Rating Whidbey Island newspapers on their liberal bias is easy. All one needs to do is submit several letters to the editor and see how they react.
Here is the breakdown.
South Whidbey Record is number one in liberal bias. Three letters submitted in as many months and not a single one got published. Their overall ratio between liberal and conservative letters to the editor is 6 to 1
Whidbey Examiner is second. Their overall ratio is 5 to 1
Whidbey News Times third. Their overall ratio is 3 to 1
Whidbey Market Place came in last. They remain balanced
The following is an email exchange with a staff member from the Whidbey Examiner:
—–Original Message—–
From: Whidbey Examiner Newsroom
Sent: Apr 9, 2012 9:37 AM
To: k_s_wolf@peoplepc.com Subject: Letter to the editor
Hi Kenneth,
Quick note on your letter – due to the onslaught of letters we get during the election season, the letter you sent will need to be edited to 400 words or shorter, as will all future letters. (By my word count now, it stands at 612). Also, it would be very unlikely that we run more than one letter from a single author each month. Feel free to send the edited letter and any future letters to this address. Let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks, Justin
Whidbey Examiner
Reply From: “Kenneth Wolf”
To: “Whidbey Examiner Newsroom”
Sent: Sunday, April 22, 2012 4:08:59 PM
Subject: Re: Letter to the editor
Justin,
1. Your comment, “Also, it would be very unlikely that we run more than one letter from a single author each month.”
Would be believable if Nels Kelstrom’s letters were not published on April 12th and another April 19th.
2. See attached.
While members of Island County’s Democratic Party and environmental extremists are busily speaking from their book of rhetoric like the following statement from Nels Kelstrom on September 1, 2011…
“A case in point is Lauderdale’s very vocal opposition to any attempt by Island County to solve the very real problem of fecal coliform pollution. In March of 2010 he spoke at an Island County Board of Health meeting and argued that the county’s new septic inspection program is based on “faulty science.” There’s that standard “faulty science” argument that the righties drag out whenever they do not like a regulation or program. He made the same argument at the Board of County Commissioners public hearing before it enacted the Clean Water Utility. Fortunately, the Board rejected his bogus scientific claims and relied on real science when it established the Utility.”
… Jeff Lauderdale’s assessment of Island County’s mandatory Septic System Inspection Program back in 2010 was proven accurate by a little known report presented to Island County’s Board of Health.
On March 19, 2012 Jill Wood, Island County’s Environmental Health Director, presented the 34 page Holmes Harbor Shellfish Protection Progress Report to the Island County Board of Health which revealed septic systems are not the root cause of surface water pollution or Holmes Harbor water quality issues. (review pages from the document go to http://www.islandpolitics.org/?p=2311 )
For years Island County government and environmental extremists insisted that septic systems were the root cause of an ongoing problem with elevated fecal coliform levels in Holmes Harbor.
Using faulty science and erroneous data collection Island County government deliberately misled the citizenry, and used the data to establish the mandatory Septic Inspection Program and Clean Water Utility District. This deception also is the basis of Freeland’s now defunct, $40 million dollar sewer project.
What is interesting is both Island County government, and the Island County Water Resources Advisory Committee (WRAC) are giving themselves high fives for the success of the program, and working to remove the Holmes Harbor shellfish closure area. It is a miracle! The beach is not polluted! This miracle however, was actually accomplished by performing the tests correctly. Keep in mind that the remaining 86% non-compliant Island County residents who have septic systems already knew that septic systems were not the root cause of this problem.
That is why Jeff Lauderdale is the best choice for Island County Commissioner, District 1.
Ken
Tags: South Whidbey Record, Whidbey Examiner, Whidbey News Times
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It must be tough owning and running a newspaper in a small county like ours.
Not in defense of the papers but they are in business for one thing and that is to make money. They have to balance the articles and comments that they post with the concerns of their advertisers in mind. They can afford to **ss off a few commenter’s but they cannot afford to **ss off the advertisers that pay their bills.
Many people wonder why their reporters seem to ignore a lot of the controversial issues and do not dig deeper into some of the more controversial issues. Our local newspapers cannot afford to alienate their base of advertisers, if the local papers had true investigative reporters on their reporting staff they would make one side happy over the other which on controversial issues could and probably would cost them advertisers dollars.
I think the local papers do an adequate job a reporting the local issues. Are they a bit one sided? Certainly they are. Do they publish all controversial letters to the editor? Certainly not. It is their newspaper and their business that will be successful or fail.
We all have to keep in mind that our local papers are businesses and their business concerns will always come first. As their business model is based on advertising revenue it behooves them to attempt to maintain a balance between the controversial and the mundane.
We at Island Politics do not have these concerns as we have no advertisers and no ones income is dependent on making the advertisers happy so we can pay our bills. If we needed to have advertisers to keep Island Politics up and running we would soon find out just what the newspapers have found out that when they take sides on controversial issues they lose part of their advertising base because someone is not happy.
I am glad that we have our local papers to report on the local issues and while I may not agree with the way they operate their business and report on local issues I can certainly see their quandary in maintaining a balance between their advertisers and controversial issues. The newspaper business has never been an easy one…
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This isn’t about business interests. This is about censorship.
Reply
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