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I’ve been asking this question in Capitol Fax for the past couple of days, so I figured I’d put it to you here.
Should newspapers that endorsed George Ryan in 1998 now apologize to their readers for not believing the allegations against him at the time?
The Sun-Times already has come clean twice (text in subscriber-only section), as have others. But should the rest of them now explain why they ignored the media reports at the time and endorsed Ryan anyway?
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Apr 19, 06 @ 8:29 am
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Why are endorsements given out again? And why should they carry any weight with me?
It’s arrogance like this that is perpetuating the circumstances.
What would happen if the Chicago Tribune said “We endorse no one”?
Comment by Leroy Wednesday, Apr 19, 06 @ 8:32 am
The issue is not so much endorsements. The issue is of journalism. The media does play favorites. George Ryan, until he became Governor, was a media darling who could do no wrong. His press people and high-level staffers did their jobs well, cultivating reporters and making them part of ‘the club.’ Poshard, in the Chicago media market, was portrayed as a rube from downstate who had no chance of winning. The media’s attitude was there was no need to seriously investigate since Ryan was a good guy who was going to win the election anyway. They would have four years to badger Ryan as governor once the election was over. This week, after 8 long years, Poshard was proven right in a court of law. The question shouldn’t be about endorsements. The question should be about good journalism that focuses on the facts and not about personalities and preconceived notions. We need to demand more of the media.
Comment by Unreliable Sources? Wednesday, Apr 19, 06 @ 8:43 am
Glen Poshard was royally screwed by the media when he ran against GRyan. The media WANTED GRyan to win and I believe that’s why they never investigated Poshard’s claim of the trucking scandal and the death of the 6 Willis children. The shame is that the media did not investigate thoroughly the allegations but instead swallowed hook, line, and sinker the GRyan ad where he talked about his grandchildren and his daughters’ car accident which almost killed her and then pleadingly said that he could never be responsible for such a horrible accident as the deaths of the Willis children. The sin was in not investigating someone the media believed was their darling. Poshard would have won that election had the truth come out as at that time it was becoming a very close race. Instead we let someone who was dirty come into the governor’s office and keep making mud pies for 4 more years.
I heard Poshard on a talk radio program a couple of years ago where he stated that when he became affiliated with SIU, he got a phone call from GRyan who basically told him to keep his mouth shut and SIU would get the funding they asked for. That’s a fact. All you have to do is check with Jim Leach of WMAY and he will back that up.
It’s WAY too late for apologies from the media. George ought to go away for a long time. He will have visitation privileges and be able to see all of his family. Rev. & Mrs. Scott Willis will never again be able to visit with BENJAMIN, JOSEPH, SAMUEL, HANK, ELIZABETH and PETER. Bitter? You bet. The pain suffered by the Willis family is more than parents should have to bear and has been largely ignored by the media. That’s who the media should apologize to.
Comment by Little Egypt Wednesday, Apr 19, 06 @ 9:04 am
Should Steve Rauschenberger apologize for failing the newspapers that endorsed him?
Comment by Lovie's Leather Wednesday, Apr 19, 06 @ 9:47 am
The media apologize for something that happened eight years ago? They don’t worry about last week!
As this primary has shown, readers respond to big newspaper endorsements with a collective yawn (at least the 13 percent who voted).
As someone who had a Poshard sign in his Springfield yard during the primary, I don’t need any apology. The conviction did just fine.
Comment by Paul Simon Museum Guy Wednesday, Apr 19, 06 @ 11:36 am
Thanks, Rich, for continuing to ask this question. The Chicago Tribune did much more than endorse George Ryan, they were (with the exception of John Kass,) his virtual running mate.
I got sick to my stomach yesterday reading the Tribune’s self-righteous editorial about the Ryan verdict. The folks in the Tower must think we all forgot about their shameless shilling for Ryan in ‘98 and their shameful treatment of Poshard.
I haven’t forgotten. I remember Rick Pearson acting as the Trib’s lead reporter on the race — despite being the spouse of a high-ranking, former Ryan aid in the Sec. of State’s Office and the best friend of Paul Lis, one of Ryan’s top campaign consultants. No conflict of interest their.
I remember the string of blistering Trib editorials that ripped Poshard and Joe Power for daring to suggest Ryan covered-up the “license-for-bribes” scandal that resulted in the Willis accident.
