Thanks, Phil, but what's the bill? It's time for the big media to quit accepting no answer

It is most troubling that Tennessee's major news media still have not learned one thing about watching out for the public interest when it comes to big deals negotiated by Gov. Phil Bredesen and his lemming proteges.

The media celebrated Chattanooga's landing of the VW plant, and the number of jobs. But the media allowed Bredesen and local officials to get away with not saying how much money the state and locality were spending to get the plant. They get to say they did not have the information.

Bxllxhxt!

These officials know exactly to the penny how much the taxpayers must pay for these jobs, because that's the way Corporate America does business. The big media's role in this state has somehow become one of cheerleader, or maybe it has always been that way. I only came in when the Titans' deal was being misrepresented to the public and voters.

After it was approved, and I started writing a column for The Tennessean, I actually got into a debate in the middle of the newsroom. It was contended that I would be wrong to write that the Titans' deal cost taxpayers any money.

Thankfully, the City Hall reporter came over and set the record straight. Yes, taxpayer money had been used --- the water bill overpayment fund. And as I later learned, several million dollars were skimmed off the top of the Metro budget annually to pay off the construction bonds. Also, there was the $1 million in annual, required maintenance on the stadium that the city owned, but could only use to make money on a few occasions each year.

Metro now pays more than $20 million a year from the budget to pay for pro sports. That's taxpayer money. And that sum really hurts when city services to residents have to be cut.

Tennessean reporter Brad Schrade's chronicling of the checkered history of one of new investors in the Nashville Predators contains some shocking revelations. It is great reporting. Unfortunately for Nashville taxpayers, Schrade was gone at a journalism fellowship when Bredesen protege Mayor Karl Dean was making a bad deal to keep the NHL team here.

Did Dean not know how to look into this guy's background, particularly a guy who already was planning on moving the team? Do they not have Google on the computers at City Hall?

For goodness sakes, there must be a "kick me" sign on Dean's back. No wonder VW and other companies and investors are looking to come to Tennessee. The guy who trained Dean is in charge of the state. You can't miss in taking taxpayers for a ride while local and state services get cut for corporate welfare.

To her great credit, then Tennessean reporter Sheila Wissner did a great job of reporting on then Mayor Bredesen's big deal with billionaire Michael Dell. She showed the Metro Council before voting on all of Dell's freebies -- including a city payment for each job created -- that the deal over the long-term was a loser for taxpayers. Yet The Tennessean on its editorial page still said the deal should be approved. I don't believe that was then-editorial page editor Sandra Roberts' doing. She has too much integrity and common sense for something like that.

And then the biggest shoe dropped. Dell -- which originally had sold Nashville on manufacturing jobs at its Metro plant for the per job payment -- pulled them out. They left lower-paying, box-filling jobs. For Metro taxpayers, it was insult to injury. Mayor Bill Purcell's administration had to try and clean up Bredesen's mess.

So it would be nice if the big news media would stop accepting "we don't know" for an answer when it comes to the bill for taxpayers at fawning press conferences announcing these deals. Remember the Titans, Dell, American Airlines, the Arena, the Predators and the list goes on and on.

And so does the misery for taxpayers and the people who lose services to corporate welfare.