What the News & Record's Allen Johnson chose not to tell 72,649 Sunday circulation recipients before the primary; Skip Alston, Alma Adams, Earl Jones, Yvonne Johnson and the Simkins PAC

"There is an obvious pattern to the George Simkins Jr. Memorial PAC endorsements.

Being a PAC member seems to help.

For the May 6 primaries, the PAC endorsed former County Commissioner Melvin “Skip” Alston, a PAC member, over incumbent Gladys Robinson in the Democratic primary for the N.C. Senate District 28 seat.

It also endorsed 12th District congressional candidate Alma Adams, a PAC member, and House 60 candidate Earl Jones, a PAC member.

And it endorsed Lisa Johnson-Tonkins for clerk of Superior Court; her mother, City Councilwoman Yvonne Johnson, happens to be vice chairwoman of the Simkins PAC.

The PAC traditionally has endorsed in elections and typically includes its selections in a mailer to African American households. In the past, it has helped to increase black voting power and to amplify black voices in local politics.

Today, its luster and credibility are fading, and it may have only itself to blame. It seems more self-interested and self-serving.

...When asked about the endorsement process, Alston said: “I’m not going to get into that.”

And when asked whether his involvement in the PAC poses a conflict of interest, Alston said, “No.”

...Politically, it seems almost incestuous.

If the PAC values its integrity, it should reveal all of its members, as well as specify which ones were involved in the endorsement process. And it should make it clear whether any, such as Yvonne Johnson and Alma Adams, did or did not recuse themselves from the endorsement process because of family ties or because they themselves were candidates.

...In the long run, the PAC seems to be losing influence and has had its endorsements challenged and contradicted in the black community...

http://www.news-record.com/blogs/thinking_out_loud/article_1eb67396-cc0b-11e3-b2dc-001a4bcf6878.html
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Allen wrote on his blog instead, probably attracting no more than a couple of thousand page hits.
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Prior restraint or prior censorship eliminates certain material from being published or communicated to its fullest extent.

In Greensboro, North Carolina, the paper of record has prevented controversial information from being disseminated to the public.

I believe “Freedom of the Press” is the right to be free from prior restraint.

I believe Greensboro's News & Record has failed our community by not reporting some of what they should have, but chose not to, or reported what should have been widely disseminated as online blog posts which very few saw, or buried important topics where few would read them.

In this case, Mr. Johnson chose to mislead Greensboro's African American community by not informing them of important information via the newspaper directly before many vote for or against Simkins PAC members.

In this case, I believe the News & Record, by not pointing out these facts to its in print, newspaper circulation, has manipulated the election in favor of the Simkins PAC.