The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, the once laudable newspaper of record in Grand Junction and surrounding Western Slope communities, is gradually losing credibility as an objective, trustworthy news source. The character of the Daily Sentinel has become more liberal since it changed ownership, and the current staff appear unresponsive to letters to the editor which call for unbiased reporting of important events and issues.
Some writers on the staff at the Sentinel, such as Bill Grant and Denny Herzog, are unabashedly biased toward the Left, and often use inflammatory rhetoric when referring to Conservatives or conservatively-oriented topics. One of the most blatant pieces of evidence of this bias is the virtual blackout on the part of the Sentinel of any stories, or letters to the editor, that reveal the extensive criminal record of the Democrat candidate for Colorado Congressional District 3 (CD3), Sal Pace.
Sal Pace, a Liberal Democrat fro Pueblo and former minority leader in the Colorado House, has an extensive criminal record which would make him the posterior of every political joke in Western Colorado, if the Daily Sentinel would actually print the truth about him. But it appears that the biased omission of Pace's criminal past is as much a plan to help him beat Scott Tipton in the Fall, as it is a case of journalistic selective mutism.
For starters: Pace has an extensive criminal driving record which includes:
- Driving without a valid license
- Driving under restraint
- Driving without proof of insurance
- Expired license plates
- Suspended license plates
His arrest record goes beyond the minor traffic issues, to bizarre and seemingly incorrigible, behavior.
- He has an arrest record for, not one, but several instances of public urination.
- Failure to appear in court for public urination
- Obscene conduct related to public urination
- Arrest and jail time for felony burglary
If this record was attached to the name of any conservative or Republican candidate in CD3, you can bet that it would be daily news in the Daily Sentinel. Any observant student of the inner workings of the press knows that there is bias, but journalistic malpractice on the part of the political staff at the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel has turned a once revered news source into a laughable bird cage liner.
When will the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel begin to dissect the dicey past of Sal Pace? When will they print letters to the editor that point to the glaring defects of the Democrat candidate for CD3? Who knows. In the meantime, Americans are increasingly turning to online sources, blogs and news websites, for their breaking news and information. The print media, such as the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, still has its value, in the bird cage, or the puppy potty corner.