Christine O’Donnell Promised Access For Favorable Coverage

Filed in National by on October 22, 2010

There’s a really fascinating editorial in today’s News Journal about the coverage of the Delaware U.S. Senate race. It details a lot of the issues the NJ had covering the O’Donnell campaign, particularly the grudge the campaign held against Ginger Gibson, in particular.

That will not happen at The News Journal. Gibson, who was kicked out of O’Donnell’s meeting with Hispanic citizens on Monday night, immediately threaded O’Donnell’s post-debate comments into the Widener debate piece at delawareonline.com Tuesday morning, and added context and additional interviews for Wednesday’s print editions of The News Journal.

O’Donnell suggested to Gibson that if the story on the Constitution turned out to her liking, she would consider giving Gibson better access moving forward.

Gibson didn’t bite. While she obviously does not like being booted from O’Donnell appearances, she doesn’t take those acts personally. And she certainly isn’t willing to sell her professional soul for access.

The O’Donnell campaign’s treatment of the local media has not been as big an issue as it should be. I think O’Donnell thinks she can coast into the Senate based on national media & secret funding. Delaware, let’s prove her wrong.

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Comments (32)

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  1. anon says:

    The thing is, nothing she does surprises me anymore-good on the NJ to call her out on it, though the righties will scream this is just another smear piece against her….

  2. Delaware Dem says:

    Republicans. Evil every minute of the day.

  3. mediawatch says:

    How long will it take her to cry to a talk-show host that she never offered Ginger anything?

  4. Delaware Dem says:

    I am sure Christine O’Donnell will once again lie to cover up her unethical behavior.

  5. Independent says:

    COD is such an embarrassment…

  6. Delbert says:

    Christine O’Donnell was not getting a fair shake from the News Journal, and particularly Ginger Gibson. If you see a 90% chance of an encounter turning out bad, what’s the point of allowing the encounter; whether it’s justified or not? C O’D could’ve allowed 10 interviews/Q&A sessions with the NJ and nine would print badly while Coons would be buttered up by NJ. And it’s largely because Coons is the LibDem candidate and NJ is as liberal as print rags get.

  7. Independent says:

    OK – Then why call now and offer to give access if she can get favorable coverage?

  8. anon says:

    Maybe COD is getting advice from Ginny Thomas.

  9. There’s another part of the column that bothers me:

    One, it’s not uncommon for reporters to get roughed up. They have to be thick-skinned, and Gibson has certainly proved her professional mettle.

    So, the NJ is saying it tolerates the abuse of their employees and covers for the people who abuse them?

  10. anon says:

    I assume that refers to inadvertent jostling in crowds, pushing to get up front. Ever try to get close to a speaker in a crowded room?

  11. anon says:

    That will be the main talking point of her supporters when she loses. That the NJ was against her. She has no one to blame but herself for her bizarre comments and actions. Any intelligent voter looking to make an informed decision will not just rely on the media. 10 days out and her website still does not contain any noteworthy policy opeds or analysis, and no, “stopping waste, fraud,abuse,and backroom deals” is not a platform. Plenty of attacks though and why she thinks Chris is a horrible human being!

  12. Yes, but the column refers to a specific incident where an O’Donnell campaign person shoved Ginger Gibson into a chair.

  13. Polemical says:

    As the original ‘reporter of record,’ Ginger Gibson had a difficult task. How does she cover COD fairly and impartially when COD’s comments, behavior and past history are so bizarre compared to ‘most’ people?

    Thus, a reporter must report ‘odd’ remarks, inconsistencies and even lies, if found out during the course of reporting. Of course all such reports must come with verifiable attribution.

    It does not surprise me one bit that COD and her campaign staff would resort to such censure-ship. To be fair, the News Journal does lean left (like most liberally-biased news outlets, they simply ‘omit’ the positive storylines from conservative candidates and ‘highlight’ the positive ones from the more liberal candidates). It’s called selective-passive journalism. The New York Times, Washington Post and Los Angeles-Times are very adroit at this.

    As a person trained in the SPJ (Society for Professional Journalists), I can assure you that various tenets, ethics and fairness codes in print and online journalism are compromised a lot more than we would care to admit.

    Gibson should have free access, just as all media personnel should!

  14. Delbert says:

    Ginger Gibson needs to get shoved under a bus.

  15. Independent says:

    Ahhh – a high class argument – throw someone under a bus. Impressive!

    On second thought – can we get that for COD?

