Fox 31 and Rocky failed to identify Corry as Independence Institute staffer or quote opponents of her ballot issue

Summary: Quoting Jessica Peck Corry's criticism of a pro-affirmative action ballot measure, KDVR Fox 31 omitted that she is an Independence Institute public policy analyst and did not include any response to her assertion that those gathering petition signatures for the measure, Initiative 82, are "saying anything and everything they can to get people to sign." Similarly, the Rocky Mountain News referred to Corry as executive director of a competing ballot issue that would "eliminate most affirmative action programs in Colorado" without mentioning her position at the Independence Institute.

On its July 10 News at Nine O'Clock broadcast, KDVR Fox 31 quoted Jessica Peck Corry's criticism of a pro-affirmative action ballot initiative, but failed to note her position as a policy analyst with the "free-market" Independence Institute, or her history of activism against public affirmative action programs. Fox 31 also failed to provide a response to Corry's allegation that signature gatherers for Initiative 82 "are out there saying anything and everything they can to get people to sign the ballot" or to point out that the anti-affirmative action Amendment 46 campaign that Corry heads as executive director of the Colorado Civil Rights Initiative (CoCRI) itself faces allegations of fraudulent signature gathering. The Rocky Mountain News similarly failed to identify Corry as an Independence Institute operative in a July 11 news brief reporting on CoCRI's plan to file "a fraud complaint" against the backers of Initiative 82.

As Colorado Media Matters has noted, in their coverage of Amendment 46, the News and other Colorado media outlets repeatedly have identified Corry as heading CoCRI while omitting her position with the Independence Institute and the organization's agenda.

Fox 31 co-anchor Ron Zappolo called CoCRI a "group trying to push for equal rights" in a report that mischaracterized Initiative 82 as "Amendment 82" and referred to CoCRI as "Colorado Equal Rights Initiative." The report then aired a video clip of Corry that identified her only as being with the "Colorado Civil Rights Initiative":

ZAPPOLO: A group trying to push for equal rights says another group is lying to voters to stop the bill. Colorado Equal Rights Initiative is promoting Amendment 46 to end racial and gender discrimination in public hiring and education. But they say another group has come up with Amendment 82, a fraudulent countermeasure that would stop their progress.

CORRY [video clip]: Their signature gatherers are out there saying anything and everything they can to get people to sign the ballot. So what we want to do today is just tell the truth about what's going on. We want people to read the language of Initiative 82 and understand what it's really all about and how dangerous it is for Colorado's future.

ZAPPOLO: The Colorado Civil Rights Initiative says they are talking to the secretary of state about filing a formal complaint against the group for the campaign violations.

The News similarly failed to identify Corry fully in its July 11 brief, "Initiative backers plan to file complaint":

Jessica Peck Corry, executive director of the Colorado Civil Rights Initiative, is advocating for Amendment 46 on the November ballot. It would ban programs aimed at boosting minority and female contracting, educational enrollment or hiring except those that are a requirement for receiving federal funding.

Corry said Coloradans for Equal Opportunity, which is gathering signatures for Initiative 82, a measure that would retain affirmative action programs, has mischaracterized what Amendment 46 says.

Despite reporting claims that Initiative 82 is a "fraudulent countermeasure" whose supporters have "mischaracterized what Amendment 46 says," neither Fox 31 nor the News provided comments from Initiative 82 supporters. Further, neither news outlet reported that, according to the Denver Daily News, a Denver District Court judge agreed on July 7 to "review the validity of the signatures" for Amendment 46:

Although Secretary of State Mike Coffman approved the signatures for Amendment 46 in May, an activist group called Vote No on 46 is claiming there "was a great deal of fraud" in collecting the signatures. Denver District Court Judge William D. Robbins agreed yesterday for a court to review a 6,403 "sample" of signatures to see if they are valid.

[...]

The Colorado Civil Rights Institute (CCRI), a group spearheaded by Ward Connerly that is responsible for the ballot initiative, called No on 46's attempt to have a court review the signatures deceptive.

"We are extremely confident we that we will remain on the ballot this November," said Jessica Peck Corry, a spokeswoman for CCRI and member of the libertarian think tank Indepdendence Institute, which contributes columns to the Denver Daily News. "I think they are desperate."

The CCRI has submitted 128,744 signatures to get the amendment on the ballot, which surpasses the 76,000 valid signatures needed. The court has given no timeline for reviewing the validity of the signatures. [emphasis added]

The News had reported other complaints about signature gatherers for Amendment 46 in an April 2 article:

A group claiming signatures were fraudulently collected to get an anti-affirmative action measure on the ballot urged people Tuesday to come forward and file complaints with the Colorado secretary of state.

Former state lawmaker Polly Baca, a member of Colorado Unity, said when signature collectors for Ward Connerly's Civil Rights Initiative approached people, they duped them into thinking they were signing something to end discrimination.

[...]

Jessica Corry, a public policy analyst and Amendment 46 supporter, said Colorado Unity is engaging in "tired" tactics to quash the measure, and said the initiative's supporters "followed the law exactly."

Coffman's office has received three complaints from people who believe they were duped.

Dara Burwell, 25, of Denver, said the tactic used by the person who got her to sign the petition was fraudulent.

Burwell said she was approached by a young black man who talked about the importance of minorities and why the ballot measure should pass.

Additionally, a June 8 Denver Post article reported that conservative activist Connerly, a backer of Amendment 46 and similar anti-affirmative action ballot measures across the country, has been accused by opponents in other states of running campaigns in which "circulators fool people into signing" petitions for anti-affirmative action measures to appear on state ballots. According to the Post:

Since he exported his initiative -- and the financing behind it -- to Colorado, Nebraska, Arizona, Missouri and Oklahoma, opponents have embraced a pre-emptive strategy.

By challenging the petition process on sidewalks, where they claim circulators fool people into signing, and in court, they've managed to thwart his early momentum and hope to deal a major blow to his national campaign.

"The concern is that the entire Connerly operation is deceptive and I'd say fraudulent -- how they gather signatures, how they wrote ballot language and how they say what it could and could not do," said Craig Hughes, whose Denver-based political-consulting firm has aided a court challenge to the petitions.

Although initiative supporters submitted more than enough signatures to put it on Colorado's ballot, opponents are trying to invalidate at least 53,000 of them to knock it off.

Efforts in four other states also have focused on the petition process and have opponents claiming some early victories.

[...]

In all five states, the early campaign battle has focused largely on grocery-store parking lots, libraries, street festivals -- anywhere petition circulators seek signatures to put the measure on the ballot.

Many people have complained they were duped by circulators into thinking the initiative actually preserved affirmative action. Some said they were asked simply to sign a petition opposing discrimination or felt misled by the term "civil-rights initiative."

In Colorado, the legal challenge to the signatures alleges a variety of problems, from duplicate signatures to nonresident circulators to improper notarization of petitions.

The legal drama could extend well into summer. [emphasis added]

—C.H.