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August 16th, 2006 at 08:52am Michael Conniff 2

A funny thing happened to Troy Hooper’s story in the Aspen Daily News about the race for Pitkin County Sheriff when he re-wrote and edited down the same piece for the Denver Post—the bias in favor of Braudis disappeared and the Sheriff’s alcohol abuse was front and center.

If Hooper, the best reporter in town on most days, has an Achilles Heel, then it’s his longstanding role as personal friend and professional Boswell to Sheriff Bob Braudis, the incumbent running against Aspen Police Safety Officer Rick Magnuson. Sheriff Braudis’s disappearance this summer into alcohol rehabilitation left Hooper and the pro-Braudis Daily News in a quandary: should they write what they knew—that the Sheriff was, in fact, in rehab at the Desert Canyon Treatment Center in Arizona—or ignore the story by swallowing his spin that it was a personal matter brought on by high cholesterol, high blood-pressure, obesity, and bronchial pneumonia?

The Daily took the path of least resistance by refusing to write about their favorite son in law enforcement in anything but a passing reference. But their tune suddenly changed when Magnuson ill-advisedly tried to establish Braudis was in residence at Desert Canyon—by leaving Daily editor Rick Carroll’s phone number at the facility and telling the Sheriff to call back on a “legal matter.” That was Magnuson’s supremely awkward way of telling the newspaper the Sheriff was in an alcohol and drug treatment center—and not a “wellness clinic” as the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office spun it to the Aspen Times. Neither newspaper had the temerity to find out on their own. Aspen Post broke the story of the Sheriff’s unexplained absence June 29, 2006.

Here, on a silver platter served up by Magnuson, was a chance for Troy Hooper to spin the negative news of the Sheriff’s walkabout into a positive story that had the advantage of embarrassing his opponent, whom the Daily referred to disparagingly as “Magnuson P.I.” Hooper, after saying emphatically that there was no story in Braudis’s rehab, suddenly swung into action with a detailed expose about the phone call to Desert Canyon and the “new” slimmed-down version of Bob Braudis, as spun with typical eloquence by the Sheriff himself.

The key point when comparing the two stories about the Sheriff’s stint in rehab is to address the lingering albeit unanswered question: was Sheriff Braudis at Desert Canyon Treatment Center because of an addiction to alcohol—or in a “wellness clinic” getting healthy thanks to Pilates, yoga, and all things organic?

Hooper wrote both stories about his friend without answering the fundamental question: is Sheriff Broadis addicted to alcohol, and has that addiction persisted throughout his twenty years in the saddle as the chief law enforcement officer of Pitkin County?

In the extended Daily piece, Hooper wrote: “Although Desert Canyon bills itself as a sanctuary where addicts can go to kick booze or drugs, it emphasizes healing for the entire body. Braudis said he initially enrolled in the center after receiving a physical in May when he tipped the scales at over 300 pounds, discovered his cholesterol was irregular and his blood pressure too high. The 6-foot, 6-inch tall sheriff also was battling a hard-to-shake bronchial infection.”

Not only does Desert Canyon “bill itself” as a place where addicts can get help, that’s actually what it is. The actual name of the facility, according to the web site, is “Desert Canyon Treatment Center,” and the center’s role for rehabilitation is stated explicitly. In both stories, Hooper never uses the full and formal name “Desert Canyon Treatment Center,” perhaps because then there would be no denying that his friend Bob Braudis had checked into a place that helps addicts, rather than a “wellness clinic” for more generic concerns.

Nor does the lead in Hooper’s story for the Daily even suggest that Braudis had a drinking problem: “The phone rang at Desert Canyon where Pitkin County Sheriff Bob Braudis checked in last month to lose weight and get his health in check.”

