Three conservative Kansas newspaper publishers have launched an online consortium of seasoned writers and researchers aimed at combating liberal bias in state media, with an aim to provide Kansas residents with a news and opinion perspective that’s greatly ignored by most journalists in the Sunflower State.
Ad Astra Global Media, comprised of publishers Dane Hicks of Garnett, Dan Thalmann of Palmer and Earl Watt of Liberal, launched The Kansas Informer (www.kaninfo.com) earlier this month. Ad Astra’s pledge is to provide a venue for straight forward Kansas news along with political and cultural opinions more reflective of Kansans – content that’s not dominated by woke corporate interests or dark money Leftist political influences and publications.
“Look at any election map in recent years and you can see it in graphic detail,” said Hicks, publisher of The Anderson County Review in Garnett. “You’ve got half a dozen out of 105 counties that vote blue – every other county’s red – yet all the editorials from the corporate-owned media in the state take a perspective from the political Left. Until now there’s been no major effort out there to give a political voice to what is a majority of Kansans,” Hicks said.
Watt, publisher of The Leader & Times in Liberal, said he was motivated to become part of Ad Astra because major market journalism in the state now ignores the founding principles of the nation.
“We have an obligation to provide Kansans with a view that is intentionally being suppressed by statewide media,' Watt said. 'Kansans have been asking for a resource that is based in fact, in truth, and rooted in Kansas values. The Kansas Informer does that.'
Dan Thalmann took issue with Governor Kelly’s COVID response in choosing a statewide shutdown he said wasn’t based on data, but instead was a cookie- cutter template followed lock-step by Blue State governors.
“No one in the major Kansas media ever questioned her about it,” said Thalmann, publisher of the Washington County News in Washington. “In fact, shutting down schools, unwarranted mask mandates, trying to keep boys in girls locker rooms – none of the mainstream media in the state ever criticizes her at all.”
The Informer has also lined up a bevy of conservative contributors – present and former publishers from some of the state’s smaller media markets.
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