Sources before Watershed in this case

When Tidings Staff Writer Robert Plain ventured into the forest above Lithia Park on Thursday morning to cover homeless campers being ousted from the Ashland Watershed, he had no way of knowing he would soon be reporting on himself.

Plain had earlier written a story about a homeless camp in an undisclosed location in the Watershed. That story played a part in the decision by four law enforcement agencies to head into the forest in search of illegal inhabitants. When Plain began asking questions about the raid, fire and police personnel starting asking some of their own. Specifically, they wanted Plain to tell him where the homeless camp was.

Plain declined, despite the officials threatening to withhold public information from him.

Plain did not disclose the location of the camp, nor did he reveal his sources. Officials on the scene reconsidered and talked to him. The half-hearted attempt to coerce the reporter is troubling, but no harm, no foul.

That would have been an interesting path for the Tidings and the city to go down together. But in the end, it all worked out.

The issue of homeless in the Watershed spurred fervent activity on the Tidings Web site since the first story ran ("Homeless Ecotopia," April 24), and the Tidings ran a point/counterpoint on the issue in its editorial page June 1. The Tidings has not offered an editorial position on the issue. This has been a conscious choice because we've been focusing on reporting the news in this developing story. When more facts have been reported, that may change.

The ongoing issue of the homeless and transients in Ashland — and especially in the Watershed — is important enough that the Tidings believes it's in the interest of journalism and the community to keep the lines of communication open with those in the homeless community. Plain will not burn his sources, even at the risk of burning the Watershed. That may sound extreme, but there are others whose responsibility it is to safeguard the Watershed and prosecute the crime of camping in the sensitive area. It is the Tidings' responsibility to report the truth — not to be another arm of the police and fire departments. When sources are burned, sources dry up, to the detriment of an informed citizenry, one of the pillars of a free society.

Some of the comments on The Tidings Web page have asked why our reporter has not disclosed the exact location of the "Homeless Ecotopia." For the above reasons, this was never considered.

Even more commentators have demanded that Ashland City Councilor Eric Navickas, who visited the camp in April, tell authorities where the camp is, and some have even threatened a recall effort against the city leader because he won't divulge the information.

The Tidings is confident of its stand on our reporter's decision. The editors have not asked where the camp is.

Whether Navickas' stance is as easily defensible is still in question.