Kentucky GOP calls for dismissal of newsroom employee

Source: Lexington Herald-Leader

FRANKFORT -- The Republican Party of Kentucky called on the Lexington Herald-Leader yesterday to dismiss a newsroom employee because he donated to the presidential campaign of John Kerry.

Brian Throckmorton, the paper's copy desk chief, donated $250 to Kerry's campaign in 2004. The donation, along with those of 142 other journalists across the nation, was disclosed in a recent report by MSNBC.com. Only 16 of the journalists donated to Republicans.

"The Herald-Leader is consistently outspoken in its sanctimonious pursuit of those it believes engage in the evils of influencing the political process," said state GOP Chairman Steve Robertson in a news release. "Perhaps it should turn the same judgmental eye toward Throckmorton as he ignored company policy and arrogantly sought to position himself above scrutiny."

... "We have no plans to fire Brian," said Linda Austin, editor of the Herald-Leader. "He violated no existing policy. However, we are reviewing our policy regarding newsroom employees and political contributions."

Read more: http://www.kentucky.com/263/story/108928.html

Let's fucking fire Rupert Murdoch!

as for the employees.

For example, in 2004, every time the Swift Boat Liars were on TV, the Swift Boat Kerry supporters should have been given equal time.

What's good for the goose is good for the gandor.

to promote Bush as a heroic figure fighting a stoic battle against terrorism and another 3 BILLION DOLLARS in airtime to attack Kerry with a constant stream of lies.

Maybe not firing the guy, but is it really ethical for any reporter to support a candidate? The reporters are supposed to be neutral so maybe they shouldn't be allowed to contribute any money to any campaign.

If you work for a newspaper or other media outlet, you can't make political contributions. Plain as day. The guy should not only be fired, but I think a public execution under the most grueling circumstances imaginable would send the proper message to other low level factotums just what all those fancy-pants so-called "constitutional" rights really mean.

I gotta run now; the cocktail party with Broder, Russert, and the political elites is just starting, and I'm already three drinks behind.

But apparently it isn't, thus the GOP is whining and playing to the cheap seats.

would probably be in order. But the big problem is that no one ever seems to look at newspaper publishers, or heads of media news organizations, to see what their political contributions are. I'm guessing that the GOP wouldn't ask for a publisher or News CEO to step down or sell all his shares, if they gave political donations. For just one example Capital Gazette Newspapers of Annapolis CEO, gave $64,000 to the Republicans in Soft money in 200O, so the GOP should call for the dissolution of this paper. In this example the GOP lucked out because the guy is now dead, but if he wasn't or his replacement also donated would they actually do that? The guy actually served on both Bush Sr. and Bush Jr.s administration, both while still owning his newspaper firm. So what do we care about more, a copy desk guy who gives $250 or a publisher who gives huge amounts of cash and serves on two Presidential administrations.

Here's the MSNBC article
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19113485/
The article is pretty much crap, as it seems to even have a problem with Journalism professors giving donations, I'm not exactly sure why. Though strangely they don't care if a publisher who gives huge political donations and serves on two Presidential Administrations, essentially funds a whole journalism school(College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, College Park), go figure.

Even more lame is that MSNBC personality Joe Scarborough, is on the list of journalists, yet this MSNBC story doesn't bother to talk to him about his contributions, I wonder why. Why aren't Kentucky Repubs calling for his dismissal as he is a national "journalist". It seems in the small pprint on the kind of hidden page MSNBC says that Joe hosts an opinion show and is not a reporter, but the article actually lambasted people who write opinion articles for donations. A copy editor does not nave much influence on anything, at most maybe headline writing, where as a national opinion journalist is massive.

What's funny is it took me five seconds to find this egregious donation by a newspaper publisher, yet MSNBC for some reason, I wonder why, can't seem to look into publisher donations.

It is generally considered unethical for a journalist to contribute to any political candidate or campaign.

But no, if it isn't forbidden in his employee contract, then he shouldn't be fired.

I think it is the bias or the ability to control it that matters. There are reporters I am sure that do not donate, but are very biased. There are those that donate and can still be fair in presentation. I donate to Sen. Boxer all the time, I am very biased. But I do not let that influence my work in the Republic heavy home of Free-republic, Fresno. I have not killed a single patient even though 6/10 are probably Republics. I think it is more of a character issue for the reporter, one of professional integrity.

Pretty sad, too, the editor's milquetoast statement.

but I can dig the need for decorum.

Hope they don't go wobbly on this and decide -- as the John Edwards campaign did, with the Pandagon blogger -- that it was time to give in and throw the right-wingers a body. That'd suck.

the $250 bought an awful lot of influence.:sarcasm:

this suggests to me that the GOP has gotten desperate at every level. Seems like they know that they are ALL heading over the cliff and are throwing out everything and anything to try and slow the speeding train down.

They have donated billions to the GOP in "services rendered."

It is beneath the mousy dems to fight back with the exposure of the real crux of this problem...the owners and opinion writers and who and how much they are giving to with nery a query . The pukes have already framed this battle and the dems will meekly fight back on the pukes terms and that is why they cant get enough votes to overwhelm the crooked puke machine. In my opinion we have won more battles than we have lost...but treason has won out...We must fight back with the same venom as the repukes and work toward landslides that will overwhelm the treason or meekly give up and return to our safe places until the brown shirts come to kick down our doors and haul us off to Haliburtons' concentration camps.

Why is it that they're constantly on the defensive?

Handing some (actually most) of these serial liars their asses on a platter would be like shooting fish in a barrel.

In the past the GOP has defended political contributions as a form of Freedom of Speech, ie they are voicing their opinion by donating to the candidate of their choice.

It's also ironic that they want this person's job when they have scumbags like Coulter and O'Reilly who they worship but who legitimately should be fired.