Granny went looking through the publicly searchable trail of local reporting to see how often the North Vernon Plain Dealer has bothered to tell readers about State Board of Accounts audits.
You know, those pesky little government audits that reveal missing records, weak internal controls, officials signing certifications for training they apparently never completed, money-handling problems, repeated findings, and other tiny inconveniences the public might reasonably want to know about.
The results were about as impressive as a watchdog sleeping through a burglary.
Granny has posted at least 11 audit-focused stories covering local government problems. That includes North Vernon’s repeated audit findings, township issues, utility problems, sheriff-related audits, school-related findings, false certifications, and the Campbell Township Regional Sewer District mess.
The North Vernon Plain Dealer’s publicly searchable trail produced one clearly audit-focused story.
One.
Granny will even be generous and give them a possible second point if we count an arrest story involving an SBOA investigation. But reporting after criminal charges appear is not the same thing as digging through audits and warning the public while the smoke is still curling out from under the door.
So the scoreboard is roughly this:
Granny: at least 11 audit posts.
The Plain Dealer: 1 clearly audit-focused post. Maybe 2 if Granny grades on a curve.
That means Granny has produced somewhere between five and eleven times more searchable audit coverage than the local newspaper.
Let that sink in.
A newspaper is supposed to be a watchdog. It is supposed to sniff around government spending, read the audits, ask uncomfortable questions, and tell taxpayers when the same problems keep showing up year after year.
Instead, our local paper often appears to be guarding the couch cushions.
When local officials hand out ribbons, cut ceremonial cakes, chase grants, announce shiny projects, or pose for photographs, the Plain Dealer wakes up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.
But when the State Board of Accounts starts pointing out problems?
Suddenly the newsroom develops a powerful interest in napping.
Maybe “Plain Dealer” is no longer the right name.
Maybe it is the “Sleepy Plain Dealer”.
Or perhaps the “Propaganda Dealer”, where government press releases are treated like sacred scrolls and audit reports are tucked quietly beneath the birdcage liner.
When Granny’s little page is doing dramatically more audit digging than the newspaper that is supposed to cover local government for a living, the problem is not Granny being too critical.
The problem is the local press being far too comfortable.
A watchdog that only barks after the burglar has been arrested is not much of a watchdog.
It is a decorative porch ornament with a subscription fee
