Earlier this week, I risked my life while discussing the liberal media with Phillip Namen, my co-host on Redlands Tea Party Patriots radio.
After signing a medical waiver -- I'm kidding -- I went into the radio cage at AM 590 The Answer. We taped Wednesday of this week at its studio in San Bernardino. The show airs this Saturday, 2 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
For the record, I share all of Phil's hostility about the liberal media and how biased it has been against the tea party movement.
But, as a former newspaper reporter for nearly 20 years, I wanted to explain why the media is liberal and what we conservatives could do about it.
Between roars, Phil stressed how we conservatives should ignore the Redlands Daily Facts and concentrate on media outlets that have been more fair, such as the Patch. Phil stressed how the Facts slants news coverage against us and won't print all of our letters to the editor.
While dodging Phil's claws, I explained how we must engage the Redlands Daily Facts and present our case the best way we can. I said I've had luck getting my letters published. I said, as far as tea party movements go, we get some decent coverage out of the Redlands Daily Facts.
I stressed how we must keep up the fight and keep writing letters and engage Facts editors and staff so we can get our points of view into the public. Yes, we can keep blogging in the Patch, but media reality is the Facts is the driver of public opinion in Redlands, so we have no choice but to engage.
The Facts' circulation has plummeted in recent years. Its subscribers now number almost 6,000, almost half of what it was just a few years ago. The paper can't afford to lose any more readers whether they're liberal or conservative.
The show is well worth the time. I don't want to give out too many spoiler alerts.But here's one point I didn't have time to make on the show: The media loves to whine how its losing readers and viewers because people get their news different ways now.
That's true to a point, but it's not the entire case why the media is losing followers. The media is losing viewership and readers because they are so abjectly leftist. I have crossed paths with hundreds of reporters in my career, and the average reporter, editor, copy editor and TV type is a hard-core leftist. Conservatives are giving up on the so-called media because they know they won't get a fair shake.
That's especially true for the Redlands Daily Facts. That paper, with a historically strong liberal bias, became cheerleaders for the short-lived Occupy Wall Street movement in 2010 and 2011 despite its Redlands chapter having just a few members. The daily and fawning stories that group got have permanently left a bad taste in the mouths of conservatives as wells many Redlanders in general.
At the same time, we had to fight to get news coverage despite events that were, well, actually newsworthy. We had congressmen speak at our meetings. We knocked on more than 8,300 doors in the city. We had straw polls. We had city council forums, yet the Facts skipped our events as a matter of routine.
So I understand Phil's fury and frustration. Stay tuned and tune in Saturday to find out how he really feels.
Journalists,...... jeesh.
While I thank you for defending the Facts' reputation, I feel the need to reply personally, as a reporter and someone who has enjoyed working with you since coming on board with the paper. I understand your frustrations that we have not been able to cover a lot of the Tea Party's functions held around the city. But, you have to understand that we, like a lot of papers, are short-staffed and are trying to deal with the economy and other obstacles that come our way as best we can. In 2012 alone, I have covered many Tea Party-related functions and issues, including coverage of your election night results party at the Mill Creek Cattle Co. in Mentone. Not only did I talk to you personally, but I was also on the receiving end of a verbal confrontation by a member of your organization for taking a photo of the back of her head while watching Romney's concession speech. Exhausted, I still continued on and tried to ease her concerns by showing the photo I took of her head - and other's - to a fellow member of your organization. While uncomfortable, I still continued my job, and after, went back to the office to write on the happenings of your event. To be fair, we also covered a Democratic held function as well to provide balanced coverage. I should also note that I have been the only reporter in attendance at many of your meetings during the past year, and made it a point to introduce myself to many members. I am saddened this was not recognized.
Lastly, you state, "The media is losing viewership and readers because they are so abjectly leftist." You state this as fact. Please cite your source on this "fact."