Iowa GOP Blacklists TV Station from Election Night Event
Reporters are supposed to do tough stories on people in power
In what’s become a trend of Republicans stiff-arming mainstream media outlets, the Iowa Republican Party this week denied a Cedar Rapids TV station entrance into the GOP’s election night party in downtown Des Moines.
KCRG-TV is the ABC affiliate in Cedar Rapids. It’s a fine news operation that provides quality coverage in eastern Iowa. On Monday, the day before the election, the station learned it had been denied credentials to the Iowa Republican party’s election night event where all major GOP candidates would appear on camera.
According to a story on KCRG’s website, an Iowa Republican Party spokesman claimed the room was at capacity and that priority was being given to Des Moines media outlets. KCRG news director Adam Carros said other media outlets from outside Des Moines were granted access, and he cried foul. “This is an unprecedented action in my 20+ years in TV news, 17 of it in Iowa,” Carros said. “I cannot recall a single instance a political party has blocked a local TV or newspaper outlet from its election night event in Iowa.”
That makes two of us. In 40 years of TV news experience in Iowa, I’ve never heard of this happening, either. I imagine it won’t be the last time.
Carros suspects it’s payback for Fact Check coverage the station did on political ads run by several Republican candidates. One of the stories criticized an ad from state representative Bobby Kaufmann, the son of state GOP chair Jeff Kaufmann. Carros says the party repeatedly criticized KCRG’s coverage and refused to take part in the station’s previews of legislative races. “I have every reason to believe this is political retribution for our fact checks and other reporting the party deemed unfavorable.”
What possible gains can be made by denying a station the right to cover what turned into a huge victory party for the Iowa GOP? Although Republicans nationally didn’t experience the red wave they hoped for, in Iowa it was a red tsunami. Republicans now hold all Iowa seats in Congress, both houses of the Iowa legislature, and they swept to victory in every statewide office including governor, attorney general, treasurer, secretary of state and ag secretary. Only one statewide office, that of auditor, is too close to call.
From Republicans’ perspective, what a great story to tell! Why not shout it as loud as possible through every media outlet imaginable?
Somebody in the party sees it as a good thing to kick mainstream media outlets. It started with Donald Trump’s campaign prior to the 2016 Iowa caucuses denying the Des Moines Register media credentials to his rallies because he was miffed at an editorial.
I wrote last month about how Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds did not respond when the Register offered the opportunity to write her own answers to a questionnaire.
With the race for Arizona governor too close to call, Republican candidate Kari Lake – a former TV news anchor, for Pete’s sake – told reporters Wednesday she plans to win, and not only serve four years, but eight. With reporters standing around her, Lake said “I’m gonna be your worst freaking nightmare for eight years, and we will reform the media as well. We’re gonna make you guys into journalists again. So get ready. It’s going to be a fun eight years. I can’t wait.”
Let’s get something straight. Reporters are supposed to do tough stories on people in power. Threats from Kari Lake, or stiff arming from Iowa Republicans, is not going to change that fact. After Tuesday night, EVERYONE in power in Iowa is a Republican. It’s clear they want to intimidate and bully media outlets into becoming lap dogs. To write glowing stories only. But it is not going to happen, and they know that. Their main goal is to score political points with their base. The media are an easy target.
Local TV news cannot turn into partisan outlets like Fox or MSNBC. It must continue to hit the ball down the middle of the fairway and do tough stories on those in power, regardless of party, regardless of complaints, and regardless of blacklisting.
In the end, KCRG grabbed a Des Moines station’s satellite feed of the Iowa Republican victory celebration, so viewers did not miss out. And in the next election cycle, Adam Carros and his team will continue to do Fact Checks on both Republican and Democratic candidates – with or without their cooperation.
Several new writers have joined the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative, including former Register columnist Kyle Munson, as well as Fern Kupfer and Joe Geha from Ames. Here’s the full list.
Well said, Dave -- exactly as I would expect from you. Journalists in Iowa, along with the rest of us, are fortunate that we get to keep learning from you. Many thanks.
Appreciate the insider look at the role of journalism. There are many ways to obstruct freedom of speech, and all are frightening.