Democrats Openly Purchasing Media Outlets Now

I guess they’re not satisfied with just having their ideological brothers and sisters in charge of the MSM outlets anymore. Now prominent members of the Democratic Party itself are looking to purchase newspapers:

Philadelphia’s two daily newspapers have long been accused of liberal bias, but critics say a group of potential buyers led by former Gov. Ed Rendell would turn the papers into mere mouthpieces of the Democratic Party in a 2012 swing state.

Mr. Rendell, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, is teaming with George Norcross, the Democratic Party boss of southern New Jersey, and others in an effort to purchase the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Daily News and the company’s website, philly.com.

There is reportedly at least one other bidder for the media company, the most influential in Pennsylvania, though that party has not publicly identified itself.

“The prospect of Rendell’s group owning the newspapers is like the foxes watching the henhouse and all of the sacred cows,” said Paul Davies, former deputy editorial page editor at the Inquirer. “Essentially, the Inquirer will cease to exist as a legitimate newspaper. It will become the insiders’ house organ.”

Mr. Rendell said on a talk-radio show this week that this deal would not be the first time powerful people with an “ideological bent,” such as Rupert Murdoch, have tried to purchase a media company. He also noted that the 183-year-old Inquirer was owned for decades by Republican businessman Walter Annenberg, and said his group is simply trying to save the financially troubled papers.

Murdoch and Annenberg are pure strawmen, and not even made out of good straw. Neither of them has ever held office as a Republican, nor been an official part of the Republican Party. Both Murdoch and Annenberg have worked in the media their entire adult lives. However, the fact that lefties react with such horror at Murdoch and Annenberg displays their prejudices: to them, if anyone in the media is not a lock-step lefty, they are automatically a pariah.

So, what we have here are two long-time bigwigs within the Democratic Party itself wanting to buy a media outlet. That, to me, is going to call the Inquirer’s credibility into serious question if Rendell and his friends do end up with the winning bid. If that happens, the Inquirer is all but certain to become the Pravda of the Democratic Party, reliably printing exactly what the party line is and only deviating from it when there’s no other choice.

Please note, I am not saying they shouldn’t be allowed to purchase it. But I certainly won’t trust their reporting if a former DNC chairman ends up as an owner. I also went back through RNC chairmen (and chairwoman) all the way back to Watergate and can’t find any of them owning any sort of media outlet.