Nathan Moore's Thoughts
The Top Nonstory of the Day: The Tennessean Parades the Irrelevant
I’m glad Tennessee politics is getting interesting again. I was becoming concerned. Now The Tennessean (best known for offering minimal content at the largest font size available) has made itself the focal point of the story out of a non-story run in today’s paper.
For those not from around here, there has been a multi-year debate regarding cable television and franchise uniformity in the state. Before, providers had to obtain numerous local franchises to operate in Tennessee. Once the so-called “AT&T bill” becomes law (because AT&T has been pushing for its passage), cable providers need only get one franchise license from the state. Some oppose it, but for the life of me, I cannot find a logical reason why.
Back on point – the bill passed 29-0 in the state senate. Senator Bill Ketron, a Republican, has been targeted and lambasted by Nashville’s largest circulating daily because his wife works for AT&T’s wireless division and he didn’t wear a sandwich board declaring it. Or at least, that’s what they imply they would have needed to be happy
What the Murfreesboro Republican didn’t mention then was that his wife, Theresa, works for AT&T Mobility, the company’s wireless unit, which he had noted on his ethics disclosures this year. Nor did Ketron mention the tie when he earlier acted as an unofficial spokesman for behind-the-scenes wrangling over the bill.
Wait a minute. He disclosed it, but then … what? He also disclosed his wife as an income souce. I am failing to see the ethical travesty here. What’s worse, the headline The Tennessean chose is an outright lie: “Senator discloses AT&T link after vote”.
As if any more criticism is necessary, what makes this story even more irrelevant is that the AT&T bill passed 29-0. If the vote had only been 15-14, I very well could see (somewhat) the paper’s point. But that’s not what happened and the possibility of Ketron’s recusal from the vote, which would have been voluntary in this case under the ethics rules, would have made no difference whatsoever. The Tennessean saw a chance to smear an up-and-coming Republican senator, and they jumped at the opportunity.
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May 5th, 2008 at 12:27 am
[...] It just seemed after reading the article focusing on a prominent Republican and his conflict of interest on the AT&T deal that the interests of the Bredesen administration and the Speaker of the House were well served by such a piece appearing after the deal was done, making much of the connections the same reporter brought to light two months ago, a distant memory in the public mind. SEE ALSO: Mike Byrd Chris Sanders Grantham Is Talking Moore Thoughts [...]
May 28th, 2008 at 8:46 am
[...] Barack Chamberlain Snaps Back, Should We Kick West Virginia Out of the Union?, Taxing Crazy, The Top Nonstory of the Day: The Tennessean Parades the Irrelevant, Rosalind, Oh Rosalind, Obama, Testy – Hillary, Feisty addthis_url = [...]