The battle between the college and the newspaper down in the Florida Keys keeps deepening. Now a former politician and monied fellow named Tom Oosterhoudt has gotten into the act with his "photographic chronicle" rag which is called Conch Color. You might remember Oosterhoudt as the guy who hosted Backstreet Boy Nick Carter's debaucherous weekend that included allegations of sexual assault. Well, now he's attacking the Key West Citizen and siding with Florida Key Community College President William Seeker in Seeker's idiot boycott of the newspaper for doing its job.
Oosterhoudt actually has a lot of reasons to hate the Citizen other than the fact that it's a real newspaper. Not only did the Citizen expose Carter's very bad behavior at his compound but it also discontinued a society column Oosterhoudt once penned for the newspaper and endorsed his opponent in a city commission race that he lost.
So now that he's started his own little masturbatory publication (which unfortunately isn't available on-line), Oosterhoudt is lashing out at the Citizen in print. Below is the full text of what he wrote: -----------------------------------
This week, Florida Keys Community College President, Dr. Bill Seeker, sent out a powerful message to the local daily newspaper, that he and his staff at the college are fed up with the constant negative journalism heaped upon the citizens of the Florida Keys by the Citizen. He canceled all advertising and subscriptions to the paper which has become nothing more than a voice for whiners.
What's even worse is the Citizen has also consistently empowered the anti-business element in Key West. The residents here are brainwashed daily by this rag to think there is always something wrong here. Most long time residents are ashamed
of the of this one sided crap. It has only served to give Key West a bad reputation that it does not deserve.
Its (sic) up to the business owners and advertisers to put this embarrassment out of business for good. Dr. Seeker took the lead, and everyone who feels as he does, should follow suit. If you know anyone still supporting this rag, ask them why? Change can come if everyone gets on this bandwagon. Why advertise with any publication that is out to hurt the reputation of our wonderful Florida Keys? Are we really going to let such outsiders control our destiny? Isn't it time to put our foot down and say enough already?
Conch Color is proud to show week after week all the wonderful things going in the Keys, and all the fascinating people who make it happen. The tide is turning and its (sic) time for us to take control of what is being said about us. The Keys are full of good news and great people. That's what makes the Florida Keys the best place in the world to live. Let's get together and keep the good news coming.
Tom Oosterhoudt
Editor& Publisher ---------------------------------
