Factual reporting doesn't mean lack of "support"

Earlier this week a man found guilty of soring Tennessee walking horses was sentenced by a federal judge in Chattanooga to write an article describing the practice and its extent.

The T-G published a story describing the judge's actions. We simply reported what happened in a courtroom. Period. In no way was that story an attack on the horse industry.

By Wednesday afternoon, the T-G was already undergoing criticism on a Facebook Tennessee walking horse chat site.

"It's pretty sad that the local paper doesn't even support us," one person wrote.

Simply reporting on a guilty offender being sentenced is not an indication of lack of "support" for an entire industry.

Are we supposed to "stick our heads in the sand" and portray a fantasy world where no bad news happens? That's not how it works.

We can't ignore news that some see as negative. Our job is to report the news - impartially, with no so-called "agenda" - and inform our readers. To do anything less would be a disservice to our community.

And, for the record, no one at this newspaper is out to destroy or injure the horse industry or the Celebration.