I am subscribed to the local paper because I am old school and figure is still the best way to obtain the gist of what is happening locally. But I had noticed that the Daily News Journal was lacking, sort of too bland for most relevant news, but a frigging ace when it came to finding the best places to eat in Murfreesboro or all the info on the state and local Sports including being a perpetual printed shrine to anything MTSU. I thought this was because it was a small local paper, probably lacking personnel because of (insert excuse here) and simply did not have the human resources to cover all what was going on.

I was wrong. The lack of news is done on purpose.

According to an editorial by Gary Eastwick ” Tennessee Regional Editor for the USA TODAY Network, where he leads 11 daily and weekly news operations across the state,” there are several woke reasons why the paper has changed (and not for the good).

I want to tell you about our evolving public safety coverage in Murfreesboro and Rutherford County. This includes what it is, why it exists, what it’s not and how this initiative can strengthen our community.

I also want to acknowledge how our past news coverage has distorted local perceptions of some residents and neighborhoods.

DNJ editor: Here’s the new way we cover crime in Rutherford County

Oh crap, the last sentence is the warning shot (pun intended) that we may get news distorted by the color of the skin. Actually we are not going to get news because the color of the skin of the participants.

We cover crime as a service to the community. But the needs of Rutherford County in 2022 — approaching 400,000 residents — are different than a generation ago. That’s why we examined how to best inform our readers. Truth is, we implemented many of these guidelines months ago.

Here we go: The “We know better than you what you need to know” clause.

Before: Publish crime stories before other local media outlets, often leading to content that lacks depth and nuance.

Now: Spend more time asking ourselves if we are telling whole stories. This often delays the publication of articles, and that’s not a bad thing.

Holy crap. What a load of nonsense in such a single line. But again, they are no longer in the News Business but in the Propaganda Business and they are here to tell you why Bubba Lamar Pedro murdered his family in a mental haze of meth fumes: It is your fault for voting the certain way and we need you not only to vote the way they want it but also to fork over your precious goods to be turned into cash and given to those suffering the ravages of not getting free federal meth pipes.

Before: Feed into stereotypical views of Black and brown residents and the neighborhoods they live in.

Now: If we can show up in a community after a shooting, we can certainly be there for a block party, trash cleanup or Easter egg hunt.

Translation: We have been hiding crime and we will continue to do so because it is not woke to show there are certain neighborhoods where crime is peaking and goes against our political needs to say so. But the second part is a load of bullshit too. Murfreesboro is loaded with Mexicans. You cannot throw a rock, hit somebody and not hear “Chinga tu madre!” but the presence of Mexican-related news is severely lacking unless it is a politician from a Hispanic surname who is ranting against the System.  But the Daily news Journal does love tacos. Holy shit they keep reviewing Mexican restaurants and “taquerias” almost every week. I guess that counts as Mexican news to the racists in USA Toady Woke News Corp.

Also, if we mention a defendant’s name in an article, we are obligated to cover the case through the judicial system.

And we really do not want to do that if it does not fit our political guidelines.

And finally, we have nearly eliminated the publishing of jail mugshots – photos of people accused but not convicted of crimes.

This will maybe only apply to some mugshots and only if they are not politically protected which will make it relevant or simply use a photo of the person found in the web and caption it accordingly with the word “arrested” osimilar.

We are not in the business of chasing cheap page views – not anymore. Through rich, concise and insightful storytelling, we want to maintain the trust of long-time readers and earn the trust of new supporters

Dude, I have bad news: Journalism has been ranking lower in trust than politicians, used car salesmen and hookers for decades now.

So we’re not going to write a story about someone arrested for trespassing. With few exceptions, we’re not going to write stories about specific burglaries, small drug busts, suicides, car accidents, residents barricaded in private homes, DUIs, etc. We recognize the limited news value of rewriting police press releases about offenses that have very little public impact.

We are not going to tell you shit we don’t want you to know. Mind you, this is not uncommon when economical considerations for a town or city are involved. Back in Miami, you could not find a story about local gangs or sharks because those are the two words that affect tourism negatively. But what we are talking about here is the almost complete blackout of crime news that can be perceived as giving “racists” a fodder for their hate while misinforming people, including the locals they are allegedly trying to protect, about the happenings in their neighborhood. So rather than both inform and help the community, they have decided to keep everyone in the dark in order to achieve a false political talking point.

This doesn’t mean we’re going to start ignoring or downplaying significant crimes or public safety issues.

But we determine what those are and only if it benefit our political masters.

But what else could we expect from USA Today Propaganda Corp? Right, Lee Wiliams?