Madelyn Hoffman, Green Party of NJ candidate for U.S. Senate,

Decries Media Collaboration to Exclude Independent Candidates

for U.S. Senate from Any Meaningful Debate

“This is because on nearly all major issues, from endless wars and bloated military budgets to free trade agreements and wholesale government surveillance, the Democrats and the Republicans are in complete agreement.” — Chris Hedges, October 2020

“To the best of my knowledge, the only two New Jersey media outlets, the NJ Globe and the NJ Spotlight, that held a debate or conversation related to the U.S. Senate race provided only incumbent Senator Booker (D) and challenger Mehta (R) a public platform to air their views. They may have been guilty of unfairly assisting the mainstream political campaigns with a kind of campaign contribution while failing to offer the same to my campaign and the other two independents in the race” said Madelyn Hoffman, Green Party of NJ (GPNJ) candidate for U.S. Senate.

“Both media outlets were well-informed of the desire of these candidates and their supporters to participate in such debates, and were notified of the petition all three had circulated, signed by hundreds, demanding inclusion, yet we were still excluded. It was wrong for both media outlets to do so, but particularly inappropriate when the NJ Spotlight, acquired this past March by WNET — a public television station with an obligation to provide equal treatment to all political parties — made a half-hearted effort to provide far less than equal coverage to all ballot-qualified candidates,” added Barry Bendar, Elections Chair for GPNJ.

Chris Hedges had this to say about a similar situation that arose in Maine last week. Chris Hedges endorsed the Hoffman for Senate campaign in June 2020. His words can easily be applied to the Green Party of NJ’s Senate candidate and the NJ Globe and the NJ Spotlight, in particular.

“The media and the two ruling parties, creatures of corporate money, are determined to lock out progressives like Lisa Savage. This is because on nearly all major issues, from endless wars and bloated military budgets to free trade agreements and wholesale government surveillance, the Democrats and the Republicans are in complete agreement. They don’t want to be challenged on their abject subservience to corporate power. The media, which serves as the echo chamber for the ruling elites, dutifully locks out all who challenge the hegemony of corporate power. The decision by WMTW-TV, owned by Hearst Television, Inc., to deny Lisa a spot at the final date because she is not ‘newsworthy’ is yet another example of corporate censorship. Don’t surrender. Vote Green this year, as I did.” — wrote Chris Hedges, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, best-selling author and activist from a statement he wrote for Lisa Savage, Independent Green running for U.S. Senate in Maine, excluded from the final debate.

“The media in New Jersey have become part of the political machine,” concluded Madelyn Hoffman. “Together, they decide who is a candidate worth covering and who is not. This country is already suffering from a lack of democracy. Especially during this pandemic, when traditional campaigning is almost impossible, it is incumbent upon the media to inform the voters of all of their choices, not anoint a candidate as the victor. When choices are limited to those already deemed ‘acceptable,’ we all lose.”

For a more comprehensive picture of what happened with the NJ Globe “debate.” please read this op-ed piece by Madelyn Hoffman: