The Gun Barrel City Council appointed a city charter review commission Tuesday, July 28, that included a reporter for the Athens Daily Review who was covering the council meeting.
Kathi Nailling, who lives in Gun Barrel City, was appointed by Councilwoman Linda Rankin. Each council member appointed two members to the commission.
The Society of Professional Journalists' ethical guidelines urge editors and reporters to avoid conflicts of interest.
Most newspapers forbid editors and reporters from membership in groups that they cover, and political activity is expressly forbidden. The purpose is to ensure reporting remains unbiased.
Most city residents depend upon the media to inform them about city business, rather than attending meeting themselves.
Nailling said she saw no problem with her involvement in the commission, and that her editors approved the measure in advance. "Everybody said they thought I would be really good," she said.
Rankin said she talked to Nailling about the appointment, and that she understood there would be no problem.
(UPDATE: Councilwoman Linda Rankin advised today, July 29, that Kathi Nailling has "declined to be on the committee" after re-evaluating the situation.)
Nailling said the editor of The Monitor, a competing newspaper on Cedar Creek Lake, had served on a Seven Points commission in the past. The Monitor Editor Pearl Cantrell said she attended three meetings of the Seven Points Economic Development Corp. because they were desperate for a board member to continue functioning. Cantrell said she resigned as soon as the group found a new member to replace her.
(Disclosure: David Webb, in addition to writing for CedarCreekLake.com, freelances for The Monitor, and that includes coverage of Gun Barrel City.)