How is that for a salacious and suggestive title? What images does it conjure in your mind and how does it reflect upon reporters as a whole? Clearly the intent would be to imply that many reporters are in fact pedophiles or murderers even though that assertion is sugarcoated with the word “not” to provide just a smidgen of plausible deniability.

You dare not cry foul because I can substantiate my claims with examples of reporter depravity. The charge of pedophilia can be corroborated by looking at the case of Stephen Hill, a television reporter who molested four teenage boys that he was mentoring. The charge of murder can be ratified by observing the case of James Keown, a radio reporter convicted of killing his 31 year old wife by poisoning her with antifreeze. What a seedy lot these reporters must be.

Do I believe it is really fair to sully the reputation of all reporters because of the acts of these two? Absolutely not. Isn’t it a bit of a stretch to imply guilt across the profession because of a few bad apples? Of course it is. So why do those within the field of reporting itself insist on making this same leap with the Tea Party movement?

Fox Valley Initiative volunteer Don Shaw recently wrote a letter to the editor of the Appleton Post Crescent titled “Tea Party Crashers & the Health Care Bill.” He was horrified when they printed the letter but changed the title to Most Tea Party-goers not radical or racist. The obvious implication is that many in the movement are radical or racist, accusations that are unfounded. Ironically much of Don’s letter speaks to the media’s efforts to fabricate and exaggerate stereotypes about the Tea Party movement.

So in addition to isolated examples of pedophilia and murder we can add systemic bias and bigotry to the list of media malfeasances. Not exactly a new development but just another example of it locally. Pathetic.



For those of you unable to attend last Monday, here is the video of five of the six Republican candidates competing to run against incumbent Steve Kagen for Wisconsin's 8th Congressional District. The vetting was sponsored by the Fox Valley Initiative.

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