Mainstream media outlets typically don’t tell their readers where their writers and editors stand politically. (Unlike NewBostonPost, which says “The hub of conservative thought” at the top of the web site.) Some outlets present themselves as impartial.
However, political donations from employees of daily newspapers and television news stations in Massachusetts provide greater insight into mainstream media’s bias.
NewBostonPost examined political donations of writers, reporters, journalists, editors, producers, and news contributors at media outlets in the state. NewBostonPost limited the reach to contributions made during this current election cycle, starting with January 1, 2021, and ending November 26, 2022. The search applied to people who are still employed by a news outlet, and it excluded food and theater critics.
NewBostonPost previously conducted this type of report in August 2021, finding 14 members of the mainstream media in Massachusetts who made federal political donations from January 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021. All of their donations went to Democrats or left-wing political action committees. None went to Republicans or conservative causes.
This time, NewBostonPost identified four full-time members of the mainstream media who made federal political donations from January 1, 2021, to November 26, 2022 — and they all went to Democrats or liberal/progressive causes. None went to Republican or conservative causes.
Hoban donated $3 to the Congressional Black Caucus PAC on March 9, 2022; the Congressional Black Caucus has no Republican members and the political action committee only gives money to Democrats, according to OpenSecrets.
Meanwhile, Vega made 17 donations in this stretch totaling $276.
He made a pair of $5 donations on January 4, 2021, to a pair of candidates: U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock (D-Georgia) and U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff (D-Georgia); Vega also donated $10 to Ossoff on March 18, 2021.
Most of Vega’s donations went to the Americans for Democratic Action PAC. He made 10 donations to the organization for $211.
Vega also donated $35 to the Democratic National Committee ($10 on February 1, 2021, and $25 on October 30, 2021) and $10 to Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat from Maryland who was elected to the U.S. Senate last month; the Van Hollen donation came on March 18, 2021.
Neither Hoban, Vega, and nor a spokesman for The Boston Globe could be reached for comment on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday this week.
A reporter at the daily newspaper in the state’s second-largest city has also made some political donations in recent times: Worcester Telegram & Gazette reporter Henry Schwan. He covers climate change, the environment, and health, according to the newspaper’s web site.
Senator Warnock of Georgia, a Democrat, is the biggest recipient of these donations. He got a $25 donation on January 3, 2021, two days before he beat the Republican nominee Kelly Loeffler, in a runoff election; Warnock won the election, 51 percent to 49 percent.
Schwan later donated $50 to Warnock’s re-election bid, on September 1, 2022.
Schwan also gave $25 to U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff (D-Georgia) on January 3, 2021, supporting him in the runoff election; Ossoff defeated Republican David Perdue 50.6 percent to 49.4 percent. Plus, Schwan donated $5 to ActBlue’s general fund on September 1, 2022.
The high-profile U.S. Senate runoff elections in Georgia in January 2021 helped tip control of the U.S. Senate to the Democrats.
Schwan could not be reached for comment on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday this week. Nor could a spokesman for Gannett, which owns the Worcester Telegram & Gazette.
Additionally, a Democratic donor works in TV news: WHDH video editor Michael Lang. He gave $75 to U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-New Hampshire) amid her re-election bid.
Lang and a spokesman for WHDH could not be reached for comment on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday this week.
New to NewBostonPost? Conservative media is hard to find in Massachusetts. But you’ve found it. Now dip your toe in the water for two bucks — $2 for two months. And join the real revolution.
