Since at least 1996, the Republican Party of Minnesota has been obsessed with destroying Minnesota's number one newspaper, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. They have attacked the paper's polling, reporting, editorial board, and are now accusing the newspaper of suppressing conservative views.
First, let's take a look at the Republican Party of Minnesota's attacks on the Star-Tribune's Minnesota Poll. Back in 1996, the Star-Tribune reported:
The heads of the Minnesota Republican Party have written a letter to party leaders criticizing the methodology and reporting of a Star Tribune/WCCO-TV Minnesota Poll that showed Democrat Paul Wellstone leading Republican Rudy Boschwitz by 9 percentage points in the U.S. Senate race.
In the letter, party chairman Chris Georgacas and deputy chairwoman Moonyeen Bongaards said that the paper incorrectly reported its poll Tuesday and that the poll shows that the race really is a dead heat.
Minnesota Poll Director Rob Daves dismissed the criticism, saying the Republicans' letter contained inaccuracies and selective descriptions of the poll results.
[Much, much more in extended...]
The attacks continued in 1998, as this Star-Tribune article shows:
Republican officials criticized the poll, saying its sample was flawed because it overrepresented DFL respondents. Party chairman Bill Cooper threatened to take the newspaper to the Minnesota News Council, which hears complaints about the news media.
"It's not a coincidence that the Star Tribune comes up with a biased poll for their endorsed candidate," said Cooper, referring to the paper's endorsement of Humphrey in the DFL primary election. The GOP's polling, based on a sampling with a more even division between Democrats and Republicans, shows Coleman and Humphrey in a dead heat, Cooper said. ...
Chris Georgacas, campaign manager for Coleman, questioned the methodology of the poll. "This poll is skewed heavily DFL in terms of its sample," he said. "The number of respondents in this sample appears to be far beyond what has been the historic party {identification} breakdown in party surveys.
Criticism of the Minnesota Poll continued during the 2004 election. From the September 18 2004 Star-Tribune:
The chairman of the state's Republican Party called on the Star Tribune on Friday to dismiss the long-time director of its Minnesota Poll, claiming that the poll results are consistently inaccurate in a way that favors the Democratic Party. ...
At a news conference at GOP headquarters, Eibensteiner said: "Their poll numbers are flawed, so therefore, take it as a grain of salt."
The poll results, he said, reinforce the image of the Star Tribune as a "mouthpiece and cheerleader for the Democrats."
Are the Republicans' charges true? Or are they just trying to discredit any poll that doesn't favor Republicans? From that same article:
Harry O'Neill, chairman of the National Polling Review Board, said that the Minnesota Poll and Daves enjoy a strong reputation nationally and that the poll uses proper methodology and obeys all ethical rules.
And, from a September 26 1998 Star-Tribune article:
For all the flak it has received, the newspaper's Minnesota Poll is generally well-regarded among polling professionals, several said.
One was Bill Morris, a private pollster in the Twin Cities who is former chairman of the state Republican Party. "The poll's professionalism is unchallengeable by any professional in the field," Morris said. "If you're going to come after the Minnesota Poll, you need to read some books on polling first."
Despite his partisan stance (he is polling for a statewide GOP candidate this fall), Morris said his fellow Republicans' criticisms "are totally off base. They don't have the support they want, so it's easier to blame the messenger."
Of course, sour grapes over unfavorable polling can be expected. But the Republican Party of Minnesota doesn't stop there.
In the July 30, 2004 issue of the party's email newsletter, the GOP Newsline, the Star-Tribune was described as "hopelessly biased and morally bankrupt."
In the January 28, 2005 issue, they went even further. The Star-Tribune's editorial page was described as "liberal propaganda." They claim the paper is "nothing more than a wing of the DFL Party." And they have accused the Star-Tribune of intentionally suppressing conservative views on the editorial page. From the Newsline:
We know for a fact that Republicans are sending countless letters to the Star Tribune but very few of them seem to make their way onto the pages of the newspaper. That's because instead of providing balance, editors appear to have turned the letter to the editor section into an echo chamber - dominated by letters that reinforce and repeat their liberal dogma.
The Party has a plan:
Submit letters to MNGOP that the Star Tribune refused to print: Republicans are encouraged to submit letters that they have submitted to the Star Tribune that were never printed. Periodically, the Republican Party will post those letters on www.mngop.com under the heading "Another Opinion You Won't See in the Star Tribune."
This is the future of Republican media manipulation: condemn any and all polls that don't favor the GOP. Launch vicious attacks against any newspaper that doesn't toe the GOP line. Accuse progressive editorial boards of suppressing conservative views. Attempt to bring down any news source that does not strictly conform to the GOP agenda.