Welcome to... Truth Vigilante

The name "Truth Vigilante" is inspired by a January 12, 2012 column by the Public Editor of The New York Times which asked, Should The Times Be a Truth Vigilante? Well, if the The Times doesn't want that title, we'll accept it.

Nominate a 'Truth Vigilante': If you see a great news report that calls out a source for lying (without waffling about it), send me the link (or email it to links @ truthvigilante.com) and we'll name the writer a "Truth Vigilante" on the site.

Reader Robert M writes in to nominate reporter David Wren of The Sun News in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina as a "Truth Vigilante."

Robert highlights David's work to track what's happening to the money raised by a one-cent local sales tax that's supposed to be funding tourism advertising but that's being administered by the local Chamber of Commerce - which is fighting attempts at oversight.

"The one-cent sales tax raises millions per year... and it's easy to imagine the kinds of self-dealing that are possible," Robert wrote. "Well, David has repeatedly asked for an accounting of how the tax money is spent, and apparently the official responses to his inquiries have become absolutely absurd."

Check out the story: Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce answers records request

Here's a quote, which illustrates the absurdity David faced:

"When [Chamber of Commerce lawyer David] Slough gave The Sun News access to the material on June 24, he said the documents were randomly placed in the boxes, which were stored in no apparent order by either date, category or topic.

"Three hours of review in the chamber's un-air-conditioned warehouse, undertaken as a forklift operator moved boxes within a few feet of the documents and three different songs played continuously on separate speakers, produced no information relevant to the request."

Three hours of listening to "Chipmunk Christmas" while sifting through reams of unsorted paper, next to forklifts, in a steamy warehouse, to find how the public's money is being spent?

David Wren, you're a Truth Vigilante.

Let's give a "Truth Vigilante" shout-out to the Los Angeles Times' George Skelton, for his smack-down of popular talking points against state tax increases in California.

Not only does Skelton brings an arsenal of facts to battle, but he drops a few FCC-friendly expletives along the way, including a "baloney" and a "blarney."

Remember, vigilantes, the "L" word ("lie") is okay to use, too. But we understand if you feel like you need to warm up to it. Just remember, the Truth Vigilante posse's got your back.

H/T to Monica H. for the link. Have you seen a reporter calling out a source for lying? Send us the link and we'll name the writer a Truth Vigilante, too.

We're now taking nominations for "Truth Vigilante" shout-outs. If you see a great news report where the writer calls out a source for lying (without waffling about it), send me the link and we'll name the writer a "Truth Vigilante" on the site.

Ideally, we're looking for the type of truth vigilante that Arthur Brisbane wrote about in his NYT piece: a reporter, confronted with a lie from a source, who calls out that source in the story.

Fact-check sidebars are great, as are blog posts calling out someone else's sources. And we'll consider those for Truth Vigilante shout-outs, too. But, ideally, we'd really like to honor reporters who show both the guts and the know-how to take on their own sources who lie to them. So, please, keep your eyes open and send in links when you find them.

Also, thanks to all those who've become fans of Truth Vigilante on Facebook. We now have an easy-to-remember URL shortcut for our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/truthvigilante. Please click and become a fan, if you haven't already.

Two more items:

1) Thanks to Eric Ulken for the font face suggestion for the new flag. He's also suggested "Truth Vigilante" T-shirts, which I think is a great idea. Anyone want to take a crack at designing one? (Free shirts and linkbacks in exchange.) Email if you're interested in either designing a shirt, or simply buying one. If there's enough interest, I'll put in an order. (By the way, I hate the quality of CafePress stuff. If we're gonna do shirts, we're gonna do 'em right.)

2) If anyone would like to help with curating the site by getting a log-in to post to the blog, email me. If I don't already know you in person, please include an introduction that convinces me you're not a spammer or a troll. Thanks.