Editor's note: We hope that 5thEstate.com readers will see the newspaper more clearly. We also hope that our story encourages the newspaper to raise the bar!

5thEstate.com has long educated our readers on the ins and outs of the modern newspaper. In years past, reporters were sent out to "beat the bushes" and find and/or investigate the news. Today's modern newspaper is short staff and frankly, sometimes lazy! If you get anything out of this article it should be this - ALWAYS - ALWAYS - ask yourself why a story is in the newspaper. Who "pushed" the story? With few contradictions, most stories with "investigative" element are items handed to the paper. The reporters rarely find stories themselves and rarely write anything that wasn't handed to them. OR steal from someone else. (5thEstate.com could tell you stories about that!) At 5thEstate.com we focus - not on "dog bites man" stories but rather "man bites dog"! And we also cover the media like no one else can (or better will!)

To be sure, 5thEstate.com gets leads from others, but it's a rare occasion that we get more than 1/10 of the final story from our sources! Let's look at tonight's Lancaster New Era headlines tonight's "local section". Here are all the front page headlines stories and their probable sources: Coroner gets enough names for a spot on Nov. ballot - Source? Look at Elections Calendar (or the Intell!) and do story. Heat is on: Highs push toward mid-90s - Source? Come into the office and think "man it's hot!" State faculty council reverses on contract - Source? Story covered by other media the day before. 10 charged in 'shoplifting blitz' at East Lampeter Wal-Mart - Source? Police crime log.

And what about the 'scooter' story? Clearly the source is the Mayor's office or the parking authority. Nothing wrong with that is there? Of course not, but while the Intelligencer cheated and used the Coroner's password to get one up on the Lancaster New Era, the New Era often uses connections/threats. "If you give us the story first we will..." and then promise something. Imagine an elected official running for office and the New Era is putting pressure on them to give stories to them FIRST - or face SILENCE from the "Republican" newspaper in the future. It happens. Now there is NOTHING wrong with writing "puff pieces" but shouldn't the stories tell the truth? The scooter story is about Mayor Rick Gray riding his scooter to the Prince Street garage where there is now free parking. This would be fine except the Mayor's front door is a mere 120 feet from the garage! Additionally, the newspaper's own photo archive has a photo with Mayor Rick Gray parked - not in the garage - but in his RESERVED parking space beside the city hall building. Why doesn't the newspaper reporter tell the truth?

Here's what reporter Bernie Harris wrote:

Lancaster Mayor Rick Gray quietly rolled his little black motor scooter into a spot in the city's Prince Street Parking Garage on Wednesday, removed his helmet and was on his way to the office.

Well, almost. First, Gray had to stop and have his photo taken.

An astute newspaper reader, Artie See, pointed out how silly it would be for the Mayor to ride to Prince Street parking garage that the Mayor could throw a rock and hit from his Prince Street house! By why wouldn't the reporter point out that fact? Why not just admit that this was just a stunt to promote the free parking? The reporter points out that he was getting his picture taking - but why pretend the intelligent Mayor would do something so silly if not for this puff piece? Further, why does the newspaper insult our intelligence as though we don't remember their own picture of the Mayor in his RESERVED parking space?

We don't know. But 5thEstate.com promises to keep on holding the newspaper to a higher standard.