First diary, so apologies for minimalism, lack of great hypertext and brevity. With all the furor created by the one-week-old phenom that is the Rep from St. Louis suburbs, the spotlight on Akin's and, for that matter, Ryan's "expert" on all things "woman" has been lit by many national news outlets. Still, the response from the news stations and one paper(mostly an online USA Today reprint) that serve my hometown has been... well see my letter to the editors below the fold.
As I noted Todd Akin and Paul Ryan both have sourced much of their primitive and degrading "research" about women's issues from a self-appointed leader in the anti abortion movement. This would be a non-starter of a story had it not been for the widespread exposure Rep. Akin received just 4 days ago for his "enlighted" view on rape. What sparked my interest even more than the utter inanity of the comments and the stumbling means by the which the RNC power brokers have tried to distance themselves from the hapless Rep, is that Dr. John Willke, this 4 decade-long crusader for unborn rights, lives in my hometown. Well, across the river from me, in Cincinnati. So I did some searching on the sites of my local news outlets, not one of them even had a background story on Jack Willke let alone his Cincinnati ties. This prompted this letter from me to all their editorial contacts:
Dear __ News Department,
I am dismayed, not surprised, but dismayed at the local media's (including ___) inability to follow-up on a pertinent and nationally significant story. With all the attention that has been placed on the statements of MO Rep Todd Akin and legislation he has sponsored with Republican V.P. hopeful, Paul Ryan, the obvious significance of Dr. John Willke and his crusade against abortion rights is significant news. Dr. Willke is from Cincinnati, he still maintains a home and many ranking friends and contacts in this area! It is negligent to not pursue an interview or investigation into Dr. Willke, his views and his influence on the national presidential ticket, particularly since he was a praised supporter of Mitt Romney in the last election cycle and so many of his controversial views are now being documented by national news outlets.
I do not expect any responses, as heartened as I am by the professionalism of many local news outlets this elections cycle (the
station that broke the Akin story in MO and KDKA in Pitt going hard on Paul Ryan
here being prime examples). Cincinnati media has demonstrated a rote and "public-interest" (read pollyanna) leaning in their journalism.