Fox 8's Interview With Keith Crisco

Still taking phone calls and e-mails. Keith Crisco was interviewed by Fox 8 last night.

Leah Beno offered an introductory piece (it was hard not to chuckle at Neill McNeill's lead-in) . . . "you see, he lives and works in Asheboro, a city the census bureau listed 4th in the nation last month for its increase in the number of people falling below the poverty level."

Its not just about those falling below the poverty level. The grapevine tells me that more and more young professionals (particularly in the medical field) are deciding that there is no good future for them in Asheboro.

I could have told them that.

Once they get over the recruitment snow (it takes a year or two), they realize they're too principled to play the old games . . . too knowledgeable and ambitious (in Asheboro speak, "arrogant and cliquish") to take a back seat to mill-owners who see them as just another pawn on the board . . . and too savvy to spend years trying to build a future at the risk of it being dashed to pieces in days when they cross the wrong (excuse me, "right") person.

While some locals doing the "happy dance" (because Crisco's leaving) grumbled that Beno's interview amounted to fluff, I actually don't think Beno tossed a "soft-ball" . . . because the irony of putting a man who moved part of his production & distribution to El Salvador & Mexico in the position of recruiting "jobs, jobs, jobs" to North Carolina was subtly juxtaposed in the video.

On the other hand, it would have been nice if tougher questions had been asked.

A lot about the world as it is today has to do with the way Keith and his cronies have done business in the past . . . . what that has done to INDIVIDUAL lives.

It's pretty much killed the town Keith lives and works in.

But move on along, nothing more to see . . .

I recognize that there are limitations with the "sound-bite" nature of the TV medium on the local level. I do hope Ms. Beno does some follow-up. But I think that what will ultimately make or break Crisco will be scrutiny by Raleigh's print media . . . if there is any scrutiny at all.

I for one, hope that the honeymoon is short, and that the journalistic blood-hounds (for years and years pretty much kept on leashes - letting Mike Sleazely swim through all the blood in the water) will be let loose.

For you see, in the world as it is now, I think that the print media is starting to figure out that it sells newspapers by telling stories . . . and sucking up to yes-men/women doesn't cut it anymore . . . the job of the media is too keep our leaders honest.

And in that they have failed.

In this window of hope for "change", people want the truth - good or bad. They can deal with the truth. The lies have buried us.

I do agree with one thing Keith said. He "needs to go".