NEWS
Saturday, October 25, 2003
The Ann Arbor News gives the impression that supporters of the Greenbelt proposal are rolling in cash, although they do note many paragraphs into the story that "The reports indicate that thus far, the greenbelt opponents have vastly outspent supporters, with the majority for cable television ads." If one group raises more than their opponents in one filing cycle simply because the timing of some of their large donations, but the opponent has "vastly outspent" them, is it ethical and accurate to choose the headline "B friends raise most funds"? I think that what's news is that hundreds of thousands of dollars of money from a few corporate homebuilders has filled TV and radio with propaganda and paid for anonymous, harassing phone calls, and the supporters of B are struggling to keep up.The News also found it necessary to re-write a press release about the creation of a new, pro-sprawl group, even though they don't plan to spend more than $1,000. If I start a group with no members and no budget, do you think they'll write about me? See AANews: "New PAC set up to fight Proposal B"
Posted by Rob at 11:53 AM
