On only a few occasions have we ever met a member of the media who we did not find to be a likable, intelligent, searching personality – man or woman. It is our belief that for the most part, the media excluding the entertainment houses do not go out of their way to malign or destroy the character of white separatist organizations such as ours. Pastor Robb has always pointed out a very real truth regarding the negative or positive portrayal of such groups, “If you say something stupid, it will probably get printed. If you act like a social reject, it will be on TV. So if that happened to you, you have no one to blame, but yourself. Just don’t say stupid things or act in a moronic fashion or associate with those who do”. Of course as a media professional you no doubt say “duh”.
Usually Klan groups get bad press because they are just small local groups with a few members. They aren’t a large organization, they have no training, and they are usually only around seven maybe eight years old. We hope you keep this in mind when you do a story about the white separatist movement.
Sometimes a new reporter, eager to write a big story, will make the subject of their story appear more important to the movement than he really is in order to give the story more prominence. The headline may read, “John Doe, leader in racist movement, says, thus and thus.” In fact, John Doe probably no more represents the separatist movement than a Democrat who only participates on a local basis can be considered a “leader” of the Democratic Party.
There are legitimate leaders in the racialist movement such as David Duke, Pastor Robb, Don Black, or Rachel Pendergraft. These are all people who act and speak in a responsible manner. However, many of those featured by media outlets can’t be considered bona fide leaders. A&E network was caught recently paying so-called Klan leaders to say crazy things and fictionalizing much of their content. What other news outlets have done this and not been outed? The “leaders” that are often highlighted do not fit any of the criteria established for leaders in the separatist or alt-right movement, which would include length of involvement, education, writing and speaking ability, broad nationwide or trans-continental base of support, full-time versus weekend activity, etc. Reporters should be careful to verify the status of those they report on.
The story does not appear credible when it is about a “leader” who has only been involved a couple of years or his sole activity is holding rallies on the weekend with some friends. This, though news grabbing, does not constitute a leader in the white cause. We have seen stories quoting odd remarks made by a “leader” of the movement when in all actuality the leader was a high school student with a website. Who ever wrote the story either purposely intended to puff up the piece by making their subject appear to be a prominent individual or they just lacked any investigative talents.
We are always happy to work with members of the media on any projects they may have. We do however, restrict this to actual news agencies or outlets. We ask that consideration be given to our view point to at least the extent that we are given a fair unbiased report. That is all we ask. We know you have a job to do not an agenda to push. And we hope to be able to work together to give an accurate portrayal of the beliefs of the vast majority of those who adhere to the ideas of the white Christian right.
Thank you,
Knights’ Party HQ