Gov. Matt Bevin had pointed words for the media in a live broadcast on Facebook. The Republican used the platform Tuesday to call out the state’s two largest newspapers and wonder aloud whether some reporters "care about Kentucky.”
In a post labeled “The Truth Behind Governor Bevin’s Media Policy,” the chief executive responded to a Courier-Journal storycriticizing his attitude toward the press, taking aim at a “handful” of reporters he likened to chirping cicadas.
"They come out. They make a lot of noise," Bevin said. "But the truth be told, we have been unbelievably responsive to people from east to west in this state."
The Courier-Journal piece, however, paints a picture of an administration that routinely ignores or even shuts out reporters, preferring instead to rely on direct online communication with constituents and appearances on friendly media outlets.
Critics contend Bevin is using that strategy to sidestep tough questions. But, echoing President Donald Trump’s common refrains about media coverage, the governor charged that it’s the newspaper that is abdicating its role:
"Their stock is tanking because they've become increasingly irrelevant... They literally don't even cover significant, transformative things happening here in Kentucky. Instead they focus on titillating little things, on tabloid-like things, and then they wonder why I don't take them seriously."
In response, Lexington Herald-Leader editor Peter Baniak defended the work of his paper. He strongly encouraged Bevin and all public officials to answer reporters' questions, treat them in a professional manner, and realize they are "doing their jobs" and "want to make this a better place."
Regarding the governor's repeated calls for constituents to bypass the media "filter," Journal executive editor Joel Christopher said anytime a politician tells you not to read the work of watchdog journalists, it should “raise a red flag.”
Baniak adds, "If any public figure is encouraging people to get their news from only one source or only one place, I think people should ask themselves why is that."
