Tennessee officals filed first-degree murder charges against the wife of slain Tennessee minister Matthew Winkler . . . Matthew Winkler was found dead Wednesday when he failed to show up for a scheduled church service. (AP Photo/Mobile Register, John David Mercer)
Okay. We were mildly interested in getting the facts on the minister's wife who shot the husband. It happens. Any clues as to why? Not really, but anything was better than cable coverage.
Looking for facts about the minister's-wife-shoots-husband story at the local paper -- the Selmer, TN Times Daily -- we came up with the pathetic "create an account" communications barrier pictured above. You couldn't even read their front-page "Report of animal cruelty" story without stopping to type in all kinds of personal information. These people are headed for the dustbin.
A pathetically unprofessional Fox News "legal expert" had suggested earlier -- with zero evidence -- that maybe the wife had gone ballistic upon finding her husband having sex with the daughter. Others were equally speculating at will. We surfed to the hometown rag, the Selmer, TN Times Daily, hoping for local lore, only to hit a registration barrier to access. This was their big chance, and they blew it. No one other than the locals will ever surf back there again. Not that we were really interested, but had there been access, and had they had the lowdown, we would have been there and likely blogged about it. 'Nuff said. We're outta there, big time. Something similar happened with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, readily linked via Drudge during the Clinton presidency but then withdrawn behind a meaningless registration wall thereafter. Thank god the AD-G's best columnist, Paul Greenberg, is now accessible via JWR and Town Hall.
Update: In comments, Ken -- a Will Rogers for our times -- points out the error of our ways.
Just to let you know, Selmer DOES NOT have it's own local newspaper. The newspaper that you linked to/referred to is in Northern Alabama; almost four Wal-Marts from Selmer...that's a "world away" in these parts. The county that Selmer is located in has a local newspaper, "The Independent Appeal"...it's called that because it's independent of any real journalism, and it appeals to country folk. It comes out ONCE A WEEK, on Wednesday. This event missed the Monday deadline, so we'll have to get the 'local take' on it next Wednesday. FYI, the headlines are normally about a cow that has gotten loose, or a tragic automobile accident. McNairy County people are not known for their driving skills (that's why those of us who actually have auto insurance around here pay more than people in L.A. and NY do). The Independent Appeal has a website, but most likely all you're going to see is the upcoming week's school menus and last month's article about the head of the school district bragging about how McNairy County children moved from last place in the nation's ranking, up to next-to-last place. Ya see, McNairy County is not only "backwoods", it's literally 40 to 50 years back in time. There are still moonshiners here. There are many people here, that Memphis (80 miles away) is the farthest place they've ever been. The year's "big event" is the local production of "Hee Haw" (depending on your age, you may have to look it up on Wikipedia). They have a parade each year, commemorating their "favorite son", Sheriff Buford Pusser, of the movie, "Walking Tall" fame. Children march down the street in a parade, literally carrying a big stick, or axe handle - just like their hero. It would make a great documentary, but no one would believe it. Did ya ever see that episode of "The Andy Griffith Show" where Hollywood "came to town"...we'll, that's EXACTLY what's happened here! I can't wait until law enforcement reveals why she did it, so the whole world can just go away and leave us to our inbreeding and low property taxes!
Posted by: Ken | March 25, 2006 at 10:30 PM
A masterpiece of the yarn-spinner's art, Ken. It was Will Rogers himself who said "I only know what I read in the newspaper."
Posted by: Sissy Willis | March 26, 2006 at 05:06 AM
Almost four Wal-Marts away... a beautiful observation. And from now on I will rely entirely on Sissy for information about this murder case and related media idiocy. Tragedy becomes comedy in the hands of the American press.
Posted by: Richard Lawrence Cohen | March 26, 2006 at 10:17 AM
Bugmenot.com is your friend! Go there - type in the URL of the newspaper and it will give you a list of user names and passwords to try. It's nearly impossible to find ones that work for the NYT... but for a small paper down in Alabama or Tennessee... shouldn't be a problem. I've used this numerous times for "off the beaten track" papers that need a logon to read their pages.
Posted by: Teresa | March 26, 2006 at 06:45 PM