This is an example of what the Fourth Estate is supposed to
do. There was a bit of a cloud over it regarding funding of the investigation:
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"Marilyn W. Thompson, then editor
of the Lexington Herald-Leader, faced a problem last year that is afflicting
more and more newspaper editors across the country: She wanted to initiate a
major reporting project but lacked sufficient resources to finance it.
"Thompson, who wanted the paper to take a deep look at Mitch McConnell,
Kentucky's senior senator, came up with an answer. She would seek support from
the Center for Investigative Reporting, a California-based non-profit group
that has financed or conducted groundbreaking work in television and print
journalism.
"The idea was approved by Thompson's bosses at Knight Ridder, which owned the
Herald-Leader. The center approved a $37,500 grant, and reporter John Cheves
went to work.
Then when the series was ready to
publish:
"In
a series of e-mails and phone calls to Herald-Leader editors, McConnell's top
aides accused the Center for Investigative Reporting of liberal bias.
Don Stewart, McConnell's communications director, said a search of campaign
contributions by members of the center's board of directors and staff members
revealed donations only to Democratic candidates or affiliated groups.
The allegations of bias by the Center for Investigative Reporting surprised Dan
Noyes, its acting executive director.
"We certainly have been attacked over the years, but I'm not sure I've ever
seen somebody attack the story in the media before it has even appeared," he
said. "
"But this week, with Cheves winding up a six-month examination of McConnell,
and the senator's staff raising questions about the unusual grant, the
Herald-Leader's new owner, McClatchy Co., came to a different conclusion."
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This points out the pressure place not
only on our government, but also on the press, by the almighty dollar. They
felt they had found a legitimate way to fund independent investigation; when
that was attacked as a conflict of interest, they gave back the money. Kudos
for doing the series, and kudos for refunding the money. It is unfortunate that
the Center for Investigative Reporting is tainted by the campaign contributions
of its board members; that in itself is no evidence of bias on the Center's
part, and there is nothing to indicate the Center influenced the reporter's
findings or conclusions. But the paper did the right thing when attacked by the
corrupt politician. We wish them well.
Link toArticle
Excerpts:
LEXINGTON
A six-month examination of U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell's career by the Lexington
(Ky.) Herald-Leader, based on thousands of documents and scores of interviews,
"shows the nexus between his actions and his donors' agendas," the paper
concludes in a major report today. "He pushes the government to help cigarette
makers, Las Vegas casinos, the pharmaceutical industry, credit card lenders,
coal mine owners and others.
"Critics, including anti-poverty groups and labor unions, complain that
McConnell has come to represent his affluent donors at the expense of Kentucky,
the relatively poor state he is supposed to represent. They point, for example,
to his support last year for a tough bankruptcy law, backed by New York banks
that support him."
The massive report is titled "Price Tap Poltics." It features quotes referring
to McConnell's allegedly "thuggish" and "shakedown" practices.
The
four-part series was published as planned, beginning Sunday. It includes
e-mails to and from McConnell's office.
In one example, from 1998, it notes that McConnell helped to kill a proposal to
curb youth smoking. About four months later, he called lobbyists at R.J.
Reynolds Co. and asked for $200,000 in corporate "soft money" that he could
pass to Republican senators in elections. In an e-mail exchange, published
today, the lobbyists settled on "doing an additional 100,000 to him immediately
and then seeing what we have left at end of next week."
McConnell drew national attention for his outspoken opposition to a bipartisan
campaign-finance bill that President Bush signed into law in 2002. He was the
lead plaintiff in a lawsuit against the measure, which the Supreme Court upheld
in December 2003. "
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A four-part series, part one 10/15/06 - here is the link to
the newspaper where it will run:
http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky
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PRICE TAG POLITICS
Senator's pet issue: money and the power it buys
By John Cheves
HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER
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U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., spoke to
reporters after a Senate vote on an amendment to a campaing finance reform bill
in March 2001. The McCain-Feingold Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act passed in
2002 over McConnell's strenuous opposition.
WASHINGTON - In the early 1970s, Addison Mitchell McConnell Jr., a young and
intense Republican lawyer, strode into the political science class he taught at
the University of Louisville.
He didn't introduce himself to his students. He went straight to the chalkboard
and scribbled.
"I am going to teach you the three things you need to build a political party,"
he said, and backed away to reveal the words: "Money, money, money."
Three decades later, the teacher has mastered the lesson like few in history.
An extraordinary political fund-raiser, Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell,
R-Ky., has used his skill to put himself on the brink of a remarkable career
achievement. If Republicans hold the Senate in the Nov. 7 elections, he is
expected to succeed retiring Sen. Bill Frist of Tennessee as majority leader.
McConnell's rise to the top of Congress is testament to the power of money in
modern politics. He has raised nearly $220 million over his Senate career; he
spent the majority not on his own campaigns but on those of his GOP colleagues,
who have rewarded him with power.
"He's completely dogged in his pursuit of money. That's his great love, above
everything else," said Marshall Whitman, who watched McConnell as an aide to
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and as a Christian Coalition lobbyist...
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| Award:
Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader, Investigative Reporting, October, 2006 |
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