Alcohol problem? What alcohol problem? Hooper never challenges the Sheriff about his drinking in either story. In the Daily story, news of the Sheriff’s new-found sobriety doesn’t appear until the 28th paragraph. But this is how the explanation appeared in paragraphs four and five of the story in the Denver Post:

“Last month, Braudis, 61, checked into Desert Canyon, a drug and alcohol treatment center in Sedona, Ariz. The sheriff says he has been sober for two months.”
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Still no Desert Canyon Treatment Center and still no reference to the Sheriff’s problems with alcohol. At least the Sheriff’s drinking problem, stated obliquely, is front and center in the Denver paper. But the spin continues nonetheless. Paragraph six in the Denver story quotes Sheriff Braudis:

"I haven't felt this good in 15 years. Waking up to a sunrise without any fog from a dinner party the night before is beautiful.”

Compare that to the more complete quote in the Daily:

"I'll be very direct and honest. I haven't felt this good in 15 years. Waking up to a sunrise without any fog from a dinner party the night before is beautiful. I've always been a very social person and I've gone on long runs of going to dinner parties at friends' homes and doing it seven nights a week. That's a big transition from the old days when I was at the Hotel Jerome eight nights a week.”

Hooper, in other words, dropped the part of the quote from the Daily that details the Sheriff’s long-term alcohol abuse, as detailed by Sheriff Braudis himself.

But there’s another, even more serious omission in the story Hooper wrote for the Denver Post. Nowhere is mention ever made of the reason for the supposed reason for his disappearance to the “Desert Canyon where Pitkin County Sheriff Bob Braudis checked in last month to lose weight and get his health in check.” The Sheriff’s high cholesterol, high-blood pressure, weight problems, and bronchial pneumonia—given by Hooper as the reasons for his absence in the very first paragraph of the Daily story—don’t even merit a single mention in Hooper’s story in the Denver Post. The lead from the Daily story literally disappears en route to Denver. Instead, here’s Hooper’s lead for the Denver Post:

“An Aspen Police Department community resource officer is raising the area's reputation for substance abuse to the top of his political agenda as he challenges five-term Pitkin County Sheriff Bob Braudis in the November election.”

No mention is made of “Magnuson P.I.” anywhere in the Denver Post story, where both candidates are treated fairly, the way it’s supposed to be in a real newspaper.

As a friend of Bob Braudis—and their mutual friend, the late Hunter S. Thompson—Troy Hooper has seen the Sheriff in action many times, on the job and off. If there’s someone in the valley who knows the real story about the Sheriff’s ways and means, then it’s Troy Hooper. Furthermore, Troy Hooper is both famously and infamously known in Aspen for saying: “There is no off the record.” That would seem to indicate that if he ever saw his friend, say, breaking a law, he would be bound to write about it in the Aspen Daily News.

No one really expects a reporter to “out” a friend, and that’s understandable; nor should they be allowed to write blatantly biased stories about their friends.

Troy Hooper should in fact be banned from ever writing another word about the Sheriff of Pitkin County. Then he would have to decide what kind of journalist he wants to be: the potential Pulitzer candidate who writes for the Denver Post, or the Boswell who carries the water for the powerful in the Aspen Daily News.

Entry Filed under: Media, Aspen, Crime, Pitkin County, Sheriff Race 2006

10 Comments Add your own

1. John Bloe | August 16th, 2006 at 4:10 pm

"Broke the story?" As I recall, you wrote that you didn't know where Bradis was. What , exactly, was the story you broke? The newspapers apparently knew where he was. Drives you crazy, doesn't it? You just can't understand why no one but you knows that you're more intelligent than everyone else.

In fact, it's pretty funny that you were just about the only one in town who didn't know Braudis' whereabouts. I wonder - did you do anything more than call the Sheriff's office and ask where he was? You couldn't get one person to go on the record. In fact, I can't recall any of your "breaking news" stories where ANYONE has ever gone on the record. In another story you couldn't even get the news guy at your own radio station to go on the record. It couldn't possibly be because no one takes you seriously or respects your skills as a writer or journalist, could it?

