What's the matter with a little fun?

Posted at 12:20 PM on March 31, 2011 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)
Filed under: Media

Last night, congresspeople in Washington got cozy with the people who cover them. The Congressional Corrrespondents' Dinner is, basically, the warm-up act for the White House Correspondents' Dinner, in which all the reporters -- and the movie stars who've sort of taken it over -- rub elbows with one another...

Should journalists and the people they cover be quite so chummy?

A kerfuffle has broken out locally between long-time columnist Nick Coleman, and MinnPost, which is holding a fundraising "roast," featuring local media stars and politicians. Coleman writes that it hurts journalistic credibility:

I contacted MinnPost to request a press pass in order to attend MinnRoast 2011 as a working journalist. I was rejected, even though I made it clear that I wanted to attend in order to report on it, not to snort and cavort until the chablis came out my nose. My reason for requesting a pass was simple: Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton is scheduled to speak at the event and any appearance by the governor may -- and should -- be covered as a (possible) news story. Other politicians also are scheduled to show up and crack jokes at MinnRoast, including Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken, St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman (my brother) and a token Republican or two, along with a gaggle of local media "celebrities" like Don Shelby and Cyndy Brucato, both MinnPost contributors. Mark Dayton was last recorded making a joke in 1997, but he is the governor. Nearing the end of a difficult legislative session and facing big political and budgetary problems, Dayton may not be in the mood for laughs. But his appearance -- and all the rest of the foolishness -- should be subject to free and open coverage -- by anyone who wants. It turns out, however, that the barons of our alternative news media aren't much different from the barons of Old Media: MinnPost editor and CEO Joel Kramer -- my boss at the Star-Tribune from 1983-86 -- turned down my request for credentials not once, or twice, but three times.

But Coleman says his beef isn't that MinnPost's boss wouldn't let him in for free -- it's that journalists shouldn't act like clowns, even on their own time:

There are other awkward connections and possible conflicts among the list of MinnRoast sponsors and benefactors, a list that -- despite a heavy sprinkling of "wealth creation" and investment firms -- runs strongly towards the liberal-left end of the political establishment, which is the kind of thing that causes hard-right conservatives to dismiss MinnPost as a snake pit of Democrats, despite the online site's lack of liberal bite. Am I suggesting anything improper? No. I am suggesting the appearance of impropriety. And that's enough, in my view, to cast doubt on the wisdom of a bad idea.

Does a MinnPost roast reflect poorly on its journalism, or should journalists be allowed to have a laugh with politicians on occasion?

Discuss.

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Comments (3)

I'm really glad that someone had the character to stand up to Nick. He is far from a fair and honest reporter and any event that he attends would be one that I would prefer to stay away from.

Posted by Lee von Lehe | March 31, 2011 12:36 PM

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Considering that Nick Coleman has made a career out of acting like a clown, I find his complaint rather hypocritical, to say the least.

Posted by Snyder | March 31, 2011 1:24 PM

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I don't know anything about this Nick guy, but his comments above make him sound like Sam the Eagle from The Muppet Show.

Posted by Tyler | March 31, 2011 2:15 PM

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