by Travis Mateer
Is it too early to call Missoula’s newest effort at producing local journalism a failure? Probably, but that’s not going to stop me from questioning what kind of “juice” this media platform is giving its readers, starting with an article by Kathleen Shannon, titled Periscoping Parenthood.
Before we get to the article, let’s check out The Pulp’s about page to see what exactly this new media platform’s mission actually is. From the link:
Launched in September 2023, The Pulp’s mission is to produce in-depth journalism that informs and engages the people of Missoula and western Montana and advances transparency, equity, and democracy.
We’re building a news organization that reflects, serves, and connects people in and around this fast-changing town. We aim to promote discourse, reveal Missoula’s complexities, and create community.
Our journalism is smart, fearless, innovative, accessible, and, occasionally, irreverent.
Fearless, in-depth journalism? If that were the case, then this fluff piece on a parenting program subtly injecting politics into its non-profit work wouldn’t read the way it does, starting with the emotional manipulation that begins the piece. From the link:
Quinn is an outgoing teenager who’s into reading, paintball and the Gaelic game of hurling, which looks like a mix of lacrosse, rugby and ultimate frisbee.
Some of Quinn’s best interpersonal qualities also made the pandemic particularly hard on the 17-year-old, who uses they/them pronouns. In turn, Jobyna McCarthy, Quinn’s mom, struggled to support them. She felt they were navigating choppy seas alone. McCarthy couldn’t see then that she’d find a lifeboat in a new Missoula program.
Ah, yes, that little “pandemic” in 2020 is a great place for FEARLESS journalists to begin their “in-depth” reporting on a program intended to help parents. Was the risk of Covid to our kids as serious as the media was telling us at the time? If you think the answer is YES, go thank a FEARLESS reporter for lying to you for their paymasters. Let’s continue.
The United Way program intended to “help” parents is called the Parent Leadership Training Institute (PLTI). Here’s more from the article describing this program (emphasis mine):
PLTI is housed within the Zero to Five program at the United Way of Missoula County, which implements systems changes for young children, who don’t receive centralized support until they start school.
It’s a free, 20-week civics and leadership course designed to promote agency among youth caregivers to advocate for children within their communities. PLTI is relatively new to Missoula, but the program started in Connecticut in 1992 and a national structure, the National Parent Leadership Institute, was developed in 2012. There are currently sites in 18 states and three tribal nations.
I emphasized where this program started because it’s also where the Executive Director of United Way came from, so it’s not surprising this is now coming to Missoula. What else will this Pulp article tell us about how United Way is going to help parents in Missoula with this “free” program? (emphasis mine):
The curriculum gets into the nitty-gritty of how systems like elections and government work. It also helps participants understand their relationship with those systems—inequities and all. Critically, PLTI also offers benefits like childcare, free meals and transportation assistance to participants during programming.
PLTI Site Coordinator Sam Duncan said it’s meant to bring together diverse caregivers—“people who would have never come upon each other and who have a lot of things not in common.” Participants bring a range of experiences and ideologies, and the group’s process of building trust, Duncan said, is “a microcosm of a functioning democracy.”
How does learning about elections and government help to raise kids? This sounds more like brainwashing than something that will ultimately help kids. What else does this program do?
Participants design a community impact project during the course of the program. Once the program is over, the parent leaders can take their projects with them out into the world and, ideally, find them a more permanent home. Past projects include creating civil discourse around gun reform, developing a cooking class for kids, creating parenting programs focused on dads and increasing access to education and economic opportunities for refugee families.
Cool! It appears that parents are potentially transformed into liberal foot soldiers by this program, which isn’t surprising when you know who you’re dealing with, and that’s people like Grace Decker, who is deeply involved in this program. Here’s more from the link (emphasis mine):
Half of the 20-week course, made up of 10 biweekly classes, is, essentially, Civics 101. But the other half is much more personal, said Grace Decker, Zero to Five Missoula’s strategic collaboration coordinator.
During those first few weeks, Decker said, “folks are talking a lot about racism, they’re talking a lot about structures and systems and how those are built. They’re talking with each other a lot about their experience of identity and how that has influenced their lives.”
I’m sure they are talking a lot about racism, but not about things like the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office euthanizing a black man on January 5th, 2020. No, that case won’t help local Democrats, and this program is clearly run by people who are VERY political, even when they shouldn’t be.
For additional context on the United Way’s political role in this community, here is more of MY reporting, reporting you won’t see ANYWHERE else.
Is School Board Member Grace Decker Violating MCPS Ethics Policy? (December 18th, 2021)
No Mask, No Meeting Vs. No Arson, No Jail (January 12, 2022)
School Board Member, Grace Decker, Hilariously Frames Herself As Non-Political In Daily Montanan Op-Ed (February 14th, 2022)
Will United Way’s Magic Touch With Homelessness And Meth Now Be Extended To Child Care? (June 1st, 2022
It’s Time For United Way Of Missoula To Find A New Executive Director (June 16th, 2023)
If you appreciate the context you get with my coverage, consider supporting Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF), or you can make a donation at my about page.
Thanks for reading!