Just a bit of background on the RTD. As we wrote back in April, the RTD is owned by a company called Media General So what's the problem, you ask? Let's quote from ourselves (isn't blogging great?):
Turns out that in 2004, NONE of Media General?s 27 daily newspapers endorsed John Kerry for President; they all either endorsed George W. Bush or, in a couple of cases (i.e., the Tampa Tribune), made no endorsement at all. Sounds like a pattern here? Yeah, doesn?t take a rocket scientist to figure THAT one out. Can we say ?right wing media bias??But it gets worse. In late March 2005, Diana F. Cantor was nominated to the board of directors of Media General. Who?s Diana F. Cantor, you ask? Well, for starters, she?s the wife of U.S. Representative Eric I. Cantor (R-7th district). Cantor, who?s been in Congress since 2000, is already the No. 4 Republican in the House of Representatives. He?s chief deputy whip, responsible for maintaining party discipline and raising money. He?s also on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, which writes tax law among other things. According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, ?that?s an important assignment ? one that gives Cantor a leg up in soliciting contributions from big business??
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And just to add a little more juice to this story, Eric Cantor is a close ally of Jerry Kilgore ? both in pushing right wing policies and also in helping Kilgore get elected governor....
What does this all mean? First and foremost, that much of Virginia?s print media is controlled by one Republican leaning media conglomerate ? Media General. Second, that the wife of a close Kilgore political ally - Congressman Eric Cantor - has been nominated to the Media General board of directors. Third, that all this makes the lack of Scott County Kilgore corruption coverage by Media General newspapers just a tiny bit suspicious. And fourth, that this whole situation demonstrates EXACTLY why we need a free media in this country ? as a ?check and balance? on the power of government and big business.
So much for the "liberal media" here in Virginia. In fact, so much for the "liberal media" in general. As we all know, that's a complete canard, a brilliantly diabolical (or is it "diabolically brilliant?") creation of the right-wing spin machine, aimed at convincing people that the media is biased against THEM! And, sad to say, it's worked to a large extent. I'll tell you, you've got to admire these Republicans on one level; they play to win, and they certainly don't let the truth get in the way of accomplishing that goal!