At least I'm in good company. The guys and gals down at WRWR TV 38 in Warner Robbins are putting on a really big shew tomorrow night for candidates running for statewide office in Georgia. OK, so it's really a "2 outta 3" kinda show that will only have republican and democrat aspirants actually on stage.
It's kind of refreshing to see open bias like that in the minor market media here in Georgia. Golden Eagle Media leads the way! The only problem I have with that is that they said they invited all of us when they did not. That's commonly referred to as a lie but I'm sure they'll have a "nuanced" response ready to go if anybody asks.
And what of our erstwhile opponents? Will any of them squeak? Will any of them ask the simple question "Where's the stinking Libertarians? They were at the Atlanta Press Club/GPB Sunday night debate?" It'll be fun to see.
Here's the press release from the hardest working single issue activist in Georgia, Garland Favorito, that got the ball rolling on this snub:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Garland Favorito
October 22, 2010 (404) 664-4044
Media Outlets Exclude Candidates from Debates
but Tell Listeners All Candidates Were Invited
In spite of the exclusions, the Warner Robins Patriot web site claimed to its visitors that all of the candidates were invited. A page posted by Kalie Lanford on or about October 8, stated that: “WRWR-TV has invited all of the candidates vying for your votes in the upcoming general election to meet on our stage.“ Since that statement is simply not true, uninformed middle Georgians will be left with a false impression that the excluded candidates did not care enough to attend or are not viable alternatives.
VoterGA made repeated attempts for several days to find out why candidates were excluded from the debates if they were qualified to be on the ballot. Calls and messages to Sen. Staton and Managing Editor, Paul Rea, were not returned. However, Staton’s aide, Zach Johnson, who helped organize the debate, confirmed that the Senator told him who to invite. He and media Office Manager, Rebecca Coleman, said that polling data may have been used to make exclusions. When pressed repeatedly to cite the polling data, they were unable to identify a polling source for the races in question.
Searches indicate that no formal poll existed for these particular races when the invitations were extended in late September. A check on informal polling data posted on Topix.com found all three of the excluded candidates leading in their races.
No audience or candidate questions will be allowed for the debates. Questions will be solely determined by the conservative media outlets that are part of Georgia Eagle Media Inc., co-owned by Republican Senator, Cecil Staton. Some Republican leaders are especially concerned that current public unrest this year could cause blocks of conservative voters to vote for Libertarian candidates.
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