COMMENTARY
MARK SCHUMANN
“Indian River Shores 32963” reporter, Lisa Zahner, served up another of her uninformative hissy fits this week in her latest attack on Vero Beach Mayor Richard Winger and Councilwoman Amelia Graves.
In an article not labeled “opinion” or “commentary,” the island weekly’s angry, mean-spirited attack dog wrote, “Incumbent Councilwoman Amelia Graves, 32, hopes to keep what might be the first steady paying job she’s ever held other than working part-time in her mother’s law office. Mayor Dick Winger, 77, who publicly vowed to step down this year, now seems irretrievably addicted to the scrap of power he wields.”
Much of the remainder of Zahner’s “news” story read like a free political advertisement for one of Winger’s and Grave’s challengers.
In a way, I feel bad for Zahner. She is clearly not a happy person. I also feel bad for the people of Vero Beach, who have to suffer with the island weekly’s yellow journalism; but I feel even worse for the advertisers and John’s Island supporters who continue to make it possible for the island weekly’s editors and reporters to poison the community with stories devoid of facts and full of invective. They should be embarrassed. It’s low class, and it’s beneath them.
Indian River Guardian 
Mark, you are being much too kind in describing the infamous poison pen. Lisa was almost sued by Graves last year and I suppose it is get even time. Lisa is a disgrace to the profession, and nothing more that a sorry excuse of a reporter and a first class shill.