A holiday-shortened work week did not stand in the way of John Locke Foundation experts earning air time and quotations in print and online news outlets. When the congressional “supercommittee” failed to reach a deficit-reduction deal on Capitol Hill, WPTF Radio called on Fergus Hodgson, JLF Director of Fiscal Policy Studies, for expert analysis. Vice President for Outreach Becki Gray made a pair of radio appearances this week on WTSB, offering her standard preview and recap of the week’s top political and policy news. Gray also represented the Locke Foundation at a Heritage Foundation event in Charlotte featuring Republican congressional leader Rep. Eric Cantor. The Asheville Tribune reported on Gray’s recent presentation to the Buncombe County Republican Women’s Club. The Winston-Salem Journal republished a recent News & Observer editorial citing the John Locke Foundation’s efforts to end local governments’ illegal misuse of taxpayer dollars to promote sales-tax referendums. (In the run-up to the referendums, the John Locke Foundation of Raleigh informed officials in several counties that they were, in its view, illegally endorsing the ballot measures. Citing a state law enacted in 2010, the foundation noted that local governing bodies can’t “endorse or oppose” such items.) Daren Bakst, Director of Legal and Regulatory Studies, led that effort. Several recent letters to the Winston-Salem Journal‘s editor have cited JLF President John Hood, a featured Journal columnist. While one letter addressed Hood’s arguments about tax fairness, others have criticized the Journal for carrying his column. The newspaper’s editorial board offered a brief response. (The Journal editorial department began publishing columns from John Hood, a conservative, last year as part of our push to include more varied viewpoints. At the same time, we began publishing columns from Chris Fitzsimon, a liberal. Hood’s byline includes the name of his organization, the John Locke Foundation, just as Fitzsimon ‘s byline includes the name of his organization, NC Policy Watch. Both Hood and Fitzsimon have large readerships. They provide a provocative point-counterpoint on state politics. Our publishing of Hood’s columns is in no way an endorsement of his ideas or those of his organization, just as our publishing of Fitzsimon’s columns is in no way an endorsement of his ideas or those of his organization.) The Columbia Journalism Review recently cited Hood in an article about changes in the journalism industry. N.C. Senate Republicans highlighted his columns this week on granting the governor more power to constrain state spending and learning from Hannibal’s historic mistakes. The Senate GOP also promoted Carolina Journal Radio Co-Host Donna Martinez‘s recent column on political pessimism and Carolina Journal contributor Karen McMahan‘s article on a lawsuit pitting LegalZoom against the N.C. State Bar. The Lincoln Tribune also published McMahan’s story. The Smoky Mountain News picked up N.C. Education Alliance Fellow Kristen Blair‘s column about the importance of reading. A Beaufort Observer article about crony capitalism cited earlier work on targeted tax incentives from CJ contributor Kristy Bailey. A Triangle Business Journal and Philanthropy Journal article about JLF founding chairman Art Pope mentioned his support for the Locke Foundation.
