Chronicle ignored NC Gov candidate & prof Munger's debate participation

In a letter today Hirsh Sandesara (T ’06, Med. ’12) chides The Chronicle [excerpts] - - - -

I was surprised to see no coverage in The Chronicle of the Sept. 24 gubernatorial debate between Republican candidate for governor Pat McCrory and Libertarian candidate [and Political Science department chair] Mike Munger.

While difficult editorial decisions are made every night in the Flowers building, I had hoped that The Chronicle would inform students about this historic and democratic event.

For the first time ever, a third-party N.C. gubernatorial candidate was included in a televised debate.

Although we can differ on the merits of voting for a third-party candidate, Munger is the only one offering several positions that may be surprisingly popular among students.

These include criticizing offshore drilling, ending the death penalty, fighting for marriage equality and limiting tax incentives to relocating corporations.

This race will be one of the closest in the nation this fall; a viable candidate with engaging positions deserves commentary.

This is also a compelling campus story. Our own local boy made good, Munger, the chair of the political science department, has a real chance of impacting this fall's election. His name is included in almost all polls and he has run radio ads.

And yet his own campus newspaper won't cover the most momentous event of his campaign so far. …

Sandesara’s entire letter’s here.

Comments:

Sandesara deserves thanks for calling the Duke community’s attention to TC’s decision not to report what was for students, the Duke/Durham community, our state and others a very important news story – a third party North Carolina gubernatorial candidate debating one-on-one on statewide television with the candidate recent polls say is the front-runner.

It was indeed an historic night for North Carolina and a proud night for Duke.

So why did The Chronicle editors decide to ignore such an important story?

I don’t know.

The Chronicle needs to tell us.

Let’s hope it does so soon.