To the Editor:

I’m alarmed for what has happened to the Blue Mountain Eagle, its staff and publisher as reported April 27 under “We stand firmly behind the Eagle.” Steve Forrester and Kathryn Brown, principal owners of EO Media Group, stated a “vicious attack” has occurred to the aforementioned people.

Vicious is defined, “brutal, ferocious, savage, violent, dangerous, ruthless, cruel, cold blooded, inhuman, barbaric, blood thirsty, fiendish, monstrous, murderous, homicidal” (there’s more, but one can grasp the idea that it’s all really, really bad).

What happened? Was anyone assaulted? Injured? The Eagle office vandalized? Are customers in danger? Is it safe to read the paper? Has law enforcement been involved? A vicious attack cannot go unreported.

At the end of two long columns about “True journalism” is the statement, “Opinions are one things. Facts are another.” So obviously the “vicious attack” is a fact or the owners would not have said so.

For the Blue Mountain Eagle to have the status of a bastion of truth that it is purported to be, then full disclosure about this “vicious attack” must be made.

Ron Ballard

Mt. Vernon

Editor’s note: According to Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, “vicious” is defined as “1: having the nature or quality of vice or immorality; 2: defective, faulty; 3: impure, noxious; 4a: dangerously aggressive; 4b: marked by violence or ferocity; 5: malicious, spiteful …” The letter from Forrester and Brown explains what it describes as such: The Eagle and staff “have come under vicious attack by some members of the Grant County community. … The comments — appearing mostly in social media platforms such as Facebook — contain false accusations about our actions and motives.” Describing something as “vicious,” as well as most other adjectives, however, is usually a statement of opinion. The fact of the matter is that false accusations have been made.