CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – Governor Tony Evers was in Wausau yesterday to sign a landmark revenue-sharing bill. Cities, towns, and counties are getting a 20-percent increase in state aid. Milwaukee’s basket-case pension fund gets bailed out. Charter school voucher amounts will be increased.
You only heard about it after the fact, after the signing ceremony at 10am at the Wausau fire station. It was in the news only after the ceremony was over.
Why is that?
Because almost all of Tony Evers public appearances come with an “embargo” request to the local media. TV, radio, and newspapers are given advance notice of the event – usually the day before – but are asked not to publicize the event. You will almost never hear in advance that the Governor is in your town.
There are circumstances where a news embargo makes sense. In police cases where there’s a loss of life, law enforcement might ask for an embargo on releasing a homicide victim’s name until family members are notified.
So why does Governor Evers not want you to know where he is in advance? That’s a lesson that Evers’ staff learned from how Governor Scott Walker was treated after signing Act 10. At each and every Scott Walker appearance, angry union activists – some of them paid to be there – would gather and try to disrupt the event. They’d chant and yell and use indescribable language. They even tried this stunt at the Special Olympics opening ceremonies. The parents of several athletes found the scene so disturbing that they removed their kids.
So if you disagree with any of Tony Evers policies, you won’t know when he’s coming to your area. You won’t have the opportunity to ask or question or yell at him. That privilege is reserved only for angry Democrats. When Governor Tony is in town, only invited guests will know about it.
This is a manipulation of the media. It gives the appearance that Evers is loved and popular as he travels the state… after all, there’s never a scene like there was with his predecessor. Impartial journalists have an obligation to stop this charade in the name of fair and honest reporting. Unless there’s a legitimate reason, embargo requests should be ignored. We should tell the public where the governor is going, and when he’s going to be somewhere.
Chris Conley
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