great f'ing journalism

[ProblemAgain]

i read this story thru the associated press. now bear in mind this is a news story written by a reporter and then vetted by an editor. just my opinion but if i was running their circus, these two clowns would be down filing for unemployment. they even managed to obscure the 5 w's.

Man Charged With Threatening To Take Over Ranch
AP 4 hr ago by Associated Press



John Fesler Lance II, 73, was arrested Sept. 15 after deputies arrived to find him on the ground with ranch owners Lee and Lucinda Hayne each pointing a gun at him.

He remained jailed Tuesday on $200,000 bail on charges of intimidation, stalking, trespassing and violating a protective order, according to jail records. He has not entered a plea. Lance's public defender, Tom Schoenleben, was out of town and unavailable for comment Tuesday.

County Attorney Bill Fulbright said Lance lost his Florence-area ranch in a default judgment for failing to answer his wife's petition seeking a divorce. Fulbright said Lance was convicted of threatening the judge who made the ruling, an attorney who prosecuted the intimidation charge and others he perceived as being involved in his loss of the ranch.

Lance served more than 20 years in the state prison so he could be released without being on parole, Fulbright said. Soon after his March 31 release, he was spotted loitering outside Lucinda Hayne's place of work in Hamilton.

He was arrested and sat in jail until his July trial where he was convicted of violating a permanent restraining order and sentenced to time served, Fulbright said.

Over the past several months, the Haynes or their attorney received correspondence from Lance threatening to use any force necessary to "take the ranch back," including kidnapping the Haynes and holding them for ransom, court records said.

Earlier this month, the Montana Supreme Court rejected Lance's attempt to overturn a permanent order of protection the Haynes were granted against him.

On Sept. 15, Schoenleben reported that Lance called him from Missoula, distraught, and said he was going back to his ranch. The attorney contacted authorities.

The Haynes said that while they waited for deputies to arrive, Lance rambled on about the ranch, told them they were trespassing and he had the right to use force to evict them.

The couple told officers they were forced to drastically change their lives after Lance was released from prison, including always having someone stay on the property and not having visitors, charging documents said.

[crestofwaves]

Oh my dear Lord.  I have seen lots of writing like this from kids, but a journalist? for the AP?  Idiocracy, here we come, duh!

[ProblemAgain]

the dumbass doesn't even put the location in until it is an incidental way the f down in the story....and the account about prison and jail was confusing...i guess this is "here's some stuff...write the story you want" kinda like fox news and rupert murdoch

[crestofwaves]

Obviously, the writer knows nothing about the inverted pyramid in news stories.  Lead with the WWWWW, back-up quote, most  important fact, quote, second most important fact, quote, etc.  Notice that when you read the paper, all you have to read are the headlines and the first couple of paragraphs.

You're not going to like what I'm going to say, but the liberal trend in education calling for equal outcomes no matter the level of ability will create more and more citizens like this one--probably sweet people, but not so smart.

[ProblemAgain]

oh i agree..and it isn't a matter of conservative or liberal..it is like bush's no child left behind....the concept is fine...but you don't hold the entire class back for one student and there is nothing wrong with breaking classes according to ability so the classes can move as a unit..slow ones and advanced ones....it worked to make both group learn...sure the slower ones learned less in the term but they learned it...these days no one really learns because the slow ones don't quite get it and the advanced ones lost interest since it was so slow...

great quote from ken burns:"We are in a media culture where we are buried in information but we know nothing."

[T2Friends]

Wow, this has to win a prize for one of the worst written bits of gossip/news I have ever read.  I have noticed that journalists have been getting pretty bad lately and editor are even worse.  Like you mentioned, they are forgetting their who, what, when and where and the story telling or logic is even worse!