By Shane Goodman shane@dmcityview.com

Kentucky fried media

The words “liberal” and “media” seem to be placed together today as often as “fried” and “chicken.” And just as Col. Sanders would cringe (if he could) at how Kentucky Fried Chicken now goes by “KFC” to avoid the term “fried,” many journalists of yesteryear would buckle over upon hearing today’s editors stating they don’t have a liberal slant.

Years ago, newspapers didn’t hide their views. In fact, some put the term “Republican” or “Democrat” right in their mastheads, which is still evident today in many Iowa weeklies.

We decided to take a look at the people behind the keyboards, microphones and cameras to see if their political affiliations give credence to the biases that so many Central Iowans hold. We also wanted to see if this perceived bias impacts how politicians work with the local press.

Here at Cityview, we lean left with our political stances. That’s not to say all our writers are hugging trees and eating granola. As for me, I have been both a registered Democrat and Republican, and I like red meat. Today, I am an independent, as is our entire editorial staff. That’s not by design, but rather a reflection of the frustrations that many Iowans feel, which is apparent by the recent growth in the number of independent voters. And as an independent newspaper, we take our role as a media watchdog seriously.

Our writers recently felt the wrath of this perceived bias firsthand. In an honest effort to interview Jim Nussle and Chet Culver, we were left out in the cold — by both. And although the Culver camp made efforts to cooperate late in game, we decided to scrap the story and instead dig into this idea of media prejudice. Was this snub the result of a perceived bias about Cityview? Or were the candidates too busy to get some free press from educated readers who are not reading The Des Moines Register? Or perhaps they knew we wouldn’t ask the easy questions?

In the end, we know you look to us for an alternative view. So you won’t get the candidate bios and soft-serve questions from us this political year. After all, we think you have had enough of that. And we never intended to be finger-licking good, anyway.

Thanks for reading.

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