Political Radar: the Front Wave of Citizen Press

I witnessed a remarkable event this past Wednesday. I saw John Henry journalism beaten down by the new-fangled steam-powered hammer of a social media podcast.

At hand was the first live taping before an audience of a year-old local news podcast called “Political Radar.” About 75-supporters, and people who just wandered into the lower level of the Broadway coffee shop, Kavarna, heard an exchange of opinion between two alder persons on opposing sides of the Green Bay mayor’s campaign finance misdemeanors. Just two days before, our City Council met in an extraordinary hearing to consider removing three-term mayor from office. Mayor Jim Schmidt prevailed and remains in office by one vote.

Now, Political Radar hosts, Rhonda Sitnikau and Elliot Christenson, sort of fell into this topic for their first live broadcast by luck. The event had been promoted before the mayor’s hearing was scheduled. After the hearing was concluded and votes tallied, Rhonda and Elliot were able to get intelligent, articulate alders from opposite sides of the vote to publicly speak about the hearing and about other issues facing the city. Fortune favors the prepared: Political Radar was prepared and the mainstream media, a luckless John Henry, was not.

Some time ago, these alders on two sides of such a contentious hearing would have been fought over by editors from Green Bay’s two competing daily newspapers. And, in larger markets where the broadcast stations actually have news staffs and carry live daily interview shows, the alders would have been sitting in front of microphones in a Michigan Ave. studio, not the lower level of the Broadway coffee shop.

Now I realize I am different from the typical news consumer. I’m a trained journalist. I worked in the business (the Catholic press) for twelve years and could not imagine starting the day without the adrenalin jolt of a daily newspaper or two. It would be like skipping coffee. Having said that though, I noticed this morning I did pull most of my news from Facebook, Twitter and other social media sources, including podcasts. In Green Bay, as in other markets, local news and commentary had been the reliable, steady, dependable John Henry raison d’etre for a newspaper. Now, not so much.

I think Political Radar represents the front wave of a new kind of citizen journalism. It’s sort of like the young Benjamin Franklin and his brother starting their first newspaper in the colonies. The 30-minute podcast describes itself as “engaging political topics from multiple points of view while also looking for common ground.” Sitnikau, the earth mother of the show, is a self-employed production stylist, former City Council candidate and a passionate believer and advocate for the local political process. Christenson, also an entrepreneur and a “Bill of Rights loving libertarian who is social conservative and fiscally conservative (read that he HATES taxes),” plays the cynical foil to Sitnikau’s steady and prepared questioning.

Political Radar topics and guests tend to come in from the left edges of the playing board rather than the right. Obviously in 2016, city, state and national primary and general elections dominated the recordings. To their credit, the hosts did invite both major political parties, as well as many of the parties in-between. As Wednesday night’s audience demonstrated, the podcast has developed quite a following.

In addition to politics and elections, Rhonda and Elliot publicize and opine about goings-on at City Hall, City Council, County Board, School Board and other major relevant committees. Back in the day, beat reporters of the newspaper covered these and all the major local news centers. Back in the day, alternative media like Political Radar would have been over-matched by the overwhelming resources of a daily paper. But no longer. The playing board is evenly balanced. It may even be tilted a little in favor of the upstarts.

As a paper’s circulation drops for various reasons (social media is just one of them), advertisers spend less money on display and classified advertising. Without circulation and advertising revenue, local papers can’t support a strong news department. Without a strong news department and local community voice,  a once important newspaper is just a shopper with a high school sports insert.

It is like a once mighty John Henry with a weak back reminiscing about the good old days of a wild and free, steel-driving press. As he hears a new sound, he winces as he turns to watch Political Radar and other innovative, energetic social media roll by on hand cars. There's nothing he can do about it.