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Whose Idea Was This Carlson Thing, Anyway?

Has anyone besides us noticed that there's a slight imbalance in the Seattle Times lineup of local editorialists? While the paper has made some effort to present a wider range of syndicated columnists, among the local writers only John Carlson writes in an extremely partisan, scorched-earth polemical style. Carlson is juxtaposed with other local editorialists of the Seattle happy-faced-blandness school, most of them centrists or tepid liberals of the particularly unreliable sort (eg., see Mindy Cameron's recent paean to welfare basher extraordinaire Charles Murray).
Columnists who have had things to say, such as Don Williams or Jerry Large, are either no longer with the paper or are banished to the back pages. This leaves Carlson free to fulminate unchecked, with nary a concern for fact, logic, or argument. For example, Carlson recently blamed the woes of local and national Democrats on their continued unabashed liberalism, seemingly oblivious to the fact that only the conservative "New Democrat" agenda has seen the light of day in the current Congress.
Carlson's column is virtually a running advertisement for the Rush Limbaugh wing of the Republican party (which is on its way to becoming the only wing). While we wouldn't want to see him paired with someone on the left who is equally self-righteous and bull-headed, we would like to see the Seattle Times search out and cultivate some local writers who can provide some sharpness and argumentation on the other side of the political spectrum.
-Mark Gardner>


Homophobia? Or is The Stranger Just Being Anal?

"Accepting Dan [Savage's] advice on anal sex is like leaving your cat with a dog-loving taxidermist when you're gone for the weekend."
Did those words, written by Bob Armstrong, lead editors at The Stranger to remove him from its stable of writers? Absolutely, says Armstrong. "He's wildly homophobic and paranoid," countered Savage. "Bob has an older, straight white male, privileged point of view."
Here's what went down recently at Seattle's coolest paper:
Armstrong, a regular Stranger contributor for more than two years, was informed in June by managing editor S.P. Miskowski that his services were no longer desired. Armstrong, a freelance journalist and part-time bookseller, had written news and cultural articles for the weekly publication since early 1992 - a tenure that spanned three editors.
After a few months on the job, Armstrong began to take issue with certain contentions made by Savage, The Stranger's famed drag-queen sex columnist. Armstrong felt that Savage, through his weekly offering "Savage Love," was promoting an anal-sex agenda, of sorts. Armstrong, for example, was and remains dubious of Savage's statistics showing that anal sex is rather popular among straight women. Armstrong wrote a story saying as much; then-editor Matt Cook refused to run it.
"Dan saw to it that my story was killed," Armstrong wrote earlier this year in a second version of the article submitted to, and rejected by, current editor Miskowski. "Why? He said it was homophobic and the editor agreed.
"I told Dan and Matt it was not for them to decide if my views were homophobic. Why not let the readers decide?" Armstrong wrote in the spiked story. "Dan saw to it that my story didn't run. This is where 'editorial discretion' borders on censorship."
"I told Dan if he didn't like what I said, he could reply to it, since he loves having the last word. Nope, he said, it's homophobic," Armstrong wrote. "We argued for a while, and he ended our conversation saying: 'After all, I'm the expert on anal sex around here.'"
In his articles, submitted to and rejected by The Stranger, Armstrong went on to discuss the health hazards of anal sex, which is generally regarded as the diciest of all sex acts - HIV/AIDS-wise, that is. "It is simply irresponsible to encourage anal sex on the one hand, then jump on the rubber wagon. Sure, he can repeat the 'use a condom every time' mantra every week, but the fact remains this is the highest-risk sexual activity for [transmitting] the HIV virus."
In response, Savage blasted Armstrong and his arguments. "It's homophobic garbage. Bob's position on anal sex is not part of the debate anymore," said Savage, comparing Armstrong's views to those of people who think African-Americans are "mentally inferior" to whites, or who think there's an "international Jewish conspiracy."
As for whether he's using his column to encourage people to experiment, "I like butt-fucking. I write a sex column. I'm going to say that butt-fucking is fun. It's refreshing to read a pro-butt sex point of view," Savage said. "Do I have a pro-butt-sex agenda? You bet I do!"
"It's so silly," Savage continued. "It's like criticizing the food columnist at The Seattle Times for pushing gorgonzola. Does he then have a pro-gorgonzola agenda?"
Savage strongly denied that he had any role in Armstrong's dismissal. "It's not my paper. In fact, I'm so often the odd-man out."
Current Stranger editor Miskowski gave Armstrong the heave-ho via a June 28 letter. In it, however, Miskowski said the decision stemmed from "the amount of time required to edit and re-structure" Armstrong's stories.
"That's bullshit," Armstrong retorted with a bitter laugh. "She barely touched my stories." Savage explained why this might have been the case: "He used to have screaming fights with the editors."
In her "Dear Bob" letter, Miskowski also cited unspecified personal problems she and other Stranger editors had with Armstrong. Some of these no doubt concerned Armstrong's occasional in- and out-of-office criticism of the publication. Last year, for example, Armstrong got in a few shots in a review he wrote for the Seattle Weekly about The Whimper, a publication that painstakingly parodied The Stranger.
"The Whimper does more than just mock its subject," Armstrong wrote. "It bores in on weaknesses of the paper - its whining, its hyperbole, its occasional bursts of irresponsibility (one story last December suggested readers steal their Christmas presents - but not at stores that advertise in The Stranger)."
While these other factors may have played a role in his dismissal, Armstrong can't look past the Savage episodes as being the main reason.
"I went against the grain - I criticized Dan Savage," he said. "[Miskowski] got her way - the story didn't run. Yet that wasn't enough. She had to get rid of me. She has a knee-jerk reaction when there's any criticism of Dan.
"In a way, I'm glad I'm outta there," Armstrong said, "because if you can't express your own views in an alternative paper, then what's the point of writing for them?"
- Mark Worth


