TS - Trinidad kicks off investigation of Salzman

Trinidad kicks off investigation of Salzman
James Faulk

TRINIDAD -- Police Chief Ken Thrailkill said earlier this week that he needed a complaint to start an investigation against Richard Salzman for writing letters to the editor under an assumed name.
Apparently he received one -- from editor Glenn Franco Simmons of the Eureka Reporter -- because an investigation into the matter has begun.

”We contacted the Trinidad Police Department, and Ken up there said that by me phoning the Trinidad Police Department and asking for an investigation, that I essentially ‘filed’ a criminal complaint, although I didn’t even sign anything,” Franco Simmons wrote in an e-mail Friday.

Salzman wrote a series of letters under different names to several local newspapers, although it appears that only the Eureka Reporter is seeking a criminal investigation. Salzman, a long-time political bare-knuckler who has worked for several prominent officials including District Attorney Paul Gallegos, may have violated state law by writing those letters.

Salzman has been unreachable for the past two weeks, not returning phone calls or e-mails. On Friday morning, however, a reporter found him outside his house in Trinidad. Gallegos and ACLU stickers on the back of a sport utility vehicle were the first evidence of his presence.

His comment was essentially a refusal to say anything due to pending legal concerns.
”I’d like nothing more than to talk about this, but I spoke to an attorney and he said I can’t speak to anyone about it,” Salzman said.

He declined to say whether he had retained an attorney or just sought legal advice.

However, a previous press release from Salzman titled “Confessions of a Prolific Letter Writer,” lays out what his defense may be:

”Writing letters to the editor to express a personal opinion is an important First Amendment right,” Salzman wrote in the press release. “I have used this right on many occasions.

”As you know I have a lot to say about local politics. I have submitted letters to the editor that have been written by me and letters written by others. I have submitted these letters in my name, I have helped other people draft and submit letters in their name with their permission and I have even submitted letters under a pen name ...

”It has been my intention to influence public opinion in every legal way possible. One of the very few media venues available to the general public to express opinions is the letters to the editor section of newspapers.

”The use of pen names has been a common practice throughout history. It is important to know I stand behind the substance of everything contained in all the letters I submitted.”

An investigation into Salzman’s e-mails could possibly lead to a situation where other, confidential e-mails from other sources are requested, but Franco Simmons said he didn’t believe that would be the case.
”Revealing e-mailed letters to the editor, which were published, is not revealing a confidential source or e-mail,” he said.

Franco Simmons said the decision to ask for an investigation was made between him and publisher Judi Pollace. Eureka Reporter owner Rob Arkley -- who has had some e-mailed words to say to and about Salzman before the letter-writing issue was discovered -- did not take part in the decision, Franco Simmons said.
He said the use of pen names by letter writers can hurt the credibility of newspapers.
”They can be from one individual and that creates the sense that more people are writing in about a certain issue than really are,” he said.

Other local newspapers are not expected to file similar complaints, although Editor Hank Sims of the North Coast Journal -- who originally broke the story -- said Publisher Judy Hodgson would have to make that call. She was out of town Friday.

The Times-Standard will not be filing a complaint.

Editor Charles Winkler said it’s a newspaper’s business to find out these issues and report on them publicly. In this case, the apparent perpetrator of the deception has been exposed before the public, which is what readers expect.

”The proper role of a newspaper is to report the news, not become the news,” Winkler said.
In addition, in rashly filing a criminal complaint in this case, he said, a newspaper could then be asked to give up its confidential unpublished material.

”From my perspective, I can’t imagine any newspaper voluntarily doing that,” Winkler said.
Such unpublished material, such as raw e-mails from the public, are specifically protected under state shield laws. It’s also a matter of journalistic integrity and First Amendment rights, he said.