The Tolbert Report

It seems the two titans of the Arkansas blogosphere have banged head on recent post over the weekend. Kinkade offered and interesting comparison of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette’s coverage of the Arkansas Democrat’s Jefferson-Jackson Dinner compared to the coverage of the Arkansas Republican’s Governor’s Dinner a few weeks back. Kinkade writes…

I suppose it would be churlish to point out the egregious disparity in coverage of the two events, and who’d listen anyway, right?

But I’d be interested to hear the editorial decision-making that adjudges one to be “news” and the other to be “not-news.” Seems like either they’re both “news,” or they’re both “not-news,” if you boast of being a balanced, trusted, objective news source serving the community. (Having worked as a reporter and attended my fair share of events like this, I can tell you that they are typically “not-news,” because they are “pseudo-events,” but a newspaper generally has to cover them in case news breaks out.)

I don’t much go in for “liberal media bias” bellyaching from conservatives, because it’s boring and unconstructive, like whining about the weather. But if you are an Arkansas Republican candidate for office in 2010, I’d keep in mind that the state’s largest daily newspaper and its chief political reporter have done you a tremendous favor by laying down their standard, at an early point in the process, for how you and your Democratic opposition will be treated in the coming campaign season. Rest assured, you will not receive the same type of coverage. Plan accordingly.

Apparently, this did not sit well with the Blake Rutherford who thought Kinkade was being petty in his criticism of the ADG and Democrat’s friendliness. I guess Rutherford has friends over there or something. He writes…

Mr. Kinkade has twice written on the op-ed pages of the Democrat Gazette in recent months. The first was about the role of bloggers in today’s media climate (an exception piece and you should read it). The second was about the value and impact of the TEA parties. Thorough and helpful for those of us who think TEA parties are a much like county fairs, I don’t recall the Dem-Gaz offering a counterpoint on the issue. In fact, the last time I checked the editorial board held Republicans in pretty high regard over there.

I will warn you that this could get ugly before it over. Kinkade has already responding in the comments section of Rutherford’s blog. No tell what Photoshop presentation will soon be on the The Arkansas Project. But I for one say, bring it on. Should be fun to watch.