Supply Side Pundits

Karl Grossman, a professor of journalism at the State University of New York and host of the nationally aired TV program Enviro Close-Up, recounts that the "overwhelming majority" of the pitches he and his producer receive are from "conservative public relations companies promoting conservative guests." Grossman observes that "in terms of volume and intensity, there's nothing comparable from the progressive world. Speaking of the politics of media, it's a clear and daily demonstration to me of how the right, far more than the left, realizes the importance of communication." In particular, he singles out the lack of funding for media work from the more progressive foundations. The "most active PR operation that pitches us," he writes, "is Special Guests," a PR firm headed by Jerry McGlothlin. His firm pitches for conservative clients such as the Family Research Institute and Chris Simcox, the president of the anti-immigration Minuteman Civil Defense Corps.