From NPR to the Washington Post, Republicans have started to ignore mainstream outlets, especially in Florida.
It’s no secret that republicans have long been distrustful of the mainstream media due to biased coverage. Still, this sentiment exploded after the election of Donald Trump. This disdain is now just as evident in Florida as anywhere else. President and owner of Jolt Jack Furnari wrote a piece in May stating the Palm Beach Post was “Not a Newspaper.”
“The only fact in that headline is that school board races are a battleground in Florida, but since school board races have been and are a battleground all over the country, throwing in Gov. DeSantis is a tawdry little attack by cowards who hide behind “news.””
Now, in Florida, Republicans are putting their money where their mouth is and refusing to speak with mainstream media. When Republicans rebuffed the Palm Beach Post’s interview requests, the Post claimed it was “a mutual loss” for candidates and voters. While that may fit with conventional wisdom, it’s simply no longer valid, not for conservative voters. In another Jolt article, Furnari writes, “The other issue that’s destroying the Palm Beach Post is they don’t serve all the people of Palm Beach County. They’re the newsletter for the Democratic Party, and that’s alright if they were honest about it, but like most of the legacy media, they lie about who they are.”
When this is how legacy media is viewed, their legitimacy disappears, and there’s no need to engage with them. Furnari captures the sentiment.
The Post doesn’t think voters should tolerate anyone who doesn’t meet with them, but I say voters shouldn’t tolerate any Republican who talks to the Post.
This idea is beginning to spread at scale. Throughout this year’s Sunshine Summit, a conservative event boasting a slate of congressional debates, many mainstream media reporters were barred from entry, including outlets as large as the Washington Post.
To fake news journalists who made the trip down to Hollywood, FL for @FloridaGOP’s sold-out Sunshine Summit: How’s the view from outside security? pic.twitter.com/tRTGYWteAq
— Lindsey Curnutte (@lindseycurnutte) July 23, 2022
And why not? If, as Cristina Pushaw tweets, they’d write the same piece anyway.
It has come to my attention that some liberal media activists are mad because they aren't allowed into #SunshineSummit this weekend. My message to them is to try crying about it. Then go to kickboxing and have a margarita. And write the same hit piece you were gonna write anyway.
— Christina Pushaw 🐊 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) July 22, 2022
Even NPR is being refused interview opportunities. According to a WUSF article written by NPR Correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben, GOP Governor candidates stonewalled all her attempts to connect.
Subscribe to the Florida Jolt Newsletter!
With the continued rise of conservative media outlets, this selective admittance is feasible for the first time. Mainstream media no longer has the monopoly on viewers it once did, and Republicans are taking advantage.
