Roger Aylworth, Chico Enterprise-Record, MediaNews Group, Digital First Media, John Paton, Susan Hubbard Aylworth, Oroville Mercury-Register, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Delphi Books, Mormon church, Brigham Young University Daily Universe, Deseret Book Mac Tully, Steve Rossi, Deseret News, Digital First Ventures, 21st Century Media, Amy Aylworth, Proposition 8 California, Tom Wiley, Kirk MacDonald, California State University, Chico Chico California
In 2006, the Chico public complained that reporter Roger Aylworth, employed by Chico Enterprise-Record, was recurrently reporting unethically. Infractions included involving himself personally with stories while on assignment, such as at City Council events. This happened again in 2008, when he along with his family, including writer Susan Aylworth and Amy Aylworth, were actively lobbying and donating in favor of Proposition 8, an amendment that banned gay marriage in the state of California. Aylworth reported on the issue with clear bias.
Instead of removing Aylworth from staff, editor David Little "reassigned" Aylworth to write a column about his Mormon family, largely focusing on the importance of ethics and honesty. Much of his ramblings are about important moral lessons he taught his son, attorney Matthew Aylworth and daughter-in-law, Marie Carmon Aylworth. The column often boasts that Matthew is a licensed attorney in three states.
The entire Aylworth clan are active ("temple-approved") members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons). They wear the "sacred underwear" and perform secret rituals at Mormon temples. Both Roger and Susan write for a number of LDS publications, including Deseret News.
Roger has been contacted and informed that Matthew, who collects for Bank of America, American Express and several other banks in the western US region, has received several repeated formal reprimands from three State Bar Associations for unethical conduct and fraudulent conduct. Fewer than 1% of complaints to the Bar result in reprimands; that Matthew has received multiple reprimands in multiple states is profound. Details are on several pages on Ripoff and on Google, including these:
http://www.ripoffreport.com/r/matthew-aylworth/eugene-oregon-/matthew-aylworth-daniel-n-gordon-collection-agency-atlantic-credit-finance-american-e-958869
http://www.ripoffreport.com/r/Matthew-Aylworth/Eugene-Oregon/Matthew-Aylworth-Daniel-N-Gordon-collection-agency-American-Express-Bank-of-America-N-1074092
http://www.ripoffreport.com/r/Matthew-Aylworth/Eugene-Oregon/Matthew-Aylworth-Brigham-Young-University-Marie-Carmon-Aylworth-Church-of-Jesus-Christ-1076924
Despite being aware of the reprimands and victims, Roger Aylworth continues his column boasting of his son's moral prowess. Readers who have been harmed by Matthew are obviously surprised that Roger continues this charade. To make matters worse, David Little has resumed assigning reporting duties to Aylworth.
Will the paper's managing company, Digital First Media, and its CEO John Paton, allow this to continue?