Jonathan Maziarz: Victim No. 2 of the BTW purge?

About 12 minutes ago, this was posted on the skeletal remains of Topix Kingsland. What about this Saint Marys, GA Reply » Report Abuse #1 9 min ago "Johnathan Mariaz just got fired from the Tribune & Georgian. I am particularly SAD to hear this news because he is one of the only people that have stood for truth, honesty and integrity in reporting the news. Just because he informs the community of legislative issues that we need to be made AWARE of is no reason to fired him because the elected can’t stand the pressure. Clean the slate in 08.I for one will miss his editorials." Not wanting to jump the gun, I called the T&G and talked to the publisher, Alan NeSmith, son of the chain's owner, "Dink" NeSmith. All he would say - tersely - was that Jonathan was no longer with the newspaper. I fully concurr with the sentiments expressed by "What about this" on Topix Kingsland. Jonathan's views on social isuues and the environment might have been a litttle - actually a lot - to the left of prevailing sentiments in our area, but I always took comfort in the old addage that "When you're 25, if you're not a liberal, you have no heart; when you're 45, if you're not a conservative, you have no brain." He had time to grow. But with regards to holding elected officials' feet to the fire, he was far and away the best editor the T&G has had since I moved here in August of '93. I'm sure that he will be re-employed just as soon as he wants to be - and hopefully as an editor with a better paycheck. I really do regret the community's loss and wish him, his wife, Marco, and the wild weiner dog the best. So - and no, I'm not likening myself to a newspaper editor - but it is intersting that in the span of about a week, they silenced me (or so they thought), and got Jonathan fired. Did anyone notice that Gordon Jackson's byline was not on the Cisco story in this morning's GTU? Let's hope that Gordon has the flu or is on vacation. They took a shot at him as one of The Cumberland Three - and missed. You can be sure that he is still high on the hit list. They are trying their damnedest to intimidate Rick Rogers into silence, but it is not working. The BTW bear is severely wounded. A wounded bear bears watching. Let's hope the federal grand jury puts the bear down once and for all. 30 - 45 minutes later: I've been thinking about this. If I recall correctly, the very last of Jonathan's opinion pieces was the one where he commented upon the phenomenal growth of blogs; their impact on politicis nationally; and, finally, commended his readers to Rick Roger's blog. Was he fired because of that or did he know the firing was coming and published that as a means of allowing his readers to continue to get the true scoop on Smith's mis-and malfeasance and criminality in office? I note also that Jonathan's name appears nowhere in today's hard copy of the T&G. I further note that the Topix poster said this morning that he "just got fired." I wonder if Jonathan first knew that he was fired when he noticed his name (and perhaps an opinion piece) were not in today's paper. That would be a real class act, wouldn't it? UPDATE: 03/06/08 @ 1055 HRS. Today, on his blog, (http://www.camdenganews.com/blog/) Sandy Feller suggested an effort to convince the T&G publisher, Alan NeSmith, to re-hire Jonathan Maziarz as editor. Should you wish to participate in such an effort, here, from the T&G online, are their contact points: By telephone (912) 882-4927 By fax (912) 882-6519 By mail P.O. Box 470, St. Marys, GA 31558 By e-mail Publisher: anesmith@tds.net