By Dave Lieber/Founder of Watchdog Nation
The coolest people I met in 2010 were the editors of the “Good Neighbor” newsletter at the Claremont Apartments touching the southern end of the Dallas Cowboys Stadium parking lot. There are about a dozen of them, and they have been told by the property manager at their senior living apartment complex that they must have severe restrictions on the newsletter they wish to publish.
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Listen here to the Jon-David Wells radio interview (8:45) on KSKY 660 AM, The Wells Report, Dec. 20, 2010. (for Apple product users)
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[audio:Jon-David-Wells-interview-12-20-10.mp3]– – – – – – – – – –
These are the seniors who edit and write "The Good Neighbor" newsletter at their Arlington, Texas apartment complex. They've been warned to cut back by management.
As readers of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Dave Lieber Watchdog column first learned, the seniors produced one newsletter, then got threatening notes from the property manager. They felt censored and weren’t sure what to do.
Star-Telegram Watchdog columnist Dave Lieber, founder of Watchdog Nation, examined their problem and wrote a full report which you can see below.
Watchdog Nation thanks Jon-David Wells, host of The Wells Report on KSKY 660 AM from 5-8 p.m. weeknights for lending his support to the notion that Americans have the right to express themselves either verbally or in written form with their neighbors.
Jon-David Wells, host of The Wells Report on KSKY 660 AM
As Wells stated, the goal is to raise enough money so the seniors can publish, perhaps a few hundred dollars.
Listen here to the Jon-David Wells radio interview (8:45) on KSKY 660 AM, The Wells Report, Dec. 20, 2010. (for Apple product users)
or
[audio:Jon-David-Wells-interview-12-20-10.mp3]Watch a short video of these seniors here.
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More Watchdog Nation News:
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If you would like to contribute toward the seniors’ advertising budget, use the Contact page on this website to let us know.
These seniors, ranging in age from 65 to 80, are fighters. One fell and hurt herself badly while distributing the first issue that got them in trouble. Another undergoes chemotherapy treatment as she organizes and writes and edits stories. Another member of the newsletter staff has had three strokes. Yet they keep fighting. Amazing.
If this story interests you, please read the full report as it originally appeared in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Dave Lieber Watchdog column, reprinted below:
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Memo to the elderly residents of The Claremont Apartments in Arlington
I received your request that The Watchdog research whether you are permitted to publish a community newsletter. You said management sent a warning letter to the dozen of you who write and edit the newsletter. Distribution of The Good Neighbor violates your lease and could result in “further action,” the letter says.
You asked The Watchdog: “Can they stop us from forming a resident’s association? Can they stop us from creating a newsletter, selling ads and distributing it to residents? Can they forbid us to use the word Claremont on our masthead? Can we use pictures of the office staff in our newsletter and report on Claremont meetings and activities?
“More important, can any of this be construed as a violation of our lease? Can they evict us if we don’t stop? How can we protect ourselves against retaliation?”
You live in what is probably the best-known apartment complex in Arlington. The Claremont is on the southern edge of Cowboys Stadium property. You say that doesn’t bother you. No, your main requests are that your newsletter should be published without fear of retaliation, that you should be able to use the community rooms at night and on weekends without having to pay a $100 security deposit, that you want your night and weekend bingo games back after they were halted by management and that because you say management won’t work with you, you want to form a “steering committee” of residents to work on major issues.
Your first newsletter, in November, is solid work. Leah Musser, your editor, did a great job organizing your coverage of news in your community (“Penny McFadden Celebrates 80th Birthday with Family, Friends” and “Steering Committee Meets to Organize New Resident’s Council”). You listed the names and addresses of the management company and owners, too. That’s what I would do. (The listed owners wouldn’t return my calls.)
Then a dozen of you received the letter from your property manager, Jamae Stoute of Capstone Real Estate Services in Las Colinas.
“The Claremont Management would like to notify you that the newsletter you are publishing, or any other form of written communication may not be posted on any apartment doors or in any common areas of the community,” the letter says. “This is a violation of your lease agreement and will not be tolerated.
“In addition, you may not use the name ‘The Claremont’ in any of your publications or use any pictures of the common areas of the community, or the office staff, without their individual specific written permission.
“The ‘Council’ does not have the permission to use the name of The Claremont Community and/or the management company in your efforts to solicit donations or to pay for advertising for a newsletter on behalf of the ‘Council.’
“We would also like to reinforce that the best and most productive way to implement changes at The Claremont is to make positive constructive suggestions either through the Suggestion Box located in the management office, or to bring your suggestions to the monthly resident meeting, or lastly to meet with the office staff on a personal basis.”
After that, you produced your second edition, for December, but you haven’t released it yet to the 260 units because of nerves. Its editorial points out the obvious: “There is nothing more basically American than freedom of the press.”
You covered the monthly meeting with a photo of staff (looking unhappily at your camera). You have a story about rumors that Jerry Jones might buy The Claremont to use the land. In it, you reveal an agreement that the property must continue as a senior community until 2043.
Two more stories: “A History of BINGO — And BINGO is History” and “At 5:30 p.m. Community Rooms Become Empty Museums — All That’s Missing is the Red Velvet Rope.”
Yep, good stuff.
I checked with Marte Hogg, the property management company’s district manager. Hogg said that residents are confused about the nature of the steering committee and that management already produces a newsletter (“December: This Month in History” and “Winter Workouts Can Keep You Cozy”). And security deposits are needed to make sure that the community rooms are “returned clean,” Hogg said.
Hogg told me, “Claremont does not prevent the residents from producing their own newsletter but reminds them that they are not allowed to use the Claremont name in the publication or post the newsletter on residents’ doors or in common areas.” Posting newsletters on doors “presents a security issue if a notice remains on the door, and the unit is perceived to be unoccupied. Additionally, postings of any kind in the common areas without management’s consent is prohibited.”
Residents, to answer your questions, I turned to press expert Tommy Thomason, director of the Texas Center for Community Journalism at TCU.
“Wow,” he said after I showed him your newsletter, your plea for help and management’s letter. “Talk about a public relations blunder. Being old does not negate your First Amendment rights.
“Obviously, these people cannot put out a newsletter that purports to be an official organ of The Claremont. As long as they state somewhere that this is a publication of residents and not an official publication of the management company, I don’t see any problem whatsoever.
“The management company is concerned that here you have an independent voice in print speaking about activities of management,” Thomason said. “They’re not concerned about the newsletter or taking ads. They’re concerned about putting criticisms and negative news in print.
“What they have done is pitted themselves against the First Amendment rights of some senior citizens, which is a public relations blunder of monumental proportions.”
So, Claremont residents, go forth and publish. Strive to be accurate, fair and transparent. Get all sides of the story. And send me copies. I’ll watch your backs. And to be safe, don’t put your newsletter on front doors.
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Dave Lieber, The Watchdog columnist for The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, is the founder of Watchdog Nation. The new 2010 edition of his book, Dave Lieber’s Watchdog Nation: Bite Back When Businesses and Scammers Do You Wrong, is available in hardcover, as a CD audio book, ebook and hey, what else do you need. Visit our store. Now revised and expanded, the book won two national book awards in 2009 for social change. Twitter @DaveLieber
