Cranky Council Member Attacks Free Neighborhood Newspaper

The Brookland Heartbeat, a bimonthly non-profit neighborhood newser is under attack by Ward 5 City Council Member Harry Thomas.

Last week, Thomas posted a letter to the editor on his website accusing the paper of “salacious headlines, biased reporting and a conflict of interest.” He also threatened to go after the Heartbeat’s advertisers saying “Long & Foster as well as businesses that support the pub. will be held accountable for their role in underwriting the Brookland Heartbeat.”

WaPo’s Marc Fisher reports:

The article that got Thomas’s goat is a nicely reported, fully sourced, and utterly unsensational story that examines what Ward 5 gets out of Thomas’s position as chairman of the Council’s committee overseeing libraries, parks and recreation. The story’s conclusion: The ward gets very little.

*Did I mention the Heartbeat’s article ran last July???

Check out Fisher’s article for the full story.

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