, CJR on Sun 9 Jun 2013 at 06:03 PM