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Reporters Worry Award Ceremony For Rep. Gianforte Could Taint Paper's Credibility

Greg Gianforte (right) accepts an award from U.S. Chamber of Commerce rep Chris Eyler (left) and Daily Interlake publisher Rick Weaver, at the Daily Interlake in Kalispell, May 3, 2018.
Nicky Ouellet
Greg Gianforte (right) accepts an award from U.S. Chamber of Commerce rep Chris Eyler (left) and Daily Interlake publisher Rick Weaver, at the Daily Interlake in Kalispell, May 3, 2018.

Thursday, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce gave Republican Congressman Greg Gianforte one of its Spirit of Enterprise Awards. About 40 local chamber members attended an award ceremony amidst giant rolls of newsprint at the Kalispell Daily Interlake newspaper’s warehouse.

Chris Eyler with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce commended Gianforte’s voting record on Chamber-supported policies.

"Congressman Gianforte has an entire state to take care of, but he has firmly established himself as a supporter of pro-growth strategies and policies that deliver positive impacts for Montana," Eyler said.

Daily Interlake publisher Rick Weaver told Gianforte to stick around for a tour of the newsroom.

"Thank you, Greg, for what you do in the state. And thank you for taking a look at the tariff on newsprint, I greatly appreciate that," Weaver said.

But reporters at The Daily Interlake are worried about the optics of their paper hosting an award ceremony for a sitting politician.

Reporter Mackenzie Reiss says the event sets a dangerous precedent for the paper’s relationship with government officials.

"I think it was really inappropriate for the newspaper to host an event for a politician giving him a venue to speak about himself and his career, which is exactly what happened," Reiss says.

The Daily Interlake shares office space with parent company Hagadone Digital. Hagadone Digital is a Chamber member and was billed as the event’s host.

Interlake Reporter Peregrine Frissell says the event could hurt his credibility with readers.

"We were all trained as journalists to avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived; and I think our feeling is that the company that we work for put our ability to appear objective at risk for holding this event in our newsroom. And that is upsetting."

Reporter Mary Cloud Taylor takes issue with how news staff were informed.

"We first found out about the event two days before it occurred through an email asking us not to park in our regular parking spots," she says.

Rick Weaver is the regional publisher for Hagadone Montana Publishing. He oversees seven newspapers in northwest Montana, including the Daily Interlake. He says the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce reached out to him a few weeks ago to ask if Hagadone Digital was interested in hosting the event for Gianforte.

"I said yes. He [Gianforte] was instrumental in starting High Tech [Business] Alliance. We are in that Alliance and have been for a number of years and think it's very, very important," Weaver says.

He says he’d do the same for Democratic Senator Jon Tester. Weaver says while Hagadone Digital and The Daily Interlake may share office space, the two companies have different missions.

"We are all on the same team but it doesn't mean we sit and collaborate every day," he says.

Speakers at the event and a press release from Gianforte’s office said the award ceremony was hosted by Hagadone Digital, but reporter Peregrine Frissell says the backdrop implied otherwise.

"Any picture of the event would show that it's filled with stacks of newsprint and piles of our newspaper and our weekly affiliate newspapers and printing presses."

Reporter Mackenzie Reiss remembers two banners.

"One said Daily Interlake and the one said Hagadone Digital. So did we host it or did we not? I think we did," Reiss says.

Dennis Swibold teaches media ethics at the University of Montana. He says Montana newspapers have a history of playing politics.

Swibold says that in the early 1900s, the Anaconda Copper Mining Company owned and used the major daily newspapers in Montana to their advantage.

"They tried to use their papers like battleships to fight pieces of legislation or individual candidates," he says.

Papers made their politics clear by calling themselves the Republic or Democrat.

Swibold says for a while, people out of state looked at Montana as lacking a free press.

"Publishers and editors played politics with their news organs and there's nothing to stop them from doing that today. The first amendment protects that sort of activity too."

Swibold says much has changed since papers started consolidating in the 1950s and began running more objective articles to appeal to a broader set of advertisers. Readers today have come to expect objective reporting, he says.

An award ceremony for a sitting politician could be perceived as a conflict of interest for the paper. But, he adds, readers should look at how The Daily Interlake covers the event.

"Again it's all a matter of perception. Your first loyalty is to readers, and you're gonna want to make sure that they think that they're gonna get a fair shake, or they're going to get the most thorough, accurate reporting they can get on on many sides of issues."

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce gives it’s Spirit of Enterprise Award to members of Congress who vote for Chamber supported policies at least 70 percent of the time. Things like the recently passed tax cuts, confirmation of certain political appointees and laws affecting small businesses. Gianforte scored 100 percent. Republican Senator Steve Daines scored 86 percent. Democratic Senator Jon Tester scored 29 percent.

This year the vast majority of Chamber’s 297 awardees were Republican.

Nicky is MTPR's Flathead-area reporter.
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