COMMENTARY

“What Vero Beach and Indian River County really needs is an upgrade in the quality of its newspapers.”

MARK SCHUMANN

The more progress Vero Beach officials make in lowering electric rates, the more snarky and sarcastic become the so-called journalists at the barrier island weekly. Fortunately, a growing number of Vero Beach residents have wised up to the questionable journalistic ethics of the Indian-River-Shores-centric propaganda piece that has, since its launch in 2008, masqueraded as a newspaper.  With more and more Vero Beach readers tuning out, the island weekly is left to pander to an Indian River Shores audience and town council that seems far more interested in confirmation and ammunition than in information.

Just this week, “reporter” Lisa Zahner, in what was labeled news analysis, described as “controversial” the Vero Beach City Council’s decision to seek alternatives to remaining in a 20-year power deal with the Orlando Utilities Commission.  That agreement, negotiated in 2008, before the recession and before the dramatic fall in natural gas prices, seemed at the time like a good deal for the city and for the customers of Vero Electric. It has not turned out so well. In fact, if Vero Beach officials do not act, for nearly two more decades the city could be left paying the OUC rates well above the market price for wholesale electric power.

In retrospect, many believe the city would have been better off entering into multiple agreements for staggered terms with more than one power provider.  People who know anything about buying wholesale power realize this alternate approach reduces risk and rate volatility. Zahner and her editors, though, seem clueless.  They described the council’s current effort, supported even by Pilar Turner, as a controversial “scheme” to “speculate in the commodities market.”

Zahner spent much of her “analysis” serving up the Orlando Utilities Commission’s objections to Vero Beach’s decision to exercise its right to seek alternatives to a multi-decade deal gone bad.  Her story, though, made little mention of the counterarguments in Vero Beach’s response to the OUC.  That Zahner would all but ignore Vero Beach’s side of the story, and would gloss over the fact that the OUC’s letter itself may well open the organization to charges of anti-competitive action, is further evidence of the island weekly’s clear bias against Vero Beach.

Turning to the island weekly’s “Insight Editorial” page, one will find a sarcastic dismissal of Vero Beach leaders, all of whom are more intelligent, more mature, and I would venture, more balanced and emotionally sober than are the editors at the island “weakly.” Councilman Randy Old, alone, possesses more intelligence, common sense, decency and interpersonal skills than the entire staff of the island rag combined. Whatever they are, the folks at the island weekly are not a brain trust.  And when it comes to practicing intellectual honesty, they are not to be trusted.

This week’s nasty 32963 editorial reads, “While it hurts our heads to think of another depressing municipal election less than four months away, it sure would be great to see November bring an upgrade of the caliber of officials who make decisions for Vero Beach.

What Vero Beach and Indian River County really needs is an upgrade in the quality of its newspapers.  Since the launch of the island rag, the paper has been used as a platform for attacking Vero Beach. Why so many Vero Beach businesses continue to support this bullying brand of yellow journalism is a mystery to me.