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The State Journal recently announced a policy that gives businesses that spend $25,000 a seat on their advisory panel and a minimum of 6 meetings a year with key editors. Community groups in Madison including Progressive Dane, 4 Lakes Green Party, and Wisconsin Citizen Action held a press conference at Capitol Newspapers to highlight this 'pay for play' access.
The State Journal denies these charges but we encourage citizens to make up their own mind as to whether big money interests are getting special treatment on the State Journal editorial pages. This story was covered by the State Journal, Channel 3000, and the Capital Times. Highlights are below.
Channel 3000
"The idea that the Wisconsin State Journal is now selling rights to speak with their staff, to speak with their editorial board is just disgusting and something that quite frankly we and especially our clients cannot afford to do," said Lisa Subek, of the Benefits Advocacy Team of Dane County.The newspaper's publisher James Hopson said, "We do not sell access to the State Journal. We give it away freely."
The State Journal
"It really is charging an admission price at the door of the editorial offices," said Vicky Selkowe of the leftist political party Progressive Dane. She and others suggested business advertisers who meet regularly with editors could influence coverage of many issues."Unfortunately, sometimes the interests of the business community and the public interest can diverge," said Michelle McGrorty, political director of Wisconsin Citizen Action.
The Capital Times
"When big business has a ticket to the media, the people lose out," said Amy Mondloch of the Four Lakes Green Party. "What happens when one of these companies destroys a neighborhood? Will the State Journal cover it honestly and fairly?"An online poll that is being run by Channel 3000, the Web side of WISC-TV, asked whether people thought the advertising campaign hurt the State Journal's credibility. As of 8 a.m. today, 73 percent of the 226 respondents said yes.
Updated 4/3/05
At its 3/23 Press Conference, Progressive Dane and others asked the WSJ to create a Community Advisory Panel to at least attempt to ensure that community organizations had access to the paper's top executives comparable to the paper's business sponsors. The WSJ agreed to host such a Panel.
Posted by prodane at March 24, 2005 09:51 PM
We, the members of Progressive Dane, join together to form an independent political party in Dane County with a major focus on local issues. We pledge to work to improve the quality of life in Dane County for all people, particularly those marginalized by economic and social discrimination. We will work to improve our local government by making it open, easier to understand, and accessible for all citizens of Dane County. We are working to achieve positive policy change by electing accountable progressive officials and mobilizing citizen action.
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