What a day…
I sent out a subscriber alert this morning, letting you know I’d been locked out of the studio. Our electronic entry system is malfunctioning (shows what happens when you trust robots!). So, while that's being fixed, I’ve decided to swap our Friday and Sunday content. That’s why you’re getting our Sunday newsletter today, and our normal Friday episode will instead air Sunday.
A big thanks to Jonathan Choe, who was set to come in super early this morning to tape "Fridays with Friends." I had to cancel on him last minute, but he's agreed to come back Sunday.
Oh, and thank you to subscriber Matt for the GIF:
Women’s empowerment
I received a nice phone call from Kent’s mayor this week after I published a story on Sunday about my decision to back out of delivering remarks to the Kent Chamber of Commerce’s 2023 Women’s Wellness Luncheon.
As I detailed in the piece, my decision to cancel my own keynote came after a phone call with the chamber, during which it was brought to my attention that some chamber members found my political opinions and associations problematic. While I’m fine with dissenting opinions, the fact that my friendship with the late Dori Monson got brought up was a step too far.
The reason I chose to write about it was simple: we need to push past the mainstream narrative that anything or anyone on the Right is wrong.
So many of the political divisions in our country are a product of what happens when we allow the extremes to dictate whose views are, or are not, acceptable. It is a big, big world out there. Our ability to thrive depends on our ability to thrive in the presence of people who are different from us in every way. It is inescapable. That doesn't mean we have to seek the company of people whose views we truly find problematic, but each of us has the power of choice. Those who find my views problematic are not forced to listen to my podcast, nor are they forced to attend my speeches.
While she didn’t play a role in the luncheon or the drama that ensued, it was nice of Kent Mayor Dana Ralph to give me a call and offer her apologies for the way things went down. I’ve always had the utmost respect for Mayor Ralph, (as a person and as a politician) and our call drove that home. She said she really wants to come up with a way to turn the whole ordeal into a positive, and I couldn’t agree more.
So, stay tuned on that front.
In the meantime, if you do choose to send messages to the chamber, please keep them civil. I’ve been advised that some may not have been very kind.
It is my understanding that the conference has now been cancelled, which I don't really have an opinion about. They were more than welcome to move forward with a different keynote (the event wasn't until March 8th) but perhaps the controversy made that more difficult.
What is a journalist?
After a months-long dive into public records, this week I published an article about the questionable treatment of certain independent journalists on the part of elected officials.
The genesis of the story was the egregious treatment of independent reporter Jonthan Choe by King County Executive Dow Constantine and his office. In one instance, as detailed in the story, Choe was physically blocked from attending a media tour.
What I found after reviewing documents, was an inconsistent and often incoherent approach on the part of government officials in determining who gets access to elected leaders, and under what circumstances.
After the story was published, I did receive responses from two of the offices at the center of the piece.
Chase Gallagher, the communications director for Constantine, told me the office does not have a specific policy for handling independent journalists or even Choe. Asked how the office defines a "journalist," he wrote this:
"There is not a hard definition codified and we don’t have a formal credentialling program in place at this time. If ever an ambiguous situation arose, the Director of Communications will make the ultimate determination, and would likely look to criteria used by the Washington state Capitol Correspondents Association, the Society of Professional Journalists, and other organizations for guidance."
I also received a response from Jaime Smith, head of communications for Governor Jay Inslee. Specifically, I asked her to explain the office's social media policy for journalists given that her deputy communications director has authored some questionable tweets of his own (in one case, telling a Republican governor to "eat shit"). Here is her response:
"Your reference to other people’s tweets doesn’t change whether the person seeking a credential is employed by a think tank organization, a bright line on its own. But with or without a bright line, it is fair for us to consider a person’s demonstrated professional conduct and standing in applying our guidelines, along with the other criteria we laid out.
While you might take issue with specific employees in my office, ultimately, decisions about media access are made by me. I take seriously our responsibility to be responsive to all people seeking information from us, have established that as our protocol, and I think you’ll find my actions back that up. However, the blurred lines of modern journalism are not a rationale for a wide-open door to anyone with a camera, a website or YouTube account, and an endless inventory of colorful opinions or tweets. I strive to implement our policy consistently. It’s a policy that is content-neutral and aligns with similar policies from similar organizations that routinely approve or reject requests for credentials. We’ll just have to agree to disagree that your chosen poster child for this genuinely challenging shift in media is an enlightening example."
A few things there. First, Jaime Smith has always been pleasant to me and, to my knowledge, has never ignored a request for comment. After my story published this week, I also heard from Todd Myers with the Washington Policy Center, who said he has always found her "professional and responsive." I agree.
The story wasn't meant to be an indictment of individual press secretaries or communications directors, but rather a warning about the slippery slope of allowing politicians and their staff to decide who the real journalists are.
On the Wednesday episode, I asked each of you to offer your thoughts on who should dictate press credentials and where the line should be drawn for who qualifies as a journalist., Please keep submitting those answers and I will share some of them on Sunday.
A return to my roots
On a related note, you may have noticed more investigative, written, and original reporting on this site in recent weeks. While unDivided is primarily an opinion show, I am making an effort this year (in line with your responses to a subscriber questionnaire sent out at the end of last year) to also mix in more bona fide reporting. I hope you will find this to be a valuable addition and a bigger bang for your buck. Plus, it gives me a chance to get back to my reporting roots. It is also leading up to (hopefully) the hiring of a full-time producer to chase great guests and help research stories. Because of your support, unDivided is growing. Keeping your feedback in mind during that growth is very important to me.
As always, you can submit news tips by emailing me at [email protected].
If you watch one thing from [un]Divided this week…
…make it the closing segment of Wednesday’s subscriber episode (42:00 mark).
Few stories in my career have underscored the disdain I have for the current two-party system quite like what’s happening with a debate over police pursuits in Washington state.
Two Democratic senators have now told me that while they support a bipartisan fix to the pursuit law, they will not side with Republicans to pull it directly to the floor for a vote. Why? Because doing so would mean going against their party. That is a startling admission. They are willing to set aside good policy that would improve public safety simply because the implications of putting people ahead of party are too severe.
God help us.
Housekeeping
As I mentioned earlier, our regular Friday episode will instead air on Sunday evening. Thank you for your understanding. Maybe it’s a good thing that the show was rescheduled, because it happens to be Miranda’s birthday! So at least she gets the day off from delivering "Florida Report!" Happy 36th Birthday, Miranda! Here is a picture to remind you of how old you’re getting…
