We received a question from a local resident about the banner that we display on the main page of our website regarding misinformation and media bias. In this question, the resident asked us to justify our position and provide evidence of this bias.
It is our opinion that over the past years, the Blue Ridge Leader has moved away from reporting unbiased political news about the Town. While we do not know the reason, it is apparent in the overwhelmingly favorable number of articles in support of Mayor Bertaut and his political allies who are almost always framed in a positive light, while Council Members Stought, Rayner, and Wright are cast negatively with any positive articles about their service to our community completely omitted.
Editorials and political commentary (such as political cartoons) within the publication are also slanted in a similar manner. The most glaring example of this is the publication printing several PAGES of narrative and Op-Ed from Ben Nett prior to his recall trial. Since none of those column inches were labeled as advertising (ex: “Paid by Ben Nett Legal Defense Fund”), one can only assume that they were essentially free advertising for a political officer in the town.
Furthermore, the Blue Ridge Leader website currently contains a “Candidate’s Forum” website page, where information about their candidates is available online. Omitted from this page are Mayoral Candidate Erin Rayner, and Council Member Candidates Mitch Seipt, Paul McCray, and Incumbent Candidate Kevin Wright.
The following statement is published on that page:
“Editor’s Note: The following campaign announcements were submitted to us by the candidates when they announced their campaigns. Several other candidates announced their candidacies earlier this year but did not submit campaign announcements to us for publication. As a community newspaper, we welcome campaign press releases announcing candidacies for local office.”*
https://blueridgeleader.com/town-of-purcellville-candidates-corner/
It is worth noting that at the time of their public campaign announcements, reporters from the other legitimate news organizations who cover town politics (Loudoun Now, Loudoun Times Mirror, and Purcellville News), ALL reached out independently to each candidate for biographical information.
The Blue Ridge Leader failed to conduct the first basic rule of journalism- that the story doesn’t write itself.
Seeking out information and presenting it truthfully without bias or spin is what true professional journalists do. And while we believe that the BRL may be competent at writing articles about non-partisan events (such as local high school sports and local festivals/awards/events), any article about political topics and town policy should be taken with a heavy dose of skepticism.
*CFP Admin / Fair Use Notice: This excerpt from the Blue Ridge Leader & Loudoun Today is shared under Section 107 of the Copyright Act for the purpose of non-profit public commentary and political news reporting. All rights belong to the original publisher.
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