The Revolution Will Be Phoned In

Forget AT&T and MCI; those of you familiar with Working Assets Long Distance (WALD) know how long distance telephone service can be run in a non-profit manner with all proceeds benefitting organizations such as Greenpeace and Amnesty International. A recent WALD campaign encouraged as many as 17,000 customers to write or call the Florida Citrus Commission urging them to break off their advertising deal with Rush Limbaugh. The Commission listened and Mr. L lost an annual $1 million plum. (To find out more about WALD: 1-800-788-8588.)
Well, now the so-called religious right has launched a phone company called Lifeline Long Distance, modeled after WALD. Their goal is to take over the Republican party and local school boards, and to impose "traditional family values" upon us all. Their advertising accuses WALD of being "radical left wingers" using a long distance company to promote "anti-family and anti-God causes." Lifeline plans to donate its proceeds to fundamentalist causes. You've been warned.


Solomon & Nelson Speak Out in Seattle

Nationally syndicated Media Beat columnist Norman Solomon and lesbian reporter Sandy Nelson, who lost her byline at The Morning News Tribune in Tacoma, because of her off-duty activism, debunked the myth of media objectivity at a public forum to raise money for Nelson's ACLU-backed suit against her employer.
Both Solomon and Nelson received standing ovations as they spoke to an overflow audience on September 17 at New Freeway Hall in Seattle.
Solomon, who flew up from Oakland for a Northwest speaking tour in support of the embattled journalist, said her case drew his attention because it challenges the false notion of objectivity that is defended by editors and publishers across the country. (for more info: Sandy Nelson Defense Committee (206) 756-9971)


Sandy Nelson coverage continues in...
"TNT Blasts Away at Reporter's Rights"


New Ink

Real Change is a monthly newspaper sold by the poor and homeless of Seattle. Its premier issue has stories about the Jungle controversy, how corporations profit from affordable housing projects, and the obstruction of true solutions by city bureaucracy. It also contains cartoons, the Street Life art gallery, poetry and photographs all pertaining to the issue of homelessness and poverty. For more information call (206) 441-3247.


Radio Waves

The Radio Labor Journal of Snohomish County Labor Council airs every second Monday at 4:30 pm on KSER-FM (90.7). RLJ volunteer Bill Borders, who also chairs the SCLC Education Committee, notes, "We're always looking for more volunteers and program ideas! We urge listeners to let the station know that they appreciate being able to hear a labor radio program." (Working News)

Rip Robbins takes over at Skagit Valley Community College's KSVR-FM in Mt. Vernon, Washington, as faculty advisor. Robbins formerly held student staff positions at KUGS in Bellingham, keeping an on-air shift for many, many years until "the troubles" of a couple of years ago. Robbins will also teach classes in radio production. KSVR has a large Spanish language audience and Robbins hopes to put the 100-watt station more directly in touch with the needs of other under-served audience groups in the Skagit Valley, and to increase overall awareness about the station and its programming in the region. (Radio Resistor's Bulletin)


Do you have a tasty media morsel for Spike? Do you know of censorship, bias, or other derisive behavior in the print, radio, television or computer media? Send it to the WFP WAfreepress@gmail.com and get it off your chest.

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Contents on this page were published in the October/November, 1994 edition of the Washington Free Press.
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