Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Despite complaints, Globe offers no coverage of Huckabee visit


Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, at one time the leader in the GOP presidential race, was the featured speaker at a rally at the Joplin Regional Airport Monday afternoon.

The TV stations were there, but the Joplin Globe was apparently a no-show.

This may not seem like much of a news story, but the Globe editorialized a few days ago about how the presidential candidates were ignoring Joplin. Mike Huckabee may not be John McCain or Sarah Palin, or even Rudy Giuliani, but he is a major figure in the 2008 election, and his visit should have received a mention in the Globe. The Huckabee visit is also a sign that the McCain campaign feels that it needs to shore up McCain's support in Joplin, an area which traditionally votes heavily in favor of Republicans.

I see nothing in the Globe's print edition or online. The Globe did have a mention a few hours before the event that it would take place. Of course, this came a full day after Chad Livengood of the Springfield News-Leader released information about the Huckabee visit.

The rally also featured two Missouri Republican bigwigs, Congressman Kenny Hulshof, making one of the final stops in his campaign for governor, and Sen. Kit Bond.

Again, the lack of coverage may not be a big deal (especially to Globe editors), but considering it came less than a week after the newspaper's editorial board voiced its support for McCain's opponent, Barack Obama, it gives the impression that not only is the Globe Editorial Board, but its editorial staff is in the tank for Obama.

8 comments:

  1. Anonymous5:30 AM

    This is positive proof that as a news outlet the Joplin Globe is officially dead!

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  2. Anonymous6:14 AM

    I'm also surprised that no one in the Joplin Media has mentioned this:
    http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D947OPEO1.htm

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  3. Anonymous6:33 AM

    Link was cut off in last post. The article is about Con-Wqay closing 40 service centers:
    http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D947OPEO1.htm

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  4. Anonymous6:42 AM

    Anonymous 6:14. Con-Way Truckload is division that is the former CFI and based in Joplin. Con-Way Freight is another division and has a minimal presence here.

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  5. Anonymous9:14 AM

    Susan Redden was there, I saw her.

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  6. Anonymous10:12 AM

    The Globe's editorial staff IS in the tank for Obama. Duh!

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  7. Anonymous10:03 PM

    So, the Globe's editorial staff is in the tank for Obama ... if they had endorsed McCain, would they be in the tank for McCain? And since they spent the last century endorsing Republicans for president, have they been in the tank for the Republicans all that time? Can they not dip their toes in another tank if they feel the political winds have changed (and which most American voters felt they had?) Can they get back in the tank for Republicans in 2012 if the GOP runs a better candidate/campaign? And where is the tank? How deep is it? What is it filled with? Is the tank open to all?

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  8. I am simply suggesting that if a newspaper is going to complain about no one campaigning in Joplin, it should follow through with coverage when someone does come, even if it is not exactly who it was hoping for. At the same time, when your editorial board endorses a candidate whether Republican or Democrat, the editorial staff needs to make absolutely sure that the other side's events are covered. That is just common sense.

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