Observer's landfill coverage is nothing but garbage

When Robert Wilonsky left the Dallas Observer, I quickly discovered reading the weekly newspaper’s blog, Unfair Park, was a complete waste of my valuable time. Conversely, I have found a lot more value in the blogs Wilonsky contributes to at the Dallas Morning News.

Every once in a while, however, I’ll pick up the printed version of the paper to read Jim Schutze’s column, the pieces on dining and restaurants and to learn what acts are playing at what clubs. But then I’ll read an entry reprinted from Unfair Park and just have to shake my head over how bad the reporting has become at the Observer.

A visual representation of
the Dallas Observer's reporting

For example, in its piece about the landfill audit performed by the Dallas City Auditor, the misinformed writer, Eric Nicholson, just comes and says, without any attribution, "The upshot (of the audit) was that the city had lost a garbage truck full of potential revenue over the past decade, a total of $1.1 million." That’s just flat wrong. The only person in any way connected with the city who has said anything like that is Scott Griggs, the arrogant jerk of a city councilman who thinks he knows-it-all, but never, EVER, does.

What the audit actually reported was, because of systems that were in place, there was the remote possibility that as much as $100,000 a year was lost. There was also the remote possibility that the landfill actually took in more revenue than it earned, but I seriously doubt that happened. However, that possibility also exists.

But, for the sake of argument, let’s accept the very probable false premise that the city did lose $100,000 out of a total revenue of $28 million each year. That comes to a loss of 0.36 percent of the landfill's total income. Look, I work in retail and I will guarantee you Wal-Mart would absolutely love to have a shrinkage rate of 0.36 percent/per store after each inventory. Sam Walton would be turning cartwheels in his grave.

But I guess it’s too much to ask the media to put things in their proper perspect perspective. It shouldn’t be, however.