After Outcry, Daily Herald Will Stop Printing Fake Newspapers
The Daily Herald announced Thursday it would stop printing political mailings masquerading as newspapers after an outcry among journalists and Governor JB Pritzker. (Photo: Shaw Media)
NOTE: This story was originally posted for subscribers only. To receive subscriber-only newsletters and content, click here.
In an almost throwaway line from a story last weekend in Shaw Media, we learned Paddock Publications, Inc, the parent company of the suburban Daily Herald newspaper, was printing and mailing the fake newspapers connected to radio talk show host Dan Proft’s political action committee.
“…neither the company nor its publications are members of the Illinois Press Association. The postage permit printed on the front of the papers is registered to Paddock Publications Inc., according to a U.S. Postal Service spokesman.”
It took a few days of a bit of a slow burn before we seemed to put two and two together that the printing and postage discount for the political printings, which present themselves as legitimate newspapers, was coming from the Daily Herald’s print shop.
The mailings, which contain biased political propaganda disguised as a legitimate newspapers, have been attacking Governor JB Pritzker and Democratic lawmakers and benefitting their Republican opponents.
Thursday, Governor JB Pritzker’s campaign manager Mike Ollen sent a letter to the Daily Herald condemning their willingness to print and mail the pieces.
“These fake newspapers represent an existential threat to quality, independent journalism––making it all the more unfathomable Paddock would cast its journalistic responsibility aside in the name of profit,” Ollen wrote. “Furthermore, by allowing these fraudulent mailers to share a permit with the Daily Herald, Paddock is actively undermining the good work that the legitimate reporters at the Daily Herald do every day to combat the rising wave of misinformation and fake news.”
The Pritzker campaign announced it would pull out of a candidate forum hosted by the Daily Herald.
Thursday night, the Daily Herald had announced it would stop printing and mailing the Proft-affiliated pieces.
“The perception for some has become that the Daily Herald favors one party over another and by printing for LGIS (Local Government Information Services, the business behind the mailings), it's somehow promoting its message. That is not true,” wrote “Senior Management” of Paddock Publications, in a letter posted on the Daily Herald website. “Still, we understand that perception matters. And we want to move forward and extract ourselves from this politically charged environment. Paddock Publications has made the decision to cancel commercial printing jobs with LGIS. As an independent newspaper publisher, we want no part of the flame-throwing accusations taking place between Gov. J.B. Pritzker and LGIS.”
It isn’t clear if the Illinois State Board of Elections will cite Proft’s “People Who Play By The Rules” PAC for sending political mailings without proper disclosure or if the agency has received formal complaints. Proft’s previous PAC, Liberty Principles PAC, was cited twice by the State Board for failure to include the proper attribution of source in political communications in 2016.