No disrespect is intended to anyone trying to present truth and facts, but again – that Dispatch piece – OY!

I was an accredited, member-in-good standing of OLCA for three years. My picture hangs twice in the Ohio Statehouse press room as evidence of that fact. From first-hand observations, I know the long-standing anxiety several OLCAns had for the day when a “blogger” (I don’t use that term because Mr. Nash and other have so denigrated it) or a reputable citizen journalist, as I am and as the two OhioNews Bureau colleagues who were my colleagues in this request are, would seek membership.

While pursing a plan to establish a network of statehouse news bureaus and the desire to augment our ability to do original reporting were two good reasons to seek accredited status in Columbus, one of equal value was the pioneering importance of challenging the established, entrenched status quo of the Statehouse press corps that is staunchly but subjectively defended by OLCA members, some of whom have a vested business interest to keep others at bay.

It’s clear from the comments made on this site and others, OLCAns are either oblivious or in serious denial of their own prejudice and bias against a practicing journalist like myself, who is as knowledgeable, informed and writes as many stories each week as does any OLCA member. OhioNews Bureau stories are not built on gossip or chatter. They are sourced and fact-checked by a team of volunteers at ePluribus Media, who reside in different states but who work collaboratively on these and other stories.

The stories are likely more informational that most mainstream news stories, which are linked to with frequency. We’re not penned in by space demands or slaves to the inverted-pyramid style of journalism that is so prevalent today or conflicted about speaking out on topics that might offend or the gore the ox of an advertiser. For these reasons and more, I’ll put any of my stories up against any mainstream media story. It’s my belief that journalists, whether they are honest enough to admit to it or not, approach most stories with an attitude.

We have achieved our goal: to force them to make a call on us and our candidates. They did. The reasons given to deny us are flimsy, self-serving and from our reading of their constitution, beyond their own requirements. Pointing to your group’s organizational documents to make your point is fine, but when we’re in compliance with those documents, its not right to use other unwritten criteria to judge us by.

This rejection is not the end of our efforts, but just the beginning.

John Michael Spinelli – OhioNews Bureau Chief
ohionews@epluribusmedia.org
OhioNews Bureau