Friday, August 29, 2014

On Secret Walker Campaign $$, JS Edit Board Seven Silent Days

No comment yet from the state's leading board of media commentators about allegations of jaw-dropping campaign financing chicanery found and disclosed by prosecutors...and  widely reported and highlighted by Journal Sentinel news staffers and editors...and noted in national media, from The New York Times, to The Washington Post, and in this pointed Politico.com account that all cry out for local recognition and comment:
A fresh batch of emails emerged Friday night that shows Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker was deeply involved in raising money for an ostensibly independent group focused on fending off recall efforts.. 
Here’s a look at the six most revealing nuggets from the tranche of documents: 
“There is certainly an appearance of corruption in light of the resulting legislation from which it benefited.”That’s a reference to perhaps the most immediate and politically potent revelation in the latest documents: that mining company Gogebic Taconite LLC cut a $700,000 check to the Walker group. The firm wants to build a controversial open-pit iron mine in the state, and Walker signed a bill in 2013 that helped them by lightening environmental requirements.
As I said Wednesday, I understand the technical and scheduling issues that can delay quick comment on breaking news.

But the relevance of commentary is fading as the days fall off the calendar, plus we're heading into a holiday weekend of traditionally-lighter newspaper access that works against readership, and editorial oomph.

Will the edit board comment on the Walker campaign funding stories in one of the mini-editorials it stacks in its Saturday round-up potpourri?

Sunday's more significant Crossroads section is really the paper's last relevant shot at meaningful commentary on last week's Doe document dump.





5 comments:

Anonymous said...

why would they bite the hand that feeds them? Their silence speaks volumes about who they want to see elected in November..

Anonymous said...

Mark my word, they will find an excuse to endorse him again in October. But then again, newspaper endorsements don't matter greatly.

Anonymous said...

Don't worry, be happy! "The RGA has already put $18 million in Walker over the last four years," Cox said in private remarks captured on audio. "We’re not going to let up now. We put $2 million in this spring. "Uh, AFP has been on the air. Walker’s been on the air, and the governor currently leads by six points. This is a race we’re going to have to be engaged in right on until the end." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LS-VW4L-n4Q

Anonymous said...

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's continued silence reminded me of this title: "The Watchdog That Didn't Bark: The Financial Crisis and the Disappearance of Investigative Reporting" - Dean Starkman, 2014.

Thanks to you James, and to your fellow bloggers, who seem to be the only ones practicing truly investigative journalism these days.

James Rowen said...

Thank you.