Guest Opinion by Rachelle Ottosen, Chair of the Community Library Network Board of Trustees
Just last Friday, I read an article which stated public trust in mainstream media is down to the lowest recorded point — 31 percent. Then someone sent me an article illustrating this point from Friday’s print version of the Coeur d’Alene Press. On October 18, 2024, the front page main article was entitled, “Audience members ejected at Pinehurst Community Library Network meeting.” Here is my perspective as the Chair of the CLN Board of Trustees. While the two women referenced by the Press were warned to stop interrupting at this particular meeting, no one was ejected, nor was anyone asked to leave. They hastily and voluntarily left when a trustee gave a short farewell address which mentioned God’s love for all of us in response to previous public comment. These same two women were removed from a Community Library Network (CLN) meeting for disrupting the Board’s proceedings about six months ago.
Additionally, the article erroneously stated that the “law requires institutions like libraries to review and relocate materials deemed objectionable to minors upon receiving a written request.” First, it is inaccurate to state that “objectionable” materials are relocated. The law defines sexually explicit “harmful to minors” materials and requires that such items be kept away from minors. You know, the kind of materials that have been illegal for anyone else to make available to minors for 50 plus years. Before that, someone would have risked serious bodily injury or worse by giving this kind of material to someone else’s child. While a patron request does initiate the review process, that doesn’t automatically get it moved to another location in the library. Again, the relocation is dependent on the book/item violating the definition of harmful to minors found in Idaho statute.
I am unsure at this time if the Press offered a retraction for its inaccuracies, however, it did change the online version of the article. But not even fact checking the headline or content of a front page story before publication? I would say “Wow!” but I’m not really surprised. This seems to be standard operating procedure, as it has happened in multiple “news” articles about me, CLN, and other conservatives or boards where the leftists have been ousted by voters. It is my opinion that the Press is little more than the propaganda arm of the Democratic Party, as they regularly print articles attacking conservatives/Republicans that are full of made-up material and hyperbolic verbs while praising Democrats, far-left “Republicans,” and progressive organizations and boards.
To be fair, I emailed the author of the article Friday afternoon, asking, “How did you arrive at the conclusion that anyone was ejected from the 10/17/24 CLN meeting, when no one had even been asked to leave?…This type of thing is why many elected officials refuse to interview with ‘news’ reporters. There’s no trust, integrity, or decent effort to get the facts straight…to the point that a reasonable person can conclude that ‘reporting’ a seriously skewed reality (i.e. fiction) is on purpose.” She took time to email me twice on Tuesday, October 22 regarding another topic, but did not address my concerns about dishonest reporting. Ironically, the mainstream media, of which the Press is a card-carrying member, emails CLN trustees for comment, then shortly afterward publishes that it received no response.
In my opinion: the Coeur d’Alene Press doesn’t value truth, appears to be trolling CLN trustees, tries to promote upheaval in the community, and brings attention to their publication through tabloid type controversy/sensationalism; and primarily strives to discredit conservatives and conservative board majorities so that people will vote for Democrats or Democrat-recommended Republicans. Don’t fall for the propaganda and warped agenda.