I remember a series of trumped-up Trib stories examining supposed Poshard campaign finance missteps. Never mind the fact that the campaign finance restrictions Poshard imposed on himself were ten times more restrictive than the law required and probably cost him the election because he was so badly outspent.
I remember the long parade of disgruntled liberals (Newton Minow, Rick Garcia, etc.) who were given Trib op-ed space — and quotes in several news stories — to promote the notion Poshard was too conservative for his Democratic base and that liberals should either stay home or crossover on Election Day. Never mind the fact that Poshard and Ryan’s views were identical on abortion and gay rights.
George Ryan got elected governor on a Big Lie and the Chicago Tribune helped him spread it all over the state with biased reporting and a too-eager-to-get-involved editorial board. Until they offer a mea culpa they have zero credibility.
Comment by ghost of '98 Wednesday, Apr 19, 06 @ 12:17 pm
The same could be asked of papers which endorsed W in 2000 (and especially those …coughtribcough… which endorsed him twice).
Comment by NW burbs Wednesday, Apr 19, 06 @ 12:54 pm
I knew Ryan’s position on gay rights were the same as Poshard’s, but it made a difference that he sent a rep to the Gay Pride parade and Poshard didn’t. That’s why my vote went for Ryan, he is the last GOP I can think of that I voted for (mainly cause I got ticked at the national GOP in 2000). I just didn’t see why sending a rep would have been the end of the world to him.
As for abortion, Ryan had a let’s leave it alone attitude. I’m not sure that Poshard wouldn’t have wanted to get some restrictions put on it. He was adamantly and verbally against it.
Comment by cermak_rd Wednesday, Apr 19, 06 @ 1:02 pm
Should the newspapers also apologize for endorsing George Ryan over Chad Koppie in the 1998 GOP primary?
Comment by Establishment Republican Wednesday, Apr 19, 06 @ 1:58 pm
Well said, Ghost of ‘98. This needs to be a time to review the ethics of journalists, as well as ethics in government.
Comment by Unreliable Sources? Wednesday, Apr 19, 06 @ 3:41 pm
No.
Normal people - defined by those whose paychecks don’t involve politics - don’t read editorials. That’s why this Q has a whopping 11 responses.
Trib should apologize for making Pearson lead reporter.
Comment by anon Wednesday, Apr 19, 06 @ 7:52 pm
No apology needed, Glenn was right. People who know Glenn know that is enough. His statement on the verdict shows his nature, his concern is for the Ryan family and the Willis family.
This just shows has sad politics and elections have become. The voters are as corrupt as some of the politicians. We accept cronyism, buy offs, inappropriate favors, and in some cases even bribes.
If you spend a few years at the Capitol and really watch what is going on, if you can get close to some of the behind the scenes moves, it will all make you sick. If the voters knew what was really going on…I only hope that it would make a difference.
What is really sad is legislators and folks like Glenn Poshard are viewed as “different”, independant thinkers who won’t play on the “team”. Sometimes they are considered weirdos and dreamers who have lost touch with reality. I hope every state is not like this. Legislators who stick to their principles are often isolated by their fellow lawmakers.
Sometimes it is really awful. I believe there are about a dozen honest, forthright, and truly principled legislators and they usually cannot accomplish a damn thing because of it. Someday that will change.
Comment by aidanquinn Wednesday, Apr 19, 06 @ 10:33 pm
I worked on Poshard’s 98 campaign pretty intensely as a volunteer in the Chicago office, and while I certainly was frustrated with the dearth of coverage of the growing license-for-bribes scandal (the Sun-Times and CapFax duly excepted), I can’t say most of the media exactly has any apologies due. There was a ton of smoke then, but no public smoking gun by election time. George Ryan said he wasn’t connected, and he was investigating, and it was just a few bad apples, and it was announced before the election he wasn’t (yet) a target of Safe Roads. I think the press corps largely stayed out of the controversy because it wasn’t concrete yet. It looked like it _could_ have been an inflammatory ploy from the Poshard campaign to gather media coverage, and the press were reluctant to label Ryan as a child-killer without very solid evidence. In retrospect Ryan’s guilt looks clearer, but everything looks clearer in retrospect.
The one really nasty media slur I remember was when the Chicago Tribune attacked us for having the gall to even _think_ that Ryan might have had something to do with the death of the Willis kids. That was over-the-line on the Tribune’s part. But to their credit, the Trib editors did publish an apology to Poshard later. So they definitely owed us an apology, but they gave us one eventually.
Comment by ZC Thursday, Apr 20, 06 @ 12:15 am