Editorial: On Independent Political Report and Third Party Watch

A commentary from Owner/Editor George Phillies:

As some of you have already noticed, we are operating two web sites, namely IndependentPoliticalReport.com and ThirdPartyWatch.com.  The two sites have very different objectives and editorial styles.

Independent Political Report intents to be the premier site for objective new coverage of all third party political activity.  Our intent is to cover parties, candidates, ballot initiatives, voter registration, and all other aspects of third party news, so that if another news source wants information about their party activities, they come to us first.

What do I mean ‘objective’?    We seek to deliver news coverage free of editorializing, news coverage that is balanced and covers as many third parties as possible.  That’s a significant change for what is called ‘news’ coverage in other places.

Let me give an example: “Smith repeated his false claim that…” is editorializing.  “Smith repeated his statement that…” is objective.  By inserting the word ‘false’ into the first quote, the writer prejudices the reader against  Smith before the reader has even found out what Smith said.

Let me give another example.  Massachusetts just had a statewide election for State Treasurer.   There were two candidates, a Democrat and a Libertarian.  The main newspaper in the state’s second-largest city reported the forthcoming election by claiming that the Democrat was running unopposed, even though images of the election ballot, showing both candidates, were readily available on the internet.

We see other paths, some of which will take longer to develop, for improving honest coverage of local third-party efforts.  All around America, local newspapers are disappearing.  Thanks to the internet, there are paths to restoring coverage of local politics and local events. Our current plan is to create a template, likely a WordPress install, which would allow anyone who wants to start their own newspaper to set up a site that is attractive, has the needed features, graphics, and other features, and can be set up by someone who is not a computer jock.

Independent Political Report does have challenges yet.  We really need more staff writers, notably staff writers familiar with third parties other than the Libertarian.  For two reasons, third party news has an imbalance.  First, the Libertarian Party is considerably larger than any third party other than the Democratic Socialists, who operate under the cover of the Democratic Party.  We do cover the Communists and the Constitution Party, but they produce much less news simply because they are smaller.  Second, the libertarian Party has historically enjoyed a near-monopoly on drama theater: Contested party elections, party splits, name-calling contests, litigation, and financial peculiarities with campaign money are all part of Libertarian politicking.

What about ThirdPartyWatch?  If Independent Political Repost provides calm, objective news coverage, Third Party Watch seeks to provide accurate, classical muckraking journalism, exposing the irregularities and difficulties faces by third parties across America.  Third Party Watch will reveal facts and name names, exposing issues that are setting back the advance of third parties.  Independent Political Report insists that authors and commenters present their opinions in calm, civil ways.  Third Party Watch encourages a more vigorous debate, allowing all sides to present their views in emphatic tones.