STAR DEMOCRAT Executive Editor Jim Johnson is really, really mad. Someone threw a private political fundraiser, and his media outlet wasn't invited for a free dinner.
Johnson, in an email tirade published earlier this week, decried the fact that the Talbot GOP had "maybe taken a cue from Donald Trump" regarding media participation in his administration. We are not sure what that "cue" is since Trump has held more press conferences with media in his eight-month tenure than Biden held in four years. Is it because the media isn't invited to all his private fundraisers either? We're not sure.
We do know this; Johnson clearly despises Trump and seems to feel the same about other conservatives, especially local ones.
Please Follow us on Gab, Minds, Telegram, Rumble, GETTR, Truth Social, X , Youtube
All because the Talbot County Republican Central Committee did not invite the STAR DEMOCRAT to their private fundraiser, the Lincoln-Reagan-Trump Dinner. Here's the EASTON GAZETTE story about that event:
Talbot G.O.P. Hosts Sold Out Lincoln Reagan Trump Dinner - The Easton Gazette
The STAR DEMOCRAT followed up Johnson's email release with an article by "staff " about that fact that they couldn't attend.
The article dealt with the fact that the Talbot GOP dared to deny free tickets to the STAR DEMOCRAT for the Lincoln-Reagan-Trump Fundraising dinner. After all, according to the STAR, invitations for the press to private political affairs on the Eastern Shore are "customary." To not comply with the paper's request for an invitation was denying "freedom of the press." Johnson claims the refusal is "unprecedented," which it is not. Next thing you know, taking a cue from Johnson's favorite Democrat, Jamie Raskin, Johnson will call the Talbot GOP an " existential threat to democracy."
The claim is that the STAR DEMOCRAT has always covered these affairs, which is debatable. Many yearly attendees say that they remember numerous times when the local media was nowhere to be found at local Republican events, including the annual Lincoln/Reagan dinner. In this week's article, the paper published a "file" picture from last year's dinner, implying they were in attendance, but that picture was taken by a guest at the event who also provided an inaccurate written description of the events at the dinner. The Star Democrat had to issue a correction of that story after it was initially published. The guest was not a STAR DEMOCRAT reporter.
Johnson should issue a correction in the email release he sent about THIS event. In the release he stated (as shown below), "When asked for a comment about this story, Talbot County GOP Chair Shari Wilcoxon asked the reporter to email her. There was no response before the deadline." Unfortunately, this is not a mistake but a lie. A reporter did initially email Wilcoxon asking for comment to the paper about possible attendance at the dinner. She refused saying the event was "private." When STAR DEMOCRAT staff didn't like that response, Managing Editor Wendy Weitzel called Wilcoxon to tell her that they would publish a story about the refusal of their attendance and gave her a deadline to respond to that message.
Does this sound like bullying to you? Us too. Wilcoxon didn't respond to that email. She had already given the answer.
Of course, Johnson shares that the STAR DEMOCRAT, a paper that is consistently favorable to Democrats, was invited to the Talbot County Democrat Forum and its Kennedy-King Unity Dinner earlier this month. Jamie Raskin was the guest speaker there. That the STAR DEMOCRAT would be front and center to that event is no shock to anyone who reads the STAR DEMOCRAT on a regular basis. Of course, the DEMS would have their favorite local media outlet there!
The article closes with what has to be the most laughable reason why the STAR DEMOCRAT is outraged by the lack of an invitation. Jim Johnson's claim is that "the ultimate losers in this are county residents who cannot afford the $150 ticket fee for the event and would look to the Star Democrat to see what was discussed."
Really? How many times have you had general conversations with people who say that they read the Star Democrat to "see what was discussed" at these political fundraising events because they couldn't afford the tickets themselves? For that matter, do you know anyone who reads the STAR DEMOCRAT so they can get unbiased stories or actually because they care about what happens at private political fundraisers?
Us either.
This editorial email by Jim Johnson and the STAR DEMOCRAT article is much ado about nothing. We wonder why they are so hyper focused on THIS particular private event. Has the STAR DEMOCRAT been invited to the multiple other private political fundraisers being held this weekend? Will they write editorials about them if they HAVEN'T been invited? Will they worry about depriving citizens who can't afford tickets of knowing what was discussed there?
Come on. You know the answer to that. And so does Jim Johnson. This was a private event, much like other private events held in the county all the time. Not having media there is NOT destroying the free press or democracy. It isn't even censorship. Try writing a letter to the STAR DEMOCRAT sometime and see if they publish your opinion unedited or at all! That's censorship!
The STAR DEMOCRAT article and email tirade seem be a personal attack on Republican Central Committee Chairman Shari Wilcoxon, who is considered by some to be controversial because she stands strong for her beliefs. It might also have been a swipe at Keynote Speaker Todd Wood because he owns a competing news outlet. Perhaps the STAR DEMOCRAT was prodded to complain by people who wish to demean and diminish either one of them out of their own personal animosity or failed political aspirations. Or maybe Mr. Johnson just wanted the free dinner at the Tidewater.
We may never know.
What we do know is this. This is a political hit piece aimed at the Talbot County Republican Central Committee and its chair Shari Wilcoxon. The fact that it was even published is ridiculous, petty, and, honestly, unprecedented.
LINK TO STAR DEMOCRAT ARTICLE:
Talbot GOP dinner slated for Thursday closed to press | Local | stardem.com
Screenshots of Johnson's release:
