What to Make of This Story?

The Seattle Times has an initiative called The Seattle Times Save the Free Press Initiative and its editor, Brier Dudley, wrote an opinion piece in today's Times.

Political kingmakers as co-owners of The Stranger. How will that play out?

An irreverent approach to journalism hasn’t limited the appeal of The Stranger, Seattle’s alternative weekly newspaper, to its audience. 

But I wonder if it’s going too far, by selling an ownership stake to one of Seattle’s most powerful political organizations.

MLK Labor, a coalition of more than 150 unions, recently agreed to invest in Noisy Creek, parent company of The Stranger and The Portland Mercury.

Interesting and most of the comments are laughing at Dudley for working for the Times which itself has suspect partnerships. He continues:

Still, I’ve wondered since the sale whether The Stranger would become less of an independent newspaper and more of a political megaphone. 

 

Being co-owned by MLK Labor may create that appearance. I’d feel the same if it was a group that lobbies on behalf of business.

Walkinshaw said the business side of the company is separate from the editorial side, so investors won’t influence coverage.

“I’m really not concerned about it,” he said, adding that the $50,000 investment being considered is a relatively small stake.

Okay but it begs the question:

“The question, though, is why did they buy it?” Rosenstiel said. “Did they buy it because they want to support independent journalism, or did they buy it because they wanted to have a vehicle for pressing their political agenda?”

 Both, judging from MLK Labor’s resolution authorizing the investment.

It said The Stranger and Mercury are now “controlled by people with strong progressive credentials.”

It also said it’s in MLK Labor’s interest “to help ensure the continued existence and growth of The Stranger as an independent, progressive media entity that also retains its focus on issues of particular importance to the labor movement.”

For our purposes, this is the most troubling part:

In its pitch to MLK Labor, Noisy Creek said there’s a “total firewall between the business side of Noisy Creek and the news side,” said Joe Mizrahi, one of MLK Labor’s trustees who approved the investment. He doesn’t think it will influence coverage. 

“Frankly, the labor council would have liked it if it was that way, if the investment meant more say over the editorial decision-making,” he said. 

Mizrahi is secretary-treasurer of UFCW 3000, a union representing grocery, retail and other workers. He’s also a political candidate, running to retain a Seattle Public Schools board seat to which he was appointed last year. 

The Stranger interviewed him as part of its endorsement process and the ownership stake “didn’t come up,” he said.

Three guesses who The Stranger will endorse for the District 4 race. 

Mizrahi is clearly up the food chain for the union, especially if he is the person who gives quotes to the media. 

Whoever interviewed him at The Stranger had to know about the MLK Labor investment in the newspaper and they didn't even state a disclaimer out loud?

Not sure what to make of this but if Mizrahi is elected, he needs to be very careful in what he votes on. He may end up needing to recuse himself more often. His votes should be based on what is best for the student of Seattle Schools, not what is the most progressive path that would serve his union.