In a sprawling state like Tennessee, there is a desperate need for dedicated reporting on what the state government is up to on a daily basis. The “Tennessee Lookout” and editor Holly McCall have been working to fill that void in the state’s news coverage for almost a year now.
Ms. McCall told the JFK Club that she and the online publication want to give Tennesseans an unbiased look at what is occurring politically in the state, without skewing to the right or left in their news coverage.
“If you’re a right-leaning person, you’re going to look at some of the stories that are actually reporting what is going on in the state of Tennessee, and call it fake news,” Ms. McCall said. “We want to educate everybody about what’s going on. There’s just not enough news in daily newspapers.”
“(Right-leaning publications) will tell you that Democrats are ruining Tennessee and the country, never mind that Republicans have been in power for over a decade now. Tennessee has had the governor, the Senate, the House, two senators, and seven out of nine Congressmen. But people read that and believe it.”
Ms. McCall said stories like the Nathan Bedford Forrest statue relocation story and the voucher program story are important, but they have also been covered thoroughly by multiple news outlets. She told the JFK club the Tennessee Lookout’s focus is shedding light on stories other outlets don’t have.
“What everybody is not going to cover is all of the voter suppression bills,” Ms. McCall said. “We were the first to cover the fact that a senator from Tullahoma introduced a bill to eliminate early voting because she said it leads to mischief. You know there’s no evidence that early voting leads to voting fraud. So we try to cover the legislative issues that aren’t being covered around the state.”
The Tennessee Lookout has made it a habit to share their stories with other newspapers and outlets. Ms. McCall said the Tennessee Lookout wants to make sure every Tennessean is aware of what is happening, regardless of whether they live in a large metropolitan area or not.
“We have reached out to small outlets across the state,” Ms. McCall said. “I have compiled a database of small and local newspapers and outlets, and are always looking for coverage. One thing that has harmed progressive politics is the fact that so many media outlets don’t have the bandwidth to cover state legislative issues.”
“It’s a long game, but we’ve got to try to change people’s minds and educate them on the reality of the legislature. Many of these state legislators are not there to benefit the people of Tennessee. They’re there to benefit corporations and their donors.”
While the Tennessee Lookout’s news is “straight down the middle” in Ms. McCall’s words, the publication will also run progressive editorials. She answered questions from JFK members about how the Democratic Party can reclaim the state after over a decade of Republican control.
“Democrats just do not have much of a pipeline,” Ms. McCall said. “I do think things have gotten better over the last couple of years, as there are some organizations who are trying to train candidates, but it’s really important to get people elected in County Commission and judicial positions.”
She said the next step for the Tennessee Lookout is to get involved in the world of video production. She believes this move should help expand their audience.
“We’re working with a person who produces short documentaries, so those will be three or four minute documentaries about these issues,” Ms. McCall said. “Right now we’re written word, and these days most folks like to consume some video.”
She again reiterated that the Tennessee Lookout is a non-partisan outlet, and urged people to let her or one of their reporters know if a Democratic figure is doing unsavory things.
“By the way, if Democratic officials are doing terrible stuff, we need to talk about that too,” Ms. McCall added before the Zoom call ended.