Awhile back I wrote this post about media coverage and the Richard Wright campaign.  And in that post I also posted an e-mail I sent to the Tri-City Herald’s Ken Robertson:

I find it interesting that the Herald covers candidate events as a matter of fact (you know… this is happening on X day at X time. Perhaps you could cover those events and talk with candidates about their views, positions on important issues, introduce them to their constituents so they know them. I have heard the Tri-City Herald complain about campaign finance reform in the past so perhaps you could do something about it and actually report on candidates rather than wait for the full page “paid” advertisement. Are not newspapers a responsible source for information on elections or have they become part of the problem with campaign financing? Reporting is not the same as announcing sponsored events. You can still do that. But maybe send a reporter to ask tough questions, report those answers, and let the voters have a read. What say you?

And got this response:

During the primary and general elections, the Herald reporting staff and editorial board members will likely spend hundreds of hours covering candidate speeches and appearances, meeting with and interviewing dozens of candidates and publishing a lot on information on them, both on the Web and in the newspaper.

A handful of them will not be terribly responsive, and some will practically hide behind their staffs, but most will talk openly and candidly about the issues we raise on the behalf of our readers. We’ve been doing this kind of service as long as I’ve been at the Herald - 30 years - and we are the only newspaper in Eastern Washington to have reporters stationed in both Olympia and in Washington, D.C., to cover government and politics.

During previous elections, we have helped organize and sponsor candidate forums with the League of Women Voters and regularly cover dozens of events.

We don’t go to every one of them, but we do try to attend all that appear likely to offer significant information about the candidates and their positions on various isses.

We do our best to cover the politics of the state, the nine counties in Washington and Oregon where we have subscribers and the federal issues of concern to our readers. If you haven’t been reading Olympia bureau reporter Chris Mulick’s blog (Olympian Dispatch at http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/local/blogs/mulick/) and his Sunday column, you’re missing out on regular information about our politicians and what’s happening in the state Capitol. I think any time you invest in the Herald’s coverage and our Web site will be well spent if you want to find out more.

Wow, that’s great Ken, but I think you don’t understand.  I do read and that is why I pester the TCH in the first place.  I guess I should have introduced myself as a 40 something political activist/blogger/loudmouth and avid reader to ensure I wasn’t treated like a 16 year old at the county fair.  Frankly Ken, that was trite and condescending.  Especially when the Herald’s coverage on this race really does suck! Let’s talk about the easy freebee’s you have been giving Richard Hastings (aka “Doc”) without talking the issues with his opponent(s) for a perfect example.  Especially since, during election time, these softball issues are so localized.  I have to ask… is the Tri-City Herald getting ready to endorse Richard Hastings for Congress.

Well, my rant is over.  What do you think?