It isn’t often a newspaper threatens to sue a reader for allegedly smearing its good name. Probably even rarer: when the reader in question is an elected official. Much already has been reported about the potentially precedent-setting joust between the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel and Grand Junction-area state Sen. Ray Scott; we won’t rehash it here. Just passing along what seems like a particularly enlightening interview with Scott – by public radio’s Bente Birkeland for the Capitol Coverage project – in which the veteran Republican lawmaker goes into detail with his side of the story.

Since the initial dust-up, the feud has pretty much idled, with each side saying bring it on and Sentinel Publisher Jay Seaton, who is also an attorney, promising to explore specific options for the litigation. As of this week’s interview with Birkeland, that’s still the status:

Birkeland: What do you hope comes of this issue – if it goes to court? Or do you hope it goes away on its own?

Scott: Well, I think maybe it’s time to define what real, good journalism is, and why [it] is free speech on one side, or freedom of the press if you will, and not free speech for somebody to rebut that.

Read the full interview here.