The Renton Reporter should balance column space given to politicians

I was just copied on an interesting email regarding the unfairness in the way the Renton Reporter is providing free column space in the midst of a very competitive campaign. Why did this column have to begin after both mayoral candidates had announced their intention to run for mayor…couldn’t the paper had waited until November to start the new feature if they were not going to give equal space to all? I have never seen another paper do this, and I thought the editor of the Renton Reporter had assured everyone that the disparate treatment between Councilman Law and Mayor Keolker would end after filing for election, a milestone that we passed early last month.

Citizen’s email:

To: Randy Corman <racorman@comcast.net>
Subject: Holding Dean’s feet to the fire
Date: Saturday, July 21, 2007 7:15:42 PM

Dean hasn’t been fair. We have seen the mayor’s face way too often, and when has he focused on an individual council member or even the Council as opposed to HER? I hope you all can exert some pressure on him to be fair.

——– Original Message ——–
Subject: Re: Fairness
Date: Mon, 26 Mar 2007 08:02:46 -0800
From: Dean Radford <dean.radford@reporternewspapers.com>

Good morning.
I have already explained in my column that a column will rotate among the City Council members, starting this Saturday.

Dean

3/24/07 9:12 PM

Dear Dean,

You have seven Council members who are just as capable of commenting in your newspaper on Renton matters as the mayor. We are so sick of seeing her face in your newspaper week after week and reading her line of bureaucrat-ese. Give the readers a break. You are hurting your credibility, and People say, “What do you expect when the City pays to distribute the paper free to residents.” You yourself broached the subject of fairness a few weeks ago. But you’ve already forgotten what fair reporting really means.

Rotate between the mayor and the seven council members please. I can even stand hearing from her two…, Dan Clawson and Terri Briere, if the other Council members had a fair chance to speak via a rotating column in the Renton Reporter. Whether its State of the City or budget or Sonics, it doesn’t matter. Rotate fairly between the real leaders of the City, the City Council, and the Council’s servant, Mayor Koelker. This would mean that we wouldn’t have to hear her comments but every eighth issue.

Certainly the paper isn’t going to support Koelker for re-election, not with the skeletons she has in her closet….