Chair Calls on RI GOP to Drop Their Subscriptions to the Providence Journal

Chair Calls on RI GOP to Drop Their Subscriptions to the Providence Journal

In a mass email campaign to Rhode Island Republicans, GOP Chair Brandon Bell is calling on Republicans across the state to drop their subscriptions to the New York-owned Providence Journal.

The newspaper, which was once the leading Rhode Island voice for Republican and moderate stances, shifted dramatically in the fall of 2016 when it issued a 180 degree reverse position and went from constantly criticizing Speaker of the House Nick Mattiello to praising him and endorsing his re-election. The Providence Journal's endorsement shocked many as Mattiello was being challenged by Providence Journal columnist Steve Frias. 

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For the past few years, the Providence Journal has hired lobbyist Joe Walsh in an effort to protect an antiquated provision in state law that requires the state and municipalities to advertise in the “newspaper of record.” The Providence Journal’s circulation has plummeted in recent years from more than 150,000 per day to just over 55,000.

Bell writes, “Instead of spending $2.00 per day on the Providence Journal in December, donate to the RI GOP so you can help defeat Ed Achorn's endorsed slate of candidates in 2018!!”

The email sent Thursday follows up on a recent blast from Bell, “The Providence Journal calls the Rhode Island GOP "pathetic" and criticizes me for "devoting his attention and the party's limited resources to a failed attempt to bring down House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello, D-Cranston." In fact, this editorial only shows how pathetic the Journal board has become in its efforts to kowtow to Rhode Island's political establishment.”

Bell is not the only member of the Republican party to take umbrage with the Providence Journal’s sudden editorial shift. 

GoLocal asked Rhode Island Republican Martha Stamp if she had heard the Republicans were saying the reason the ProJo did Frias in was the statute that requires the state to spend millions on legal notices with the ProJo.

"Yes, I did," said Stamp, who was a charter member of the National Federation of Republican Assemblies. "Just another special interest in the media.  Explains a lot. Just like MSNBC and CNN-- it's one of the prime reasons Trump won nationally and 15 towns in this state.  People are not silent and pretty smart."

As GoLocal reported in May:

In the midst of the recent controversies at the State House about special interests, one New York-based company has spent nearly $100,000 on a top lobbyist to repeatedly block efforts to rescind an outdated law that costs cities and towns -- and the state -- hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.

For the past three years, the Providence Journal via the Daily Newspaper Association has paid top lobbyist Joe Walsh nearly $100,000 to block legislation intended to repeal the requirement for legal notices to be published in the newspaper of record.  

According to the Rhode Island Secretary of State’s database of Rhode Island Corporations, no such entity exists. Moreover, the contact email in the state lobbying database for the RI Daily Newspaper Association is none other than Walsh’s secretary. The phone number listed for the organization is a phone number at the Newport Daily News, but those answering the phone say there is no such thing as the "RI Daily Newspaper Association."