By SUZANNE DOWNING
In newspaper jargon, the expression is “if it bleeds, it leads.”
Apparently, the reporters, editor, and editorial page staff at the Anchorage Daily News decided to take it literally and go after Gov. Mike Dunleavy for a veto.
The Blood Bank of Alaska was the supposed victim in this attempted tabloid crime thriller, and the governor was seen as the hatchet man, wielding a weapon that … gave the blood bank money but less government money than desired by some?
To be clear, blood banks are a critical part of living in a modern world. Millions of us, whether we realize it or not, rely on a system to keep us safe if we, or a loved one, ever needs a planned or urgent medical procedure. Clean blood is critical to that, and the United States has come miles from the trauma of the 1980’s and the tainted donations of the past that caused infections and grave harm.
But noble efforts can also lighten scrutiny. The Blood Bank of Alaska, which has received (checks notes) millions of dollars from Alaska’s state treasury over the past decade or so, should be careful that it doth not protest too much, and marshals the press to defend it when it simply gets less state money than expected. That kind of offense-defense could come with scrutiny. And it should.
The Blood Bank of Alaska resides in a very large facility, one that the ADN reported in 2016 cost over $45 million Some of that funding came from financing (i.e., debt), some came from donations, and a chunk came from lawmakers and governors who believed in the corporate mission.
What happened next was extraordinary, especially for reporters in 2024 to have missed: An expose in 2016 detailed how the blood bank was making mass appeals for blood donations, while at the same time being paid to ship nearly one out of every six batches of blood to California. When pressed about details on the contract, the blood bank declined to provide them, citing “contractually driven” reasons.
Fast forward to 2022, and the blood bank was before the Legislature, asking for funding. This time, its CEO said to the House Finance Committee (May 4, 2022) it was for $3 million to “create instate testing and laboratory services.” The Legislature obliged with $2 million and Gov. Dunleavy did not veto a penny.
By simple arithmetic, that meant two-thirds of the funding for the laboratory was secured in 2022.
Come two years later, to 2024. The capital budget was brought up in the Alaska Legislature’s Senate Finance Committee. A draft version included $1.5 million to the Blood Bank of Alaska.
A board member with the blood bank had requested additional funding. When questioned by senators about the total cost, the blood bank board member said the same number, $3 million was the total cost. However, the request this year from the blood bank was for $2 million, purportedly for equipment.
The Legislature obliged, partway, and funded $1.5 million.
Which brings us to Dunleavy’s veto. The governor was almost certainly reviewing every transaction, which is supposedly and sincerely believed to be essential. But politics is about making decisions with finite resources for infinite needs.
What can be summarized from this? The Blood Bank of Alaska had, on multiple occasions over the years, said it needed $3 million to build an instate testing facility. Even after the veto, the Legislature and governor had, over two years, funded the blood bank with $3 million. All the governor did was reduce dollars that were not even requested on the record by the very organization receiving the money.
The timeline may seem dry and procedural, but reporters and the editorial board of Alaska’s largest newspaper, instead of doing some basic Google search-like work that would take less than an hour, whipped up outrage fanned by certain lawmakers who are virulent opponents of the governor on a topic their own paper could have provided essential context.
What this story represents is the laziness of the contemporary press, and the persistence of editorial prejudices. A person can politically, and even personally, hate a politician but still look clear-eyed at his decision. A person can love the mission of an organization, while still holding it to account. But it is in the stories and editorials such as the blood bank veto coverage that the seeds of future attacks are grown.
Pay close attention and wait for the forthcoming article next year about a trend in the heartlessness of the governor, and pointing to this instance as one of several case studies, as the newspaper uses its own specious stories as proof.
Jefferson said an educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people. Let’s hope the readers of Alaska’s largest (fast-fading) newspaper exercise more education and thought than its what the ADN is serving up.
Suzanne Downing founded Must Read Alaska in 2015 with a goal of keeping the mainstream media in Alaska more accountable.