Letters to the Editor

Letter: ADN takes hard right turn

As many feared, in the year since the ADN was sold by Alice Rogoff to the Binkleys, the paper has veered hard to the political right. It no longer seems interested in doing in-depth coverage of many of the important issues the really matter to Alaska.

Instead of covering important issues such as wildlife conservation, climate change, environment, critiques of oil and so on, the ADN today seems to prefer car crashes, crime and court cases. It is hard to find any stories critical of industry, resource development or the political right wing.

Its editorial tilt is now a hard "conservative right," which of course is neither genuinely "conservative" nor "right." The paper reminds many today more of the "Veco Times" than the venerable, trustable Anchorage Daily News of the past.

When she sold the paper last year, former owner Alice Rogoff feared that the Binkleys and GCI (former landlord for the paper) had simply "wanted to see the paper in the hands of people with conservative state politics. There was a sizable group of business people in Anchorage who believe the role of a newspaper is boosterism."

Turns out Alice was, unfortunately, right about that. As Alaska's paper of record, the ADN owes Alaskans more than simply being an ideological echo chamber for biased, selfish, conservative, Republican politics, and/or distracting readers by filling its pages in "trivial pursuit."

The ADN still has some excellent journalists on staff, and we can only hope the new publishers can reflect on their first year, make a course correction and return to their ethical responsibility of objectively covering all of the stories that matter to Alaskans, regardless of politics. Without fear, without favor.

— Rick Steiner Anchorage

Have something on your mind? Send to letters@adn.com or click here to submit via any web browser. Letters under 200 words have the best chance of being published. Writers should disclose any personal or professional connections with the subjects of their letters. Letters are edited for accuracy, clarity and length.

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