  16. pandora says:

    Nice to see you donning your man-pants, delbert.

  17. heragain says:

    ‘lean left”? Seriously? Where is this happening? My objection to the News Journal, particularly when it comes to political reporting, is that it mostly just prints whatever the press-release says, no matter which side of the aisle it’s printed on, and the stories are mostly ‘horserace” stories, without enough substance to know what the issues are.

    Like all this “Greenville vs downstate” narrative with the GOP. You’d think the divide over policy and leadership was all just “disgruntled ex-employees” mad at the aristocrats. It sounds like a later episode of “Upstairs Downstairs”. Any discussion of GOP policy towards family farms, or divides in social policy between NCC and Kent/Sussex for example, is completely absent.

    Lazy, yes. But left? I don’t see it.

  18. MJ says:

    Pandora, delbert actually wears Depends.

  19. Joe Cass says:

    Dilbit doesn’t have the stones to ride on a public bus let alone “shove” someone under it.

  20. Delbert says:

    I meant figuratively, not literally.

  21. Jason330 says:

    O’donnell just admitted to using campaign cash to pay her rent. This is embezzlement since FEC regs clearly state that no campaign money can be used for mortgage or rent “even if part of the residence is being used by the campaign.”

  22. dv says:

    how does one give fair coverage to a crack pot? In a nutshell it’s the entire problem with the media.

    I may just buy a NJ paper this weekend based on Ginger’s ability to hold on to her integrity.

    hahhhahaaaaa hahahahaha Just kidding, no I won’t.

  23. Delaware Dem says:

    Oh no. Christine will love prison. Consistent housing.

  24. V says:

    I don’t think TNJ is “left” as much as it is “establishment.” It just happens that most of the long serving politians in the state are Dems.

    If it leaned left, where’s all the negative stories/missing positive stories about Castle?

    Yeah, that doesn’t sound right to me either…

  25. MJ says:

    And now O’Whack-a-Mole claims she’s been living off of savings – http://wdel.com/story.php?id=464643376634&sms_ss=facebook&at_xt=4cc1e1cef57c75dc%2C0

  26. Jason330 says:

    “O’Donnell suggested to Gibson that if the story on the Constitution turned out to her liking, she would consider giving Gibson better access moving forward.”. It has been such a crazy year that the abject craziness of that sentence is almost lost in the general haze of craziness.

  27. Von Cracker says:

    I see plenty of nice homes in Alapocas with COD signs on their front lawns. I’m pretty sure their votes aren’t about abortion.

    The Greenville v Downstate argument is complete bunk. It’s just a smaller version of the Southern Strategy. The few Haves fund the rubes to pay the bills and fight the wars.

  28. Joe Cass says:

    VC, those COD supporters could very well vote against abortion. That they may not have the same concerns as a lower income woman doesn’t mean they will allow that woman to exercise control over herself.

  29. Aoine says:

    I FORGOT I had 15K in the bank???

    I might forgive someone with money for that comment, but someone whoses house went into forclosure was

    1. saving money?
    2. didn;t use that to pay her mortgage?
    3. never mentioned it before?

    I call FAIL on that whooper

  30. VC-Unless those signs just went up in Alapocas, I haven’t seen ’em. Not a one. And I’m in Alapocas pretty frequently since one of my kids goes to school there.

    Lotsa Carney signs and some Coons signs. Even a Gerald Brady sign.

    But no O’Donnell or Urquhart.

    Now, I HAVE seen one or two on Augustine Cut-Off, which may be what you’ve seen.

  31. Von Cracker says:

    Don’t be a gps Nazi! 😉

    What about country club drive? Is that a more appropriate area for ya? The point is that those people could not give a shit about the issues (or I should say The Single Issue) the rubes care about. Hell, I bet if each abortion lowers the highest tax bracket by .000001%, then the GOP elite would demand federal funding for procedures.

  32. Paratrooper18 says:

    Hey COD gets enough fluffy coverage from WGMD and the wingnuts in Sussex county.

    Maybe if she actually outlined her position on issues instead of throwing rocks and then hiding behind hannity and beck she might actually get some favorable coverage.

    I think COD is not sure how to run. She is in this for the money and knows she has no chance of winning. The worst case scenario is that she won the primary, because now she actually has to use the money to make it look good. Heck she would have been off the hook if she had lost the primary, she could have setup a nice non-profit and retired.

    On a positive note. I was invited to a coons event this friday. I guess anyone could go, but at least they called me.