News-Record.com

Ryan at Greensboro Politics pointed me to an interview that he did with County Commissioner Skip Alston about the International Civil Rights Museum. He references some comments made on the Debatables blog.

Skip answers: They are misinformed and not involved in the process and are ignorant to the facts of what are taking place with the museum. They are likely reading the News & Record which is full of misinformation and no facts at all who has proven to be an enemy to this project from the very beginning.

Ryan: Skip the News & Record is a donor correct?

Skip: Yes, you keep your friends close and your enemies even closer.

Ryan was surprised that Skip took such a shot at a donor. I wasn't. It's par for the course.

We have been aggressive in our reporting about the status of the museum since the late '90s. Skip has been equally aggressive in criticizing our reporting. We believe our stories have been on the money and that the numbers speak for themselves.

The News & Record contributed $150,000 to the effort in 2002. At the time, our article about the gift quoted then president and publisher Van King as saying: We've long thought the museum is a wonderful community asset that must be done well. We've been impressed by the progress and from our standpoint of corporate giving, the timing is right for us to add our dollars.

I really applaud the leadership of Earl Jones and Skip Alston and others who were persistent from the very beginning.

I don't know why an "enemy of this project from the very beginning" would donate such a sum to help it get built. But Van also said, correctly, that the newsroom would continue to ask tough questions about where the money is going and the progress of the museum.

And that apparently still sticks in Skip's craw.