Seriously though - you're quite the investigative journalist. It's a wonder the Aspen Times or another (or any) newspaper or real news organization didn't snatch you up when you "left" the Daily News.
2. alpha6 | August 16th, 2006 at 8:25 pm

Of course Mick didn't know where Braudis was. He is not part of the inside circle of friends who really know that Sheriff Bob was in drug rehab. Oh, did I just say that out loud...I mean alcohol. That is what we are telling everyone right? Oh sure we all know the Sheriff liked to throw a couple down with the gang, but are you kidding me by saying that he wasn't there to try and kick that old nose candy habit? Ok, whatever...I guess I missed the line the day they were serving up big doses of Braudis kool aid. But hey, I bet Troy was at the front of that line.

Man I love this town!! Too bad Bill O'Reilly would never be able to host his show from here. No spin zone??Doesn't exist in the ol Ute City.
3. Michael Conniff 666 | August 16th, 2006 at 9:29 pm

I recently finished taking a Shakespeare class at the Aspen Institute, and I would like to remind all of you out there that this reminds me of that great, tragic comedy known as the Wasteland. It all came to me as I was listening to Bartok's Fifth Symphony at the Benedict Music Tent, visions of Pulitzers dancing in my head, wondering if Tom Friedman ever reads my blogs. I did see Bob Braudis at the Aspen Institute the other night, and with much muchness, as we say in the blogosphere, that ain't all. And it wasn't!. I I felt this insatiable desire gnawing at my loins: I have a man crush! And Sir Troy Hooper, might I say to you that if you would only listen to me you may be great as I am one day. I'll keep a seat warm for you up in my ivory tower of sobriety.

Best, Michael!
4. Michael Conniff | August 17th, 2006 at 6:44 am

This comment just above by “Michael Conniff 666” is really, really funny, the best comment I’ve ever read on Aspen Post. “Michael Conniff 666,” you are not me, but my hat’s off to you, though I can’t quite take on the case of man-love you suggest. (Projection, perhaps?) And I am very flattered by your spot-on imitation of my style and sensibility. Well-done, alter-ego! I hope you have the cojones and the style to keep them coming.

So this is what Aspen Post is all about: it’s an open mike, even if you can’t resist the opportunity to knock the founder of this blog by making believe you are him. But I am also struck by the way that some of the harshest critics assume the cloak of anonymity (excepting MC 666 above, who made it pay.) Aspen Post lets you hide and play peek-a-boo, but if you really believe in what you say then put yourself out there, like the bloggers here do.

To be anonymous is to permanently accept the status of eunuch in cyberspace. You know who you are.

But I did want to address my cloak-and-dagger critics. The kvetching falls into several categories: that I’m fat; that I have a huge ego; and that I’m a lousy journalist.

Fat: guilty as charged!

Ego: guilty again!

Lousy journalist: maybe not so much.

I didn’t just land here from outer space, journalistically speaking. Before I took the job at the Aspen Daily News, I came in second for the job of Managing Editor of Yahoo! when I was told repeatedly by Yahoo!’s editor-in-chief that I was “overqualified.” (I’m not kidding.) I spent a month trying to convince her I couldn’t possibly be overqualified for the M.E. job, that it was a “destination” position, the job of a lifetime, and so on. (She was afraid I’d get bored!) No luck, but perhaps an indication that I had something on the ball not obvious to my print-bound peers here in Aspen.

I’d been around the block and back long before I came to the valley. I’ve worked at three major metropolitan newspapers (San Francisco, Baltimore, Boston); I’ve started three independent news services; as the lead consultant, I developed Citicorp Global Report, the first international online service, and helped to formulate Reuters TV 2000 for the global news service based in London; I was the founder and executive producer of Nutrition.com; the executive producer of the first interactive sports arena system in the country at MCI Center; and the founder and executive producer of Women’s Sports Channel, then the primary provider of online sports news for Oprah’s Oxygen network. I was also the executive producer of a wireless sports news service that went head-to-head with USA Today and MSNBC: we put a whupping on them by a ratio of 8-1.

