In a little follow-up to my last post about the media having less trust from the American people than ever, almost everyone knows that politicians (and their staffers) strive to get their stories in the paper. It’s their job. Some of them are darn good at getting their bosses’ names in the paper for good stuff. They fire off press release after press release (kind of like throwing crap against the wall to see if any of it sticks) to get some PR.

U.S. Senator Jon Tester issued a press release about the Port of Whitetail closing and the Helena Independent Record (IR) published a story about the Port of Whitetail closing. Senator Tester called his press release: “Tester: Dept. of Homeland Security begins process of closing Port of Whitetail” and the Helena Independent Record called their story, “DHS begins process of closing Port of Whitetail.”

Those were about all the differences. You can read the press release HERE and the story HERE.

Here are some examples of the journalism from the Helena IR (or Senator Tester’s staff):

Tester: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will begin the process of closing the Port of Whitetail in northeastern Montana, U.S. Senator Jon Tester announced today.

IR: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will begin the process of closing the Port of Whitetail in northeastern Montana, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester announced today. (Notice the AP Style change on Senator to Sen.)

Tester: U.S. Customs and Border Protection told Tester of the plan this morning, just days after recommending the port’s closure to the agency’s commissioner.

IR: U.S. Customs and Border Protection told Tester of the plan this morning, just days after recommending the port’s closure to the agency’s commissioner.

Tester: Congress will now have 90 days to review the closure proposal. After 90 days, U.S. Customs and Border Protection will open a 60-day public comment period. The agency would make a final decision after that.

IR: Congress will now have 90 days to review the closure proposal. After 90 days, U.S. Customs and Border Protection will open a 60-day public comment period. The agency would make a final decision after that.

Tester: Construction at the Port of Whitetail will not move forward during the process.

IR: Construction at the Port of Whitetail will not move forward during the process

Tester: The government of Canada unexpectedly announced plans to close its side of the Port of Whitetail in August, more than a year after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security decided to upgrade the aging facility in order to meet post-9/11 security standards. Tester recommended the port’s closure after learning last week that Canada had no plans to allow U.S. truck traffic to cross into Canada should the U.S. side remain open.

IR: The government of Canada unexpectedly announced plans to close its side of the Port of Whitetail in August, more than a year after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security decided to upgrade the aging facility in order to meet post-9/11 security standards. Tester recommended the port’s closure after learning last week that Canada had no plans to allow U.S. truck traffic to cross into Canada should the U.S. side remain open.

And it goes on and on. Maybe next time the Helena IR should just put “By Senator Jon Tester” on stories like this instead of having their readers believe the “Independent Record” actually did the reporting. No reporter’s name is on the IR story, but their IR Copyright and newspaper name is listed on the story.

There are some who believe the Helena Independent Record is a mouthpiece for the Montana Democratic Party. They can use this example as proof.

As for Senator Tester’s staffers; they must be celebrating this one. They accomplished their goal and almost word for word. Salute.