Why The Media Ducks Our Issues

Last week, I was reading the editorial section of the Fresno Bee when I noticed one of their editors had something to say about Tribal gaming.  I was shocked to notice that he was complimenting how well the Tribes were taking care of their own with housing and other assistance.

I immediately telephoned this editor to ask him if he was aware of the fact that Tribes around the state were behaving in anything but an admirable manner and then I checked off a couple of the points that backed this up:

1. Enrollment Terminations: The Tribes have been kicking out their own people for years now with very little fanfare from the media.
2. Civil Rights Violations: The Tribes have been violating the civil rights of their own people by denying them "due process" during the termination process.
3. Denial of the Bill of Rights: The Tribes have taken extraordinary measures to silence any opposition to their activities by banishing anyone who would speak out against them in the media, a violation of the 1st Amendment guarantee of free speech.
4. Economic Terrorism: The Tribes have actively used economic bullying against their own people and against politicians, the media and the public to get their way, while they hide behind "soveriegn immunity" like chicken-****'s.

The editor had this to say: "The editorial section isn't the right location for the type of information you're talking about. This is more of a "news" issue."  Then he recommended who I should talk to at the news desk and transferred me to her voicemail.

Naturally, the news desk wasn't very happy to have me on the phone once I got a call back.  The news editor wasn't too concerned about our ongoing issues and she claimed that if they are going to report it, it has to be something new or no one will read the story.

What is really happening is that the media is afraid of the Tribes and their enormous advertising budgets.  The Tribes are without a doubt amongst their largest advertising customers and in todays competitive market, no one wants to rock the money boat with an issue that only affects a couple thousand people!

Of course, this IS JUST AN OPINION from someone looking at their practices from the outside.  I am lacking any smoking gun emails that confirm this to be the facts and just the facts.  So, in the end, the media will be able to make up whatever reason they want to explain their lack of interesting and in-depth coverage of our plights as terminated Native Americans.

This is something that is not exclusive to the Native issues either.  The American media has lost its edge in the past decade and so has the American public.  It's a terrible shame that this country's press has lost its nerve in favor of the bottom line.  Now who will be the champions of lost and little known causes?  If I can raise enough money, I know I will...

Comments

[Original Pechanga]

Bryan,

Glad to have you back in the writer's seat. You've been missed.

These are excellent points and I'll post your article here in my blog.

I'm working on an article about immoral relativity that you briefly touched on. It "only" affects a few thousand people, but that is a LARGE percentage of the Native American population.

http://originalpechanga.blogspot.com

[EndTribalSovereignty]

Excellent points, Bryan. I think there is another reason why the media avoids indian issues also. Tribal members, even those adversely effected by horrible leadership, don't want to admit to the press that they have no real control over indian businesses. They are afraid of what happened to you.

Casino management/tribal leadership doesn't want the truth (insanity) known because the casino's bond ratings could be negatively effected. They are no different from any other corporation.