I have also been a syndicated media and television columnist in Boston; the new media columnist for Editor & Publisher, the Bible of the newspaper industry; and the organizer of an Interactive Newspapers conference attended by over 800 people. I wrote a cover story about the first Nike cross-trainer for the start-up Hippocrates magazine (now In Health) the year it won the National Magazine Award; earlier this year I was Aspen Editor of New West when it won the Online Journalism Award for General Excellence. As a freelance writer I’ve written for a whole bunch of publications, including the Chicago Tribune, Newsday, Hartford Courant, Rocky Mountain News, and the San Francisco Examiner, where I first started as a copy boy during the strange case of Patty Hearst.

At Harvard, I was a grant award winner at the JFK School of Government for my thesis on my father, a newspaperman who won the Pulitzer Prize. My grandfather was also in the news business, and ran the Associated Press wire in Danbury, Connecticut. I taught writing at Harvard and served there as the first-ever Journalism Tutor at Eliot House. I was in the first-class to attend the Television Institute at the Columbia School of Journalism. I’ve also had a dozen short stories published and was the Raymond Sokolov Scholar in Fiction at the Breadloaf Writers Conference.

One other thing I’m particularly proud of: I founded Aspen Post, Skiing Post, and more Posts to come.

I suppose all of this proves I have an ego, but I’ve already pleaded guilty to that. And I’m fat as charged. But as a journalist I’ve paid my dues. You could look it up.

One last clarification: I was fired from the Daily News though they were nice enough to let me resign. It’s certainly not a secret, and I’ll let my critics draw their own conclusions. But it’s worth a quick anecdote about the last time I was fired, over 25 years ago, in 1981 in New York at Link Resources, because I had brought the company online. I was ashamed of being fired for years, but then one day I realized it was pretty cool to be fired for bringing your company online way back in 1981. I was proud enough of being fired to put it on my resume, where it stays to this day.

Cheers,

Michael Conniff
(accept no substitutes)
5. Michael Conniff 666 | August 17th, 2006 at 10:09 am

Hark to Mayor Andrew Kole,
Glory to the newborn playright!
And Hark to me the Michael Coniff,
And his blogs of great insight!

With Pultizers in tow,
We shall conquer Aspen city,
And blog with all our might,
And try say things witty.

We shall pontificate and proliferate,
In a style suitable to the masses,
We will write just about anything,
So long as we get free passes.

Best, Michael!
6. alpha6 | August 17th, 2006 at 3:48 pm

Hey the "Real" Michael Conniff ...

Great ideas often receive violent opposition from mediocre minds. - Albert Einstein

Keep the faith and keep up the good work.
7. aspenpost | August 17th, 2006 at 5:27 pm

Michael,

what the heck is your obsession with the sheriff? Did he give you a parking ticket? It gets boring to read over and over again that you are pissed.

And by the way: Why do I have to give you my email address (register) to post in your blog. You were furious about data mining when the republicans did that.

M. Smith
8. Miguel Conniff | August 17th, 2006 at 5:28 pm

Alpha6,

Besa mi culo, puto.

Besto, Michael!
9. alpha6 | August 17th, 2006 at 6:42 pm

Oye Miguel,

Vamos a hablar pinchi cabron. Si no sabes como hablar, callete!

You are going to have to do better then grammer school spanish if you want to play.

“Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something.” - Plato
10. beeswax | August 23rd, 2006 at 3:47 pm

Michael,

Why are you picking on this Hooper kid? After all, isn't he just a little fish in a big industry where integrity has fled the room. The days of Edward Murrow are gone, journalism has settled into corporate America where spin = sales = revenue.

I look forward to your illustrious sheriffs up coming best seller, How I Kicked the Habit and Kept my Badge. Make sure to Tivo the Oprah episode!!