Star Tribune columnist Kersten is now a lobbyist
MinnPost photo by Bill Kelley
Editorial page editor Scott Gillespie says Katherine Kersten's new job won't affect her role at the Star Tribune.
Twice-monthly Star Tribune columnist Katherine Kersten has a new gig: Minnesota Capitol lobbyist.
According to state records, Kersten registered a week ago to represent the Center of the American Experiment (CAE), a conservative think tank. Kersten's role as a paid flesh-presser has not been disclosed to Strib readers, though her bio was changed in Sunday's column to CAE "senior fellow."
Editorial page editor Scott Gillespie says Kersten informed him of the move and it won't affect her Strib role. "Katherine made me aware of her work on education issues when she told me about her affiliation with the center," Gillespie notes. "I asked her to let us know if she’s advocating for specific legislation. As you probably know, a number of our regular commentary contributors have been or are registered as lobbyists."
Gillespie concedes no other lobbyist has been in the Strib's regular rotation, which until last year included journalist Nick Coleman. KTLK-FM talk show host Jason Lewis was added after Kersten's weekly gig was downgraded last year.
However, Gillespie points to CAE president Mitch Pearlstein and Growth & Justice president Dane Smith as registered lobbyists and frequent Strib opinionators. Neither's lobbying role is mentioned in their Strib bios (nor, I might add, their MinnPost op-ed bios]. "[I]t’s pretty common for people with think tanks and similar organizations," Gillespie notes.
Does it really matter if an obvious partisan starts getting paid to pitch those views to lawmakers? On one level, it's all of a piece, but the Strib bio currently states of Kersten, "the views here expressed are her own." At least on matters on which she lobbies, one has to assume she represents her employer. The Strib opinion page might consider upping the truly independent voices of the citizenry if lobbyists are to have a regular role.
Kersten's Capitol clout no doubt rose when Republicans took over both houses of the legislature in January. She did not return an email Tuesday, so it's unknown what initiatives she'll push for. However, a column a month ago praised Florida for grading schools, ending social promotion, giving schools bonuses when kids learn more, private school vouchers and alternative teacher certification. Our own Beth Hawkins found some of the Sunshine State's claims a bit ripe.
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Comments (10)
Gillespie's admission that "they all do it" is horrific, just like his opinion pages, where not only are authors allowed to lie through their teeth, but now even their bios dissemble.
What does it say when the opinion pages don't even pretend to care about the truth?
http://thecuckingstool.blogspot.com/2011/03/vallay-of-deception.html
I'll have to add this one to my list of oxymorons, Kersten and education lobbyist...right after Bachmann and intelligence committee.
I've never considered the opinion page to be factual. I view it as the authors view of the facts and it's my job to figure out what to believe. Or as they say, you can prove anything with statistics.
In this case though, the Strib should include a brief bio of the writers interest in the opinion. So if someone if a lobbyist for a cause, it should be noted so the reader has a reference to the opinion.
The only thing that really changing here is the flow of money, Kersten has always been on the payroll.
Stan, the difference between a fact and an opinion is public verifiability. You cannot prove the earth is flat with statistics. There is a difference between fact and opinion. You can believe what you want, but the truth isn't determined by your beliefs.
I am curious why David did not raise this as an issue when Dane Smith registered as a lobbyist. Is it because Growth and Justice was founded by his MinnPost boss Joel Kramer who sits on the G&J board? Or is it because liberals like Smith (a former StarTribune "reporter") are just presumed to be free of interest conflicts?
John - no, it's because Dane Smith doesn't have a regular role with the Strib. Kersten does. It is rare if not unprecedented for the paper to contract with a lobbyist, and it is noteworthy.
Perhaps noteworthy, too, is that Dane Smith's lobbying status is specifically mentioned in this piece.
Scott Gillespie will be glad to hear that people like Stan don't believe that the Star Tribune should vet its op-eds for honesty - it demonstrates that his authoritarian methods are well received by readers.
I don't read Kersten's column any more because she has maybe once written something that either enlightened me or surprised me. She's so partisan that she could just put the subject in the headline and the rest of us could pretty much fill in how she feels about it. I feel that way for those way out left also. I only read the columnists who have something to add to an issue, some expertise, an especially colorful command of the language, or have been known to surprise me with an opinion every so often. That ain't her.
The last op/ed I wrote under my Growth & Justice affiliation was paid a nominal $100. Don't know if the Strib is still paying that to sometime contributors, but I expect Kersten does a bit better than that as a columnist.
A contributor's byline should reflect ties relevant to the piece. The editors don't vet our facts, but they should know contributors well enough to disclose those connections if they don't.
Fun Fact: Katherine K. was a full-time Strib columnist (beginning in 2005) for more than a year before she disclosed that she had been a member of Gov. Tim Pawlenty's first transition team, in late 2002.