Members of the conservative media continue to come under attack…
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch suspended an opinion column by Stacy Washington—a black conservative commentator and Air Force veteran—after she called out an op-ed piece that was published in another newspaper comparing the NRA to ISIS. The Post-Dispatch stopped just short of outright saying that Washington was suspended for her opinion. Instead, the editor released a statement saying that Washington’s “active promotional activities and professional association with the National Rifle Association represented an unacceptable conflict of interest in her most recent column, which resulted in our suspension of her work.” Ms. Washington ended up quitting after she was suspended. The newspaper also said columnists are expected to disclose conflicts of interest as they may arise in the course of their respective columns.
I read the article in question, where Washington begins by discussing the low percentage of conservative journalists. She goes on to explore the negative media attention toward guns in general. Specifically, it was a reckless op-ed that was published by a professor who made incredibly shocking comparisons between the NRA and ISIS. Washington also pointed out the deficit in Republican journalists reporting views that oppose mainstream liberal media.
I’ll start by stating the obvious; Stacy Washington is conservative. Of course she supports the Second Amendment. Stacy Washington was employed to write an opinion column. The so-called conflict of interest arose from past appearances Washington made on NRA TV, which isn’t at all surprising for conservatives in the media. She cleared the air by stating that she’s not a lobbyist and has never been paid by the NRA for any of her appearances or collaborations. Ms. Washington took to her Twitter to blast the newspaper, saying, “Thanks for sharing the lie that I have an ethical conflict Post-Dispatch.” She called it an unproven assertion.
As someone who enjoys writing and exercising my freedom of speech, I can only imagine how upsetting this entire situation must be. Stacy Washington falls into the almost nonexistent category of black conservative media. That in itself more than likely generates hostility toward her from minority and feminist groups.
Her suspension seems to be following recent trends of silencing conservative speech. Ms. Washington was reportedly the only Republican voice working for the editorial page of the Post-Dispatch. The NRA was only a piece of the larger argument she made regarding media stigma toward the Second Amendment and conservative views. Tod Robberson—director of the editorial page and Washington’s boss—had apparently been called out by a state representative for a column he wrote containing flaws.
The rebuke came the same day Stacy Washington’s column in question was submitted. She was notified of the suspension via email from Robberson just hours after her column ran. In addition to taking issue with Washington’s support of the NRA, Robberson commented that her column was “problematic in many ways.” It sounds like not only was he still feeling the burn of being publicly called out, he took it out on Ms. Washington. Perception can be everything sometimes.
