I don’t read the New York Times or the Chicago Tribune. For that matter, I don’t read the closest newspaper to my home, the Charlotte Observer. I don’t read these rags for a simple reason: I find that the objectivity that is claimed within their pages is a sham. There are plenty of polls and countless bits of anecdotal evidence and investigations that have shown a liberal bias that overwhelmingly represents the modern newspaper.
Within the ever shrinking world of the newspapers I ignore is the paper of record for Denton, Texas: The Denton Record-Chronicle. Within the pages of this old world media artifact is a journalist named Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe. Peggy is the designated reporter on the Shale Gas industry which is a very important issue in the state of Texas. She also happens to be suing that industry for building a gas processing plant near her home.
Now, Peggy may be the nicest lady in the world. She could be the most honest, straight-up, caring and unbiased person that’s ever walked the face of the Earth. I can’t say for certain since I’ve never met her. But there’s a phrase that comes to mind when someone is in a position that conflicts with another position: appearance of impropriety. It’s something that Rick Perry took heat for when he pushed through Gardasil while also being friends with and former boss of the lobbyist that worked for the company that made Gardasil. It’s something for which Jeffrey Immelt was scrutinized as he pushed for government subsidized “green” jobs (while serving as an adviser in an official capacity for President Obama yet simultaneously expanded the company he leads to expand their green technology manufacturing).
Peggy has the same type of issue. For her, it starts with a situation we can all empathize with: she’s concerned about a corporation putting a factory uncomfortably close to her home. This type of situation can cause all kinds of headaches, from resell values to health concerns. As such, she has joined in a lawsuit targeting several natural gas producers in the area. If I were in her position, and I truly believed there were an issue and felt that I had the power to stop it using the megaphone which has been so graciously provided to me by RedState.com and BigJournalism.com, I would absolutely do so.
But there is a big difference between my megaphone and Peggy’s megaphone: Mine is an openly partisan and opinionated format where I express my opinions based on the facts as I perceive them. Her’s is as a member of the dying breed of ‘objective journalists.’ She’s there to report the facts, not express opinions. In fact, Peggy is the lead natural gas reporter for the Denton Record-Chronicle.







Subscribe via RSS
Got a Tip?