Sunday, July 13, 2008
LaGOP Taking on WBRZ
Posted by Scuttlebutt on Sun, Jul 13, 2008 at 2:08 PM
It’s never surprising when Democratic or Republican spin machines fire shrill volleys at one another’s candidates, but it’s unusual to see a party’s attack dogs going after a member of the media. That happened in Baton Rouge last week when the state Republican Party fired off a news release dissing TV station WBRZ for allegedly going easy on new Democratic Congressman Don Cazayoux.
The fight erupted after the GOP issued a Web advertisement using portions of a WBRZ interview with Cazayoux about some of his energy votes. Titled, “We’re Not Laughing,” the ad poked fun at both the congressman and the station, which the GOP says let Cazayoux off easy. In response, the station disavowed any connection to the GOP ad and asked the Republicans to pull it — citing the GOP’s “unethical” use of WBRZ’s copyrighted video. The Democrats weighed in, praising the station for setting the record straight, which prompted a snarky reply from GOP spokesman Aaron Baer. “Democrats and WBRZ are walking in lockstep to prevent the public from knowing the truth about Don Cazayoux’s pitiful record on energy,” Baer said in a news release. Baer accused Cazayoux, the Democrats and WBRZ of “all following the same game plan” to “fool voters of the 6th District.” The release also accused the station of having a “cuddly” relationship with Louisiana Democrats. The old adage about not picking a fight with people who control the ink and the presses — as well as the airwaves — is about to be put to the test in Red Stick. WBRZ is owned by the same family that owns The Advocate newspaper.
-Clancy DuBos
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