Advertising Proposition 50: Newspapers Seeking Ads Seem to Favor One Side
By appealing to one side, the news association suggests the governor should spend his money to secure those votes
By Joel Fox, September 29, 2025 9:42 am
The Yes on Proposition 50 campaigns that want to change the state’s congressional districts to favor Democrats compiled $77 million to date. That’s a lot of money and California newspapers want some of that booty. Check out the open letter above taken from Sunday’s Los Angeles Times from the California News Publishers Association addressed to Governor Gavin Newsom who leads the Yes on Prop. 50 efforts.
No surprise the news association is pleading with Newsom to send Prop. 50 monies to buy newspaper ads because the newspaper business is hurting. But the open letter raises serious ethical questions.
Why does an open letter seeking ad buys only appeal to the Yes side in the campaign? While Newsom and the Yes campaigns have collected more money than their opponent, the No side has gathered $35 million for its campaign. That’s not exactly chicken feed and the No side surely wants to reach the same voters.
By appealing to one side, trumpeting in the letter that readers of newspapers are high-turnout voters “who will determine the outcome of Proposition 50,” the news association suggests the governor should spend his money to secure those votes. No request to the No campaign. It sure looks like the newspapers are taking sides in a political campaign.
This kind of approach strengthens critics that the mainstream news media is biased and often supports a particular side on political issues. President Donald Trump certainly has made an issue of media bias, in many cases to dangerous and a purposeful ignoring of the First Amendment, yet this type of pitch would only strengthen his charge. Frankly, I heard a similar complaint 40-plus years ago when an advocate of a ballot measure, disgruntled by news coverage his campaign received, argued that the news accounts should be counted as financial donations to his opponents’ campaign. His complaint centered on reporters’ news stories, not a unusual disgruntled attitude that surfaces in many campaigns. In this current situation, however, newspapers collectively seem to be playing to the governor and his position.
I want newspapers to survive. I advocated in columns supporting the legislative bills that social media platforms should pay newspapers for using the papers’ original content. But if the news groups want to secure ads from political campaigns, they should not make one-sided blatant requests.
Considering another front on Proposition 50 campaign advertisements, I believe Governor Newsom’s campaign is getting closer to the truth behind his effort. New ads directly take on the underhanded Republican effort to do mid-decade redistricting to help President Trump. Newsom more clearly states in the new ad that the Prop. 50 effort is to stop Trump’s agenda in Congress, which is the reason the ballot measure exists and is a direct and honest approach.
However, while the new Newsom TV ad emphasizes opposition to Trump, it also carries the claim that passing Prop. 50 will bring “power to the people” and preserve the independent redistricting commission. These are deceptive phrases because Proposition 50 clearly shuts down the state’s independent redistricting commission by handing power back to politicians. An ad featuring Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also uses the “power to the people” phrase and talks about establishing independent redistricting commissions in all 50 states. A worthy goal I support, but Proposition 50 doesn’t do that.
Over the years, Fox has taken a key role in many statewide and local ballot proposition campaigns, served on eight state and local commissions appointed by elected officials from both major political parties, and advised on two gubernatorial campaigns including as a senior advisor to Arnold Schwarzenegger in the historic recall election of 2003. He holds a position as a Senior Fellow at Pepperdine University’s Graduate School of Public Policy.
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” it also carries the claim that passing Prop. 50 will bring “power to the people” and preserve the independent redistricting commission. These are deceptive phrases because Proposition 50 clearly shuts down the state’s independent redistricting commission by handing power back to politicians.”
It’s not just deceptive. It is outright lying.
Prop. 50 is the most destructive proposition is 50 years.
Just about blew a gasket watching the Yes on 50 teevee ads that were run during the NFL games yesterday at the OUTRIGHT LIES in those ads… they spoke of “preserving the independent redistricting commission” and “power to the people” when a Yes on 50 takes all of that AWAY….
How is outright lying allowed like that???
And we strongly suspect that the low-information California voter will respond favorably to that messaging without doing any due diligence….
Absolutely infuriating…..
Thank you, Mr. Fox, for this informative article.
I heard that Soros has donated 10 million to this campaign and I feel like that is unacceptable at this time when his Open Society Foundation is being investigated for supporting domestic terrorism.
We need to SHAME Gavin Newsom into giving that money back .
That will still leave the ‘Yes on 50’ campaign with 67 million.
This is Gavin’s latest attack on his own constituents.
Defund Politics !
“Newsom more clearly states in the new ad that the Prop. 50 effort is to stop Trump’s agenda in Congress, which is the reason the ballot measure exists and is a direct and honest approach.”
That’s not an honest approach. The redistricting in Texas is being used as an excuse by Newsom and the Democrats to take full control of the State of California. It is being used to squash any opposition to what the Democrats want to do.
It will not be temporary either. They will just get the unions and billionaires to donate more money for another ballot initiative to make it permanent, while using the excuse that Texas has not changed their districts.
Let’s get real. Communists don’t back down.
Get your facts straight! The DOJ told Texas they were in violation of the VRA (Voting Rights Act) so needed to redistrict to get rid of the blatantly gerrymandered districts that were made to discriminate against whites in favor of blacks. Trump had nothing to do with it. That is a blatant Communist Newscum lie. You lose credibility with me when your story turns up shit like this. Newscum is Communist filth who would kill his own Aunt (Oldscum Pelosi) for political power.
And let’s be real here…
Patrick Soon-Sheong bought the L.A. Slimes newspaper so his liberal daughter would have an outlet for her TDS and a plaything job to keep her occupied.
The Times has been parakeet cage-liner for 50 years, but they occasionally do run an interesting history story.
As a younger person, I could reliably vote 100% OPPOSITE from their recommendations, so at least they served that purpose…
Now, they’re just irrelevant….
I know this:
When my wife and I exit this mortal coil, our four kids are selling our properties and moving to Texas. They already have a vacation home. They are non political, but they just aren’t seeing a future here.