Dear The Sentinel: You Dropped This – It’s Called Integrity

When fact-checking is too hard, and bias is too easy.

04/12/2025

 To Mary Contrell and Rob D’Amico at The Sentinel,

Thank you for the recent article on The Marfa Public Housing Authority (MHA) and Marfa Property Management (MPM). It’s rare to see such a bold attempt at journalism that manages to be both factually unsupported and logically contradictory in the same breath. It takes a special kind of inexperience to treat hearsay as fact, skip basic fact-finding, and still call it journalism.

Let us walk through a few highlights, shall we?

1. Choose a Narrative, Any Narrative

You report that residents are “too afraid to file complaints for fear of eviction” — then a few sentences later, say they “have repeatedly launched complaints that resulted in no action.” I know logic is not required to sell drama, but please pick a story and stick with it. You cannot have both.

In an interview with The Big Bend Sentinel, Slaughter, who has lived at the complex for a few years, said the MHA is home to many single moms with kids who are afraid to speak out against Lara for fear of losing their housing. Some residents have even installed security cameras in order to monitor who goes in and out of their apartments, she said. “We don’t even feel safe in our own apartments, and we’re afraid to say anything because we can’t afford anywhere else to live,” Slaughter said.

But just a few sentences later, we get this:

Residents alleged that repeated complaints they have made to the Marfa Police Department and to Williams about Lara have resulted in no action, leading to a distrust of the city police force. “Nothing gets done,” Slaughter said.

So, which is it? Perhaps some proofreading prior to publication would be best.

2. Sources Matter (Real Ones, Ideally)

Using one person’s unverified quote to imply widespread negligence isn’t just lazy — it’s reckless. A professional might ask, “Do you have a work order receipt?” “Did the company respond?” “Was this issue ever reported through the proper channel?” But why ask those when you can just toss quotes into a blender and call it a scoop?

“My stove doesn’t work. My door is broken,” Slaughter said. “Nothing’s been taken care of — what he actually needs to do as a maintenance man.”

The Facts: Not one call has been made requesting a workorder regarding these claims.

3. Causation ≠ Correlation

Quoting a frustrated tenant does not automatically equal evidence of wrongdoing. If that were the case, Yelp reviews would replace courtrooms. But alas, the world still requires proof.

"How many stories do we need, and evidence do we need, to finally get this looked at?” 

The Facts: Not one complaint has been filed, and zero evidence has been presented to prove these claims to the MHA. Even the Marfa Police Department has stated that no one has filed any reports.

“Police Chief Gilberto Carrillo said, as of press time, the department has not received any formal written complaints about Lara, which Marfa P.D. requires to start investigating.”

 In a world in which every person has a smartphone with a camera, how is it after all these so-called claims, there is not one piece of evidence?

When the tenant(s) claimed to have evidence, as a journalist this was your golden opportunity to ask, “well, can I see the evidence?”

4. Journalism Is Not Activism

If this was meant to be an opinion piece, say so. Then your creative writing would at least be categorized appropriately. But masquerading editorial bias as neutral reporting is misleading at best — and potentially actionable under defamation law.

In Conclusion

Your piece, while lacking in facts, is an excellent case study in how not to report on complex issues. It should be shown in journalism classes — as a cautionary tale. Should you ever wish to try again, feel free to reach out. I’d be happy to walk you through how adults verify facts, structure arguments, and avoid lawsuits.

P.S. To all the wildly imaginative storytellers on Facebook – and the eager believers who treat fiction like fact – I leave you with this gem: “Never argue with someone who believes their Facebook feed is a source of truth.” – Modern internet proverb

Warm regards,

Jesse W. Williams

Executive Director

Marfa Housing Authority

The Sentinel's original article can be found here: Residents raise issues with Marfa Housing Authority  – The Big Bend Sentinel