By: Diane Benjamin
I started BlnNews 4 1/2 years ago because the local media has an agenda. Items against their agenda aren’t allowed. I’m sure I’m not saying anything you don’t already know.
In case you need an example, WGLT made the case for me this week. They did a story about Tari Renner’s petitions being challenged. Kevin Gerrard refused to answer any questions because talking to media is a useless exercise if truth is what you expect from them. They will cherry pick what they want to include and pretend you didn’t say anything else.
Kevin did respond to them by email when their story quoted Tari calling the challenge “frivolous”. Sending an email gave him proof, but it didn’t stop WGLT from cherry-picking. Kevin also took issue with this Renner quote: “I think it’s unfortunate that some people, frankly on the extreme fringes of the right, want to cheat their way into elections,” said Renner.
Below is the email Kevin sent to them – the parts in red are the only parts WGLT added to their story. WGLT also added this statement that is not a quote from the email: Gerrard said in an e-mail response that he is not a member of the far right.
Charlie,
Here is my comment:
As usual, Tari Renner is wrong in characterizing my challenge to his Petition signatures as being frivolous. There is mounting evidence of widespread violations that will be presented at the hearing to included forged signatures and unregistered voters.
As for Mr Renner characterizing me as someone from the far right, nothing could be farther than the truth. I’ve never been a member of any far right wing group, and in fact during the last Ward 1 election, I withdrew my support for Kevin Lower for Ward 1 Alderman, and. I backed Jamie Mathy a left wing candidate.
While I am a frequent critic of the city council, that is all the more reason for me to do my part to make sure this mayor is not reelected. I encourage all readers and listeners to read the BlnNews.com for the truth about how your local government is run. Everything posted there is backed up by documents obtained by the city along with analysis and comments. The editor of that publication is not involved in this filing other than reporting to her subscribers . Local media is too cozy with the current mayor to report honestly, and investigative journalism is out of the question for these local media outlets. Simply said, with the exception of one radio station, the rest of the media have sold their souls very cheaply .
Kevin Gerrard
(One note: I corrected the spelling of Mathy)
Space for WGLT isn’t a problem since the story is printed on a website! http://wglt.org/post/update-attempt-filed-knock-bloomington-mayor-ballot
They could have printed the entire email, I would have. They chose to pick out tiny parts to marginalize Kevin.
Here’s my new rules for the media. I urge every candidate for office to use them too:
- Never do a radio interview unless it’s LIVE
- Ask for permission to tape all interviews. If the media mangles what is said, you have proof. I will gladly print their version and reality.
- If the media doesn’t agree to be taped, don’t do the interview. I will gladly print that too.
Unless the local media realizes they have a responsibility to report the entire truth, they never will. As Kevin stated in his email, local media is too cozy to report honestly. They no longer have the ability to do investigative journalism.
That must be why the Blnnews.com reads keep climbing, it’s thanks to you readers who spread the word. Thanks!
The establishment media (local or national) can’t be trusted. Thankfully the legacy media is dying and being replaced by Web/social media people powered media. And I always say, the truth will set you free!
Beg to differ about social media spreading the truth. Anyone can and does say anything on social media as if it were fact. If it goes “viral,” all the more so. If I didn’t see it with my own eyes or hear it with my own ears, I take the reporting with a grain of salt.
You are viewing social media from a very limited perspective and I never said that social media is always a deliverer of the truth. I said the truth will set you free. The web/social media world is not controlled by the corporations or the Oligarchy (we are an oligarchy). So your ability to get information from many sources (good and bad) is there without the filter or outright propaganda delivered by the mainstream corporate media. Wikileaks twitter was and still is a source of information about the internal corruption of governments around the world. I look and retweet their tweets everyday. Check it out here: http://ow.ly/j84A306Mt2v
Thanks, Lawrence451. I read multiple sources to try to get different perspectives. I just know too many people who reference social media like FB and Twitter as their only source. I watch the Council meetings to see not only what was said but how it was said and to who. Attending public meetings guarantees that the media will not be the only source of information.
Yes… very good! Information and knowledge is power. The forces who wish to control us and waste our money want to keep knowledge from us. The Age of Information has changed all this. Now the people can have the knowledge and information that was once kept from them. And now we can have wonderful watchdogs like Diane telling everyone what was once secret or unknown. I am glad I lived long enough to see this happen!
Thanks Diane! As a follow up, the author of the article in this mornings Pantagraph tried contacting me Friday by email but I refused to answer until he instant messaged me on Facebook and I told him no comment. What’s really funny, at least to me, is that this reporter stood several feet away from two associates and me while we were finishing our lookups of signature cards in the lobby of the Bloomington Election Commission. If this fellow was a “true journalist”, after he stopped begging the Election Board staff for information ( which they did not give), he would of paused and put two and two together and asked who we were, our purpose for researching signatures, etc. You know, real reporter stuff!!! It’s obvious he was clueless. Here he is chasing me around, and he’s standing just a few feet away from me with people he ought to know.
Thanks to the staff at the Bloomington Election Commission. They were very accommodating and professional.
As for the Pantagraph, hell will freeze over before before I speak to anyone from that rag.
the problem is today’s universities, journalism (well everything) is taught mostly by the far left.
No, it’s not, that’s just not true. Sure, some are influenced because they’re weak minded, but most see right through it, if it happens. I work at a university and don’t see it. Sure, there are outliers, both right and left. I also have a journalism degree, and was never, ever once, taught anything that would slant toward a “liberal media bias.” It was all taught on the basis of objective reporting. It’s not learned in college, I can assure you.
I listened to that WGLT interview, and it was pathetic, sad “reporting.” They completely threw Kevin under the bus. That was a prime example of what not to do.
I was thinking the same thing. Part of the issue is advertising dollars. It used to be newspapers and radio was where the news was at. Now it’s that, plus TV, the Internet, social media, e-mail and RS-feeds. Media companies need advertising dollars and advertisers will put their ads where the traffic is. You don’t have to pay to get news anymore and as a result newspapers are hurting for revenue. Some are smart and have transformed to news providers on multiple platforms. Others can’t or will not. Media like the Pantagraph don’t want risk the advertising dollars they get by running reporting that may offend their advertisers. It’s business modeling more than political views that result in less than stellar reporting.
The high schools too, unfortunately. Probably the grade schools as well.
You aren’t the press, Diane. You’re a washed up CPA with an axe to grind. No one cares about your conspiracy theories.
if you were good enough at your own job you wouldn’t have the time to pretend you’re a real journalist.
You are the perfect example of a person who can’t defend the actions of government so you do vulgar attacks instead. It’s also why Trump won.
This sounds vaguely familiar to an email rant by a certain elected official.
It does!
It just sounds like it or it is?
Tari? Is that you? Or one of your surrogates?
First thing that popped into my mind when I read it.
You don’t make editorial decisions about what to include or not include in your “reporting?” LOL HAHAHAHAHAHAHhahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!
Diane, how the hell do you think anything you do is journalism? You are just a delusional old cunt who doesn’t like the way actual journalists create stories for their audience. I think you need to crawl back into a hole and quite making idiotic posts on this dumb ass excuse for a news website!
I love attacks with zero facts! Thanks for playing. I wonder how ISU feels about you using their system to make comments like this?