Miller v. Stainbrook or is it Toledo Blade v. Miller?

I should add something to this. This was likely supposed to be a feature piece on "Issue Day" at Maumee Valley Country Day School. Yet, the headline reads : Insults lobbed at Issue Day on news media stun students.

Then, the story's lede begins in sweetness and light, with Blade Attorney Fritz Byers having a cute chat with a class about the future of newpapers....Then, the story jumps to the inside where the headline finally begins to make more sense,and the story gets a lot more interesting.

The story ends with advice on saving the print media industry from former Blade reporter Joshua Benton who says, "Buy a newspaper, please."

Sure, Mr. Benton, if I can read more gossipy stories like this one!

Something about that story alerts my fishy sensor! I can't imagine a professional of any sort using profanity in front of kids in a classroom. I don't know Miller or Stainbrook and their feud, if it exists is not a concern of mine, but the story, obviously paints a Blade competitor in a very poor light. And as Ms. Wheales points out, gives details, though sketchy, to the confrontation but does not say who saw it. Additionally mentioning that the profanity continued throughout the lecture, again without revealing a source if any. Not even an anonymous source, or "people who know" type of thing. Just makes me wonder if it isn't a "hit job" on Miller. A whack to the knee ala Nancy Kerrigan as it were. I suppose we'll never know the actual facts.

I know all three parties at least on more than an acquaintance basis, having been employed by one (Miller), interviewed and later named in a lawsuit by another (Stainbrook), and been interviewed by the third (Reindl). Here's my take, for what it is worth, since I did not witness the events.

1. Jon Stainbrook probably said something provocative under his breath or whispered to Miller, trying to get him fired up. Whatever it was, it succeeded, and Stainbrook got to slink away after achieving his objective.

2. As far as Miller's "objectivity," he has been quite up front with his irritation about being subjected to numerous lawsuits over a proposed book on Coingate that Stainbrook never actually got around to writing. TFP, like apparently quite a few folks in this town, received an emailed abstract that Stainbrook shopped around hoping for a publisher to bite. No publishers offered so much as nickel, and out came the lawsuits, one of which named me as the supposed means by which TFP got their collective mitts on the abstract (I never saw the blasted proposal, nor would I have even cared to read it had one been available. All Stainbrook did with this bullshit move was to waste my time and turn me from a disinterested party into someone with a justifiable axe to grind. Smart move there, Jon, but hey - it's all about the litigation for this clown).

3. The Stained One made the same sort of accusations about the "lack of objectivity" toward TFP last April when he claimed TFP's coverage of his failure to disclose personal information and obstructing official business citations was "politically motivated." Of course, every other media outlet picked up on this story of unbuckled belts and foggy windows, but somehow TFP was the leader in the witch hunt. Anyways, since Miller has regularly disclosed the lawsuits in his editorials about Stainbrook, and since Miller is the kind of editor who doesn't screw around with his reporter's stories, Stainbrook's claims that Miller secretly harbors some agenda to "get" him are ludicrous. Maybe if Jon Stainbrook wasn't such a first class buffoon, TFP wouldn't have so much endless fun documenting his douchebaggery.

4. I do not see Reindl as part of some Blade conspiracy, though Helen Wheales made a thoughtful suggestion about how Reindl might have worded the narrative in such a way as to make clear that he offered his opinion of the exchange. Reindl probably thought he was getting a yawner of an assignment at a high school career day when the fireworks started, and opportunity walked up and gave him a great big hug. Anyways, I find Reindl to be an objective reporter who accurately documents what he sees and hears.

5. While the use of "ass" - if the word was indeed mentioned - is regrettable, it hardly scorched the ears of high school students, who no doubt have heard and uttered far worse. Besides, every American media newsroom is a veritable cesspool of profanity, and perhaps Miller did the youngsters a favor by showing them that journalism can be an ugly damned business.

(Full disclosure: historymike has written as a freelancer for numerous area publications, including TFP, though he has not collected a check from TFP in 16 months or so. He is writing in his own capacity as a local journalist and political observer, and his views reflect only his own opinions)

I believe Historymike hit most of it.

The story as told to me, I was not there, was that Stainbrook repeatedly insulted Miller. After several instances of this, Miller introduced Stainbrook as Toledo's premier asshole. I hardly think this would stun kids this age. I was told they laughed rather loudly as most of us who have spent time with kids this age would expect.

As to the Blade coverage, I was also told that the reporter should have known who provoked the incident. But hey, maybe he had an ear infection that day.

As always, there is the coverage by the local daily and another set of facts/information.

Donwert. - Interesting comments about what is going on at the local daily.

I'm a student at Maumee Valley and I witnessed the event. Please follow the link to see my response to all of this that was published in the response article from the Toledo Free Press:

http://www.toledofreepress.com/2009/03/13/truth-and-consequences/