PAYING ATTENTION!
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John
Leeman, The Latest Victim
published
in Rumbo 05/25/01
John
Leeman, by all accounts was great Selectman in North
Andover. He has never been accused of impropriety in his
capacity as a selectman. He has never had his abilities
or character questioned in his job as an elected
official. Yet the Eagle Tribune saw fit last week to
print intimate details about his relationship with his
wife, his personal finances and a civil suit concerning
allegations he may have embezzled money from his company.
John Leeman is innocent until proven guilty. He is not
under arrest. He is not being charged with a crime and
the allegations against him are just that, allegations.
So why did the Eagle Tribune run several front page,
so-called stories to drag Leeman and his family through
the mud?
Community activist Rick Dizazzo is fond of saying that
the Tribune is like the National Enquirer, often citing
the rumor that chief editor Steve Lambert once worked for
the Enquirer. I don’t know if Lambert ever worked
for the tabloid paper or not. But the way the Eagle
Tribune handled the John Leeman story certainly lends
credibility to Dizazzo’s claim.
Last Sunday Mr. Lambert defended the Tribune’s
decision to publicly parade allegations and private
information about Leeman and his family in the paper by
comparing him to former Lawrence Superintendent Mae
Gaskins. But Lambert misses the boat in his comparison
because Gaskins was accused of misdeeds in connection
with her job performance. Mr. Leeman has never had this
distinction.
In their quest to titillate and print the raciest and
most scandal ridden stories they can, the people who work
at the daily paper give no thought to how their stories
will effect or destroy John Leeman’s children. They
think nothing of how it will affect the lives of his
friends and family. So I guess this begs the question; is
it because they are so disconnected from the average
person who is the subject of such public disgrace that
they just don’t get it? Or is because they just
don’t care?
Whatever the case, there is an agenda of personal
destruction up on Turnpike Street. I don’t know if
John Leemon is guilty of anything and I certainly do not
know if he is innocent. But I do know this; John Leeman
is a human being who gave of himself to the Town of North
Andover and served the people extremely well. Just ask
them. I don’t want to know if he had troubles with
his wife. It’s none of my business. I don’t
want to know if Leeman has a personal beef with his
employers. It’s none of my business. And I certainly
do not give a damn if he is being sued. All I care about
is his job performance as a Town Selectman. And
that’s all anyone should care about.
Strangely enough, the people of North Andover seem to
feel the same way. Several calls to Sound Off and letters
to the editor have all been in defense of John Leeman.
Several people at Town Meeting last week were heard
admonishing he Tribune for the way they handled the
story. And given the outrage over the Trib’s
behavior on all this, you might think the editors would
reflect and maybe even rethink the way they routinely
trash public officials. Most people would learn from the
experience and form a strategy for their business to
better serve their readers in the future. But instead,
Mr. Lambert defended his newspapers misdeeds and compared
John Leeman’s private business dealings to the
public allegations against Mae Gaskins in her capacity as
Superintendent of Schools.
Given the background of some of the people at the Eagle
Tribune I find it dishonest and disgusting that they
would try to be the morality police here in the Merrimack
Valley. Maybe I have a jaded view on the topic because I
have also been the victim of half-truths and backhanded
personal attacks. Maybe my opinion on this matter should
be dismissed because the Tribune and I are constantly at
odds. Or maybe, just maybe, I can speak with a little
more authority than most people because of those
dealings. One thing for sure, I know there is nobody at
the Tribune who will take my opinions seriously no matter
how valid they might be. And that, my friends is the
problem.
I don’t like being at war with The Tribune or anyone
else. I would rather be able to sit own like mature
adults and try to solve the problem. But, with the
Tribune employees and their holier than thou attitude it
is impossible to get a fair shake because they think they
are better than everyone else. Well, they’re not,
and I have proof. They all have personal follies and they
all make mistakes like everyone else around here. And if
things don’t change in the way they personally
attack people in public life I may just have to give them
a taste of their own damned medicine. As I mentioned in
my notebook this week, writers and editors are public
figures just like politicians. And I don’t think
they would like it very much if I started to print what I
know about their personal lives. I have never been about
that and would be very disappointed if they forced my
hand. But I am willing to do it if it means that our
public officials will get treated fairly.
If you want to know why good people do not run for office
and we cannot get a better pool of qualified people to
run our government you can trace it directly to the
editorial board a the Eagle Tribune.
You see, my friends, I am not going away no matter what
the Tribune tries to convince you about me. This is my
city and I am taking a stand. And if that means I have to
play the game by their rules I will lower myself to that
standard for the sake of teaching them a lesson. I am
hoping I won’t have to do that. I have better things
to do. But I am prepared if things don’t change!
That is a promise.
Let John Leeman be the last victim of such scandalous
trash journalism in the Merrimack Valley.
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