Many independent and smaller party candidates have complained for a long time about lack of coverage from the corporate media. Here is one snarky, cynical response from the establishment:
A group of about 15 protestors and candidates from a Certain Political Party That Will Go Unnamed gathered outside the Washington Post building today to protest their belief that the company “routinely ignores or marginalizes the party’s candidates.”
“We’re here to challenge the Post to cover D.C.’s second party in terms of national clout,” said David Schwartzman, an At-Large candidate for D.C. Council from That Party. He highlighted the party’s 2006 general election results, when the Unnamed Party won more votes than the Republicans.
Cynthia McKinney, candidate for president from the Party The Washington Post Won’t Name, sent a statement.
“We know that if the media covered our platform ….. they would establish us as the second political party in this nation,” McKinney said in the statement that was read by SKCM Curry, her campaign manager.
The protest was partially inspired by a May 29 online discussion with Post congressional reporter Paul Kane, in which he said, “We don’t have enough resources to cover” The Party That Is Not The Democrats Or Republicans.
9 responses so far ↓
1 Mike Theodore // Aug 1, 2008 at 1:28 am
Don’t forget the LP, you snarky SOB’s.
Don’t have enough resources? Might I ask the contributors of this fine establishment just how much they are getting paid to cover third parties?
I guess under the Post’s perspective, their paychecks are draining away putting money into coverage.
2 Steven R Linnabary // Aug 1, 2008 at 7:06 am
Shouldn’t a candidate or party have to DO something in order to gain news coverage?
Unless covering the debate at the Libertarian or Green monthly supper club is what you had in mind.
If you DO something, the media will usually cover it. Provided somebody took the time to inform the media of the accomplishment or event.
But to protest at the newspaper office because of perceived lack of media attention simply sounds childish. At least they got media coverage for it.
PEACE
Steve
3 paulie cannoli // Aug 1, 2008 at 11:09 am
Shouldn’t a candidate or party have to DO something in order to gain news coverage?
DC Statehood Greens do quite a bit, among other things getting more votes than the Republicans in 2006, as the article notes.
4 mscrib // Aug 1, 2008 at 11:30 am
Kind of funny. I’ll defend the Post just because moronic demonstrators like this give third parties a bad name.
They bitch and moan about the big, bad mainstream media and are surprised that the media don’t want to waste a reporter’s time on them? Great strategy. They should fire their communications director. Then again, third parties are absolutely FILLED with jerks who actually believe that cheeseball demonstrations in front of newspapers are politically useful. I’m not expecting this to change for a while.
5 green in brooklyn // Aug 1, 2008 at 11:41 am
TO b fair to the Post, they actually did post a real article about the event as well, which seems to try to defend their lack of 3rd party coverage in general. We should hold them to what they say.
6 green in brooklyn // Aug 1, 2008 at 11:43 am
Hmmm – Must have mistyped: here’s the link.
7 donald raymond lake // Aug 1, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Paul Kane as Poster Boy for the Corporate Media?
8 darolew // Aug 1, 2008 at 2:58 pm
“We know that if the media covered our platform ….. they would establish us as the second political party in this nation…”
Isn’t that a lovely fantasy: the two major parties being the Democrats and the Greens.
I’m sure the right-wing, conservative, and libertarian voters would love that.
9 Peter Orvetti // Aug 1, 2008 at 5:36 pm
In D.C., the Statehood-Green party is fairly significant, though I’d say still behind the GOP a bit, in that the GOP gets more votes and has a member on D.C. Council.
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