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Susan Demas
Susan Demas, editor and publisher of Inside Michigan Politics, says she has severed ties with political insider Bill Ballenger, whom she bought the publication from in 2013. The parting of the ways has to do with what Demas describes as Bellanger's "indefensible" comments about the Flint water crisis and how it was being overblown by the media.
Bellanger, a former Republican state lawmaker, had been a contributor to the publication since he sold it. He started it in 1987.
At issue: A part-time Flint resident, Bellanger told reporter Tim Skubick on WKAR after the governor's speech on Tuesday night that he drinks the water and has bathed in it and hasn't felt any adverse affects. He said the matter was not as serious as the media was making it out to be.
On Wednesday, Demas posted a statement on Inside Michigan Politics saying:
I have great respect for Bill Ballenger, who has continued to periodically contribute to Inside Michigan Politics after I bought the publication in 2013. As you are aware, Bill's comments Tuesday night on WKAR after the State of the State address regarding the seriousness of the Flint Water Crisis are indefensible. Bill had previously made public comments as a Flint resident and political analyst, but last night he was on “Off the Record” associated with IMP.
As I told Bill earlier Tuesday, he is entitled to his opinion, but not his own facts. And as the sole owner, editor and publisher of IMP, I alone speak for the publication and set its editorial direction.
Flint is a public health catastrophe, as the meticulous research of Virginia Tech and Hurley Medical Center Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha clearly shows. I cannot have anyone associated with Inside Michigan Politics who minimizes the impact of this terrible public health disaster that will impact people’s lives for decades to come. I am truly sorry to everyone hurt by Bill’s comments at a time of already considerable anxiety and pain.
Bill Ballenger (Facebook photo)So it is with a heavy heart that I am informing you that as of this morning, Bill Ballenger is not associated with Inside Michigan Politics in any way, shape or form.
Bellanger responded, telling WWJ that he is puzzled by Demas' reaction, saying he thought the comments were “very mild and sensible.”
He also told WWJ:
“I think Donald Trump has inspired people to use the phrase ‘you’re fired’ with reckless abandon. You can’t fire somebody who sold his publication. I founded it in 1987, I sold it to Susan Demas, we have a business relationship which will continue. But firing is just not part of even the vocabulary that you use. I may not and will not, apparently, contribute articles or commentary — if that’s your definition of being fired — despite the fact I’d be paid anyway, so be it.”
“I got a lot of commentary from people all over the state saying ‘At last a voice of sanity, somebody who’s telling it like it is,'” said Ballenger. “If you are embroiled in this Flint water crisis issue, you don’t want to hear that. You’ve got an agenda, you want to blame people and anybody who says anything different is going to be castigated. … There are a lot of politicians in the Flint area who either supported the switch to the Flint River or acquiesced in what happened. I mean, they were all on board with the decision and now that all hell has broken loose, they’re running for cover and they’re pointing fingers at anybody and everybody else that they can get the public to blame for it. I think that’s what’s shameful.”
