Here Jack McElroy responds to this Brian’s Blog post from last night. He indicates that this is not an ethical conflict in that he does not directly oversee Sandra Clark. This is not completely accurate. In 2006, Bruce Hartmann, publisher of the E.W. Scripps at the time, Sandra Clark and Brian Hornback met to discuss an article that appeared in the Shopper News. Hartmann mandated to Clark at the time how she would handle news stories going forward. Hartmann and McElroy are equals. In addition, we have been informed that Bruce Hartmann’s uncle has been and is on the Board of Directors of E. W. Scripps Co. Also, we have been informed by sources that Bruce Hartmann’s wife is an employee of Moxley Carmichael, a PR shop with a contract to represent the Knoxville News Sentinel.