#NCSEN: WRAL debate battle demonstrates power of New Media
In the old days, conservative candidates simply had to TAKE whatever WRAL or The Charlotte Observer or The N&O dished out. The powers-that-be at those institutions decided what got communicated to the people of North Carolina. And that was that.
Owners of those media groups have openly supported Democrat candidates while their business operations portrayed themselves as fair and unbiased. WRAL owners Jim and Barbara Goodmon, for years, have dumped heaps of money on liberal causes. The Daniels family was smack dab in the middle of Democrat causes during its years owning The Raleigh News & Observer. Family members dumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into the state and national Democrat Party coffers. Some even got appointments in Democrat administrations in Raleigh and DC. The owner of The Fayetteville Observer has regularly donated money to Democrats his paper covers on a daily basis.
Here, in 2014, the playing field is evening out a little bit. Right-leaning Facebook pages and Twitter accounts have popped up to disseminate information from a conservative perspective. Online media sources like ours, The Carolina Plotthound, Pundit House, Lady Liberty, AgentPierceSaid. The Beaufort Observer, and Sister Toldjah are providing a stiff challenge to WRAL and the rest of the Old Media. (Chuck Suter and his guerilla video work are also accomplishing great things.) The N&O newsroom can no longer spike or bury a story. Multiple right-leaning online news sources here in The Tar Heel State can get the word out to hundreds of thousands of people instantaneously. (As an example, our site has more unique visits in a week than our local paper’s site –now owned and operated by The N&O’s former owners — has in a month.)
So, when it came time to put together the GOP debates for the US Senate primary, many in the old media thought it was going to be business-as-usual. THEY were going to decide which candidates got exposure on their airwaves or in their pages. Never mind that they all define themselves as the defenders of the people’s right to know.
For months, old media has been describing Charlotte pastor Mark Harris as a leading contender for the GOP nomination. But when it came to organize a candidate debate, WRAL decided he was not significant enough to include in their event. Harris’ campaign howled in protest. Our friends at The Carolina Plotthound took the fight directly to WRAL on Facebook. The Plotthound suggested that the Harris exclusion may have had something to do with his advocacy for 2012’s marriage amendment to the state constitution — a ballot issue that WRAL’s owners fought against aggressively. Campaigns on Facebook and Twitter started up. Multiple blogs started raising questions. In the end, WRAL caved and added Harris to the debate lineup.
Old media is losing viewers and subscribers. Notice how many newspaper web sites are having to erect pay walls? Notice how many local TV news shows are relying more on file footage from the wire services and a depleted reporting staff?
In the old days, The Right had no soapbox to get up on and challenge this newsroom-bred nonsense. Things are a wee bit different now.
It would likely be a surprise to many that these news organizations will be quite happy with a Hagan or Tillis win. Both Hagen and Tillis would do their bidding, just as Tricky Dick Burr the Sr Senator and lobbyist in waiting has done for them over the years.
There are higher ideals than “just beating Kay Hagen”. That represents about 10% of the bigger issue. The main goal is not “just beating Kay Hagen.” but changing DC.
Exactly. We need a Senator who will not be part of the liberal ruling class.
There may be higher ideals that defeating Kay Hagan but I am unaware of them. I prefer a Republican in the seat rather than Kay Hagan. The conservatives will only have a voice if we remove Kay and send a Republican to represent us. Any one of the eight would be better for me than Kay Hagan.
A Republican win in no way whatsoever represents a conservative voice. Tillis may be worse than some conservative D’s.
There is very little difference between the two partys anymore.
IE. Sen. “Tricky Dick” Burr – (r) NC Again the goal is to change DC not send R’s to DC that will aid and abet and be part of the problem. IE. Tillis. Anyone but Tillis, Anyone but Tillis, Anyone but Tillis.
Sorry, Jimmy. There are “Republicans” that differe not one bit from Democrats. (Senator Burr has become one of those…he and John McCain, Lindsay Graham and most of those who currently sit in the US Senate on the Republican side). If you support ANY of the candidates the GOP supports you may as well re-elect Kay Hagen…they are virtually the same. If you cast a vote for ANY of those who Rance Prebis, the NCGOP and Karl Rove you may as well stay home. Tillis is a “Good Old POlitician”. He is proving his inability to resolve issues in his current job. He and his party have absolute majorities in both state houses AND the Governor’s office but they kow-tow to the slightest whim of the liberals. When are they gong to vote as a bloc and really make a difference in NC?
While I agree the cronyism is something to deal with, this nation can only BEGIN to reverse course when Democrats who do the bidding of folks like Harry Reid has been wiped from Capitol Hill. Let’s get Republicans back in power, and this time, versus 2006, think of all the social media entities and abilities to connect conservatives that didn’t exist between 2000 and 2006? There will be no where for Republicans to hide if they deviate from conservative prinicples. Finally, the ball is back in the “little guy’s” court.
You might be surprised to find out that it may be the conservative D’s (they exist and some are far more principled and conservative than some R’s), your fellow Americans, are the only thing holding back the boogeman Harry Reid from passing much worse legislation.
Conservative Dems are as extinct as the do-do bird. The problem is that establishment Republicans these days are hard to tell apart from the Democrats. We have sellouts as our party leaders in the House and even worse in the Senate. Mitch McConnell is not all that different than Harry Reid. Speaking of conservative Republicans running in primaries, McConnell as few weeks ago vowed to the media to ”crush them everywhere”. Hopefully, conservative Matt Bevin will knock McConnell out in his own primary and we will be rid of that liberal establishment Republican. But sending an establishment Republican senator to DC who will ally with McConnell is not much different than sending a liberal Democrat who will ally with Harry Reid. Republicans desperately need new leadership in both the House and Senate. Tillis has sold his soul to Rove and McConnell, and would not represent much if any change from Hagan who has sold her soul to Chuck Schumer.
We need Senators who will stand up for the interests and principles of North Carolinians – someone like Jesse Helms, John East, or Lauch Faircloth, not someone who will be a leadership poodle.
Thank you for all that you do Brant, I am a huge fan of the Daily Haymaker and I know I’ve got a good video when it makes it onto this awesome website.
Need someone that is not the choice of Washington Insider. Someone that will fight for our rights.
Brant, there is another important difference embedded in the “new media”.
“The Truth” based on the facts! Some of us are partial to the truth!
I have not read the NYT for over 15 years and have not had TV for three years. They insult my intelligence!
I often think of Sargent Joe Friday, of the 50ties TV Show, Dragnet, “just the facts ma’am, just the facts”!
Speaking of the media, well, we done made it slam to the New York Times. A nice article this morning about the Republican primary and about Senator Hagan.
Interesting article.
I often look to the New York Times to see what I, and the rest of NC, think.
Yeah, the Pravda on the Hudson is just soooooooooo representative on NC thought! I am often amused at their liberal spin posing as news. There are some liberal newspapers that you do sometimes get some real news out of, like the Washington Post, but real news from the New York Times? Man, you have got to be kidding!