hey there - believe me, i see your point. i guess i get offended quickly because the two companies aren't directly tied into each other the way you think they are - and they're both corporations with different shareholders (only one person has shares in both, and he doesn't derive any financial gain by the newspaper. it's a long story, but what i am getting at is simply that never ever has the publisher or anyone else directed how a news story is reported, so there is no conflict of interest...
it's the same with me being the managing editor of the newspaper and an elected member of the school committee - other than there being a lot more coverage than there used to be in our newspaper for school district events and information, there is very little left over to blur the lines or create the illusion of a conflict of interest...
maybe it seems more cut and dry for me, sitting where i sit - than someone like yourself, who is free to formulate your own opinion based on perception - in which case, we are probably both right in our own respects.
i apologize for being reactionary very early this morning. thanks for being a reasonable person.