Deleted FMH forum

I have thought about it, and if my theory is correct—their reasoning is wrong. I was hoping some of the brilliant minds that post on these forums could share their wisdom, and reveal the justification for silencing the conversation. After all, nothing was being acknowledged by FMH, SMDC, or any city officials anyway. The only printed response by an official was not the truth. So what was wrong with a little open community discussion about Concerned’s thought that there may be something going on with the governance of the city’s most valuable asset that the community should know about? Is there a list of issues available that identifies what citizens should be “concerned” about in International Falls? A lot of good people are leaving this town with bad impressions of the community, and the only way to fix that is to acknowledge there is a problem and discuss it openly. What lesson do you suppose was learned by the young nurse student who attempted to enter the discussion in the last few posts?

If it was in fact the Daily Journal staff who deleted the forum then you will not receive a complete and satisfactory response. That would indicate that they have a consistent editorial policy which they could cite when giving you a response. Unfortunately, they have a vague and ambiguous policy that leaves interpretation open to the collective IQ of the staff, which, given their random acts of editorial control, seems to hover somewhere in the mid 80's.

To delete or not to delete - that is the question … or is it the problem? The only people with the authority to delete a forum are the Daily Journal Staff. Someone external to the organization can request that it be removed but the actual deletion must come from within DJ. I think it is sad that the entire forum was deleted and not just the offending post. I thought that all newspapers stood behind freedom of speech and our First Amendment rights. I guess only when it is in their best interest.

Looks like you all have a good start to Who is running FMH Two. This topic seems to be one that would be better served or solved through the use of meetings between yourselves and FMH. Odds are nothing concerning the hospital will ever be solved in a chat room or message board such as this. It certainly wasn't the first time.

You are correct, I'm wrong. The Internet and it's chat rooms, message boards, forums and blogs have a long history of solving issues between employers and employees. What was I thinking!

I apologize for the sarcasm, and thank you for being concerned. This is about unity, not division. This is not about employer versus employee. This is about right versus wrong. This is about freedom of speech. This is about abuse of power. This is about honor and integrity. This is about transparency. This is about fiduciary responsibility. This is about democracy. This is about knowledge sharing. This is about using a technology available to ordinary people. Although the internet and especially the blogs have not been around long enough to have a long history, they have already united enough people and money to position the most unlikely candidate to be the most likely next president. Times are changing. Everyday there are several new users on this website alone. I have seen in excess of 150 guests on-line at one time on this site. If you know of a better media available to locals that will give us an equal chance of being heard unedited, please let us know, so we can discuss our community concerns there also. Someone in the deleted forum suggested that if the discussion went on long enough, the truth would emerge. I have faith in the informed community’s ability to do what is best for the community, but being informed is crucial. Everyone will not always agree, but the majority will do what is right.

Thank you Mr. Davenport!
I agree...there are responsibilities and limitations for the Daily Journal as a newspaper. I also believe that one of your responsibilities as a newspaper is to inform the community about issues that affect the community. I would not expect the Daily Journal, or any journalist to exceed ethical or legal limits while investigating, fact checking, or reporting. However, the Daily Journal is the most effective media local citizens have to stay informed, and I would expect our only newspaper to thoroughly investigate and accurately report on any issue affecting community healthcare.
The Daily Journal has failed the community by not further investigating, fact checking, or accurately reporting the reason four senior managers left Falls Memorial Hospital (FMH) recently. The Daily Journal posted just one response to the original forum created by Concerned, and that was regarding an interview with the FMH interim Chief Executive Officer—who was also a FMH board trustee when the first of these managers was forced to resign—which is like asking the fox if there is trouble in the hen house, and the response should only be commended if it was completely accurate.
Just because actions may or may not be legal does not mean the actions are not wrong, or un-ethical. The community has the right to be informed, and the Daily Journal should provide that information without bias to anyone willing to pay for a subscription. The damage caused by the events which followed the April, 2007 FMH shareholders meeting can not be completely undone, but similar events and damage can be discouraged from reoccurring, by an informed community.