How Mainstream Media Memes Become Fact

One week ago, City Paper reporter Nate Rau effectively shielded Eric Crafton from criticism by referring to him as "accessible" to an acquiescing local media. This morning Rau once again seems to be trying to keep Crafton away from any criticism of the local movement he has created:

Crafton has consistently said that English Only is simply about whether Metro business should be conducted in one language. But only last month The City Paper interviewed some of the Davidson County residents who signed his petition drive and streamlining Metro business was not the reason they supported the charter amendment proposal — instead their comments touched on the issue of illegal immigration.

Crafton has not been consistent on this issue. Since he birthed English Only in 2006, he has both tried to tie English Only to and tried to separate English Only from immigration issues. His co-leader in this effort, Jon Crisp, has consistently tied English Only to immigration in the public comments from him that I've read. If there is an anti-immigrant rabble around English Only, Eric Crafton has been at least as much a part of it as he has of any nobler purpose that Nate Rau attributes to him. Why does the City Paper continue to be so phobic and protective in writing on Eric Crafton?