Where?s the Lawsuit? Where?s the Follow-up?

It’s been months since Golf Entertainment Inc., the much-maligned Springdale penny stock, threatened in a Morning News story that it would file a lawsuit against the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal.

Golf’s historically litigious owners took issue with an Aug. 19 investigative report the Business Journal published regarding some questionable dealings by the television broadcaster and its officers. Golf’s practices were apparently questionable enough for the Arkansas Securities Department to issue it a rare cease-trading order on Sept. 10.

Also since the Aug. 19 report: two Golf CEOs have resigned, the company vacated its headquarters under threat of eviction, Golf was sued for harassment and slander by two Georgia litigants, the company defaulted on a loan for its TV equipment and its stock has plummeted.

As of mid-December, Golf had still not filed any lawsuit against the Business Journal.

Public records and taped interviews with officers of Golf and its closely aligned entity, the Genesis Trust, were cited as sources throughout the original reports. But instead of doing any of its own reporting, The Morning News was duped into becoming a forum for Golf executives to make unsubstantiated claims that the Business Journal was somehow involved in a stock-shorting scheme.

But the only thing short here was the Morning News’ effort.

If Golf hadn’t said disparaging things about the Business Journal, would The Morning News have bothered to report anything about Golf’s problems at all? Why hasn’t The Morning News followed up on lack of any wrongdoing by the Business Journal with the same vigor in which it helped allege that it was involved in an elaborate national conspiracy to destroy the tiny firm?

For a major business story in its own backyard, The Morning News didn’t just miss the boat — it didn’t even show up at the pier.