Ahem

Today's Watauga Democrat contains confirmation of what was first aired on this site in April 2006. The much contested letter from former Sheriff Mark Shook to his chief deputy Paula Townsend, for example, was first published here, in the comment thread to a Glenn Hubbard posting, "Who Shot the Sheriff." (You'll have to scroll waaay down into the comments, but it's there, and it's the same words published in the Watauga Democrat today.)

Forgive us -- or don't -- if we reflect at this time on the "citizen journalism" of blogsites like WataugaWatch ... and coincidentally recall that because of "Who Shot the Sheriff" we were the subject of a lacerating editorial ("Rumor has it...") on April 28, 2006, in the Watauga Democrat, calling for the "eradication" of blogs as a threat to high journalistic standards. (Apparently, the editorial is no longer available on-line, but we summarized its content here.)