opinion

Foster: Truth will clear the cloud of FBI investigation

The Summer of 2017.

It has been marked by dark clouds. Lightning strikes. Electricity.

Literally, it has rained almost every day.

Figuratively, storm clouds of an FBI investigation loom large.

Everyone seems to be bracing for a monsoon of truth.

The Tallahassee Democrat is committed to this community and its well being — now and for the future. That's been our proud history — tracking a large part of Tallahassee's history by reporting the news, good and bad, even when it's unsettling or unpleasant. It's what we do.

So, let’s talk about this federal probe and how the newspaper has covered it.

► See complete coverage of the Tallahassee FBI investigation

We report the news — based on the facts available to us and others that we uncover by our aggressive but fair reporting. By doing that on this continuing saga, we have found ourselves taking arrows from both the political left and the right. I think that likely reflects we're doing this job as we're supposed to do it. We can handle it — and while we welcome comments and criticisms, responsibly conveyed, it will not deter, delay or distract us from doing our job as we believe it should be done.

While some think we are "over covering" the FBI corruption investigation and others think we haven't done enough, we think we're doing our job as professionals.

We've assigned two ace reporters, Jeff Burlew and Jeff Schweers (yes, we call them “the Jeffs” in the office), to this story, non-stop. Our oversight editors, William Hatfield and Jennifer Portman, are among the best and brightest in our industry anywhere, too.

And while generating online traffic and readership are not something for which we apologize, I believe we have eschewed the sensational and are defaulting to a responsible approach to this story that must be covered.

There's a good chance that some of the people named in the subpoenas will never be indicted. That makes us especially attentive to our reporting and editing, ensuring that what we publish meets our highest bar of relevance and accuracy.

On the other hand, the aggressiveness of our reporting should be commensurate with revealing any breach of the sacred trust of those serving in a government funded by and for taxpayers.

And I hasten to add this – there is a lot … I mean A LOT … of information we have that clears a high bar, but not quite the highest bar that we have set for ourselves. We have chosen not to publish such information in an effort to err on the side of truth, fairness and accuracy.

For all of our neighbors who worry about how this scandal, publicity about it and the ultimate still-elusive final truth are only serving to drag down the city's image, here and elsewhere, and hurting our ability to promote, recruit, retain good people and things, let me be clear: This is not personal. This is our job.

I want nothing more than for us to be a part of a growing, vibrant city, county and region. The paper has tried hard to take a leading position when it comes to discussions about a vision for the future of Tallahassee, including its brand. It's why we also cover the just-past Chamber conference attended by 500 diverse leaders, the United Way campaign, the local sports stories of wins and losses by teams we love, and the triumphs and tragedies of daily life in this great community.

Yet, as a parallel, while rooting for the success of area sports teams is easy and a no-brainer, that rooting interest has to be totally subservient to our very highest calling: holding the powerful accountable. We all must be accountable.

Corruption is a corrosive force in a democracy such as ours, eroding public faith in our key institutions. Corruption is corruption. And crime is crime. We cover both — because it's news.

We don't delight in it — but we won't shy away from this serious duty.

When corruption is on the table, our first and foremost responsibility is to shine a light on it, as best we can. If that has a negative effect on our market, then with the utmost respect I would say that’s the fault of the purveyors of corruption.

What if it turns out there was not provable corruption? Well, if that happens, we’ll be covering those who launched the investigation with as much vigor as the investigation itself.

But I have to tell you, this old journalist turned publisher thinks the chance of that happening is very, very low.

And so, your updated forecast for the next few weeks: a 100 percent chance of both truth telling and caution, with severe legal storms, likely.

For all of us, in this 2017 in Tallahassee – this is the summer when the clouds got in the way. We will get to clearer skies, as the facts and truth emerge.

Skip Foster is president and publisher of the Tallahassee Democrat.