On a day ironically promoted by the Washington Post as "World Press Freedom Day," Kentucky's leading media outlets have once again proven why they aren't worthy of the constitutional liberties they're granted, and why all those who criticize them as biased and "fake news" have valid points.
Both incidents involved newspapers and television stations, and the leading personalities who run social media accounts linked to their employers, failing to report or acknowledge two weekend events involving Gov. Andy Beshear, especially when compared to their past behavior in similar instances.
At the last Kentucky Derby that was open to the public, in 2019, Matt Bevin was governor and was involved in a re-election campaign. He was booed during his remarks as he presented the trophy to the Derby winner. Media outlets lapped that up, breathlessly tweeting about it from Churchill Downs and filing numerous reports that made their way onto broadcasts and into print.
Last year's Derby was delayed several months and not attended by crowds, but a limited number of spectators were present for this year's running this past Saturday. When Beshear appeared to present the trophy, he was met by a chorus of boos and jeers. Yet the press failed to report that and the reporters failed to tweet about it. Unless you follow various of the anti-Beshear activist accounts on social media, you wouldn't know it happened.
Now, why would the press hide the fact that Beshear got booed and not report it as gleefully as they did when it happened to Bevin? Surely it wouldn't be because all these journalists are in the tank for Beshear and his agenda, would it?
But that incident on Saturday was just an indication of a much more frightening incidence of the media being in Beshear's pocket. The day after the Derby, another in a series of protests against the government mandates concerning the Wuhan Chinese virus was held in Frankfort, outside the Capitol and Governor's Mansion. This time, a number of Beshear fans announced their plans to hold a counterprotest to show support for the executive orders.
Rewind to Memorial Day weekend 2020, when a huge rally took place there. Someone set up a display of Beshear being hung in effigy, and the condemnation of the symbolism was fast and loud and lengthy. Keep in mind that no actual threats were made by the display, and effigies have been used as political speech for centuries. Anyone who supported any of the "reopen Kentucky" protests that took place at the time was cast as some sort of domestic terrorist, worthy only of condemnation.
Fast forward back to this weekend. The governor and his wife came out from the mansion to visit with some of their supporters. Among those with whom they talked, and posed for a picture, was a woman identified as Karen Clark Ellis. Photos of Ellis talking to the Beshears have been shared on social media, and Ellis herself shared the photo of her with the Beshears on her own Facebook page before she took her page down, for reasons that will become apparent later.
Sometime after her meeting with the Beshears, Ellis pulled a knife on one of the anti-Andy protestors. There are photos and videos of this incident freely available for public consumption. Although this happened in front of police, no arrests were made, and the person on whom she pulled the knife is said to be seeking criminal charges through the Franklin County Attorney's office.
As for Karen Ellis, the rest of us are lucky that screenshots last forever. She bragged about her act on her Facebook page, only later to pull her social media presence back to the point that you can't even find her profile if you search for it. She probably got tired of hearing from people telling her what they thought about her actions.
With all the physical proof of the incident, and with all the social media play it got, doesn't it seem odd that as of this writing, no Kentucky media outlet has covered the story? Especially since so many reporters seem to base their news stories on social media postings and use tweets and Facebook posts as sources for information? And also especially since a symbolic gesture (a hanging in effigy) generated so much coverage while an actual physical threat goes ignored?
Journalists constantly wonder why members of the public don't trust them, consider them to be biased and unreliable, and call them "fake news." There are none so blind as those who will not see. Until they cover the Derby booing of Andy Beshear with the same fervor they used with Matt Bevin, and until they give the same weight to actions of Beshear supporters as they do Beshear opponents, they just simply will never get it.
