The other point of view

Conservative columnist Debra J. Saunders

By Amaris White
From the May 2006 Print Edition

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Debra J. Saunders came and spoke with the Berkeley College Republicans at their April 6 meeting. Her articles are featured in newspapers across the country, and she has a unique insight on media affairs in the Bay Area. She shared her views of her job and the media to the membership and was kind enough to do the same for the California Patriot.

California Patriot: Would you tell us a little about what you do every day?
Debra J. Saunders: I write a column three times a week, and I probably spend most of my time looking. A major part of the job is figuring out what I should write on, and then doing research, and talking to people. Writing probably takes about two hours to write a column, and sometimes four. Certainly if it takes longer than that I’m having problems. Most of it is keeping up with the news, and finding something people are interested in, and finding something someone might not know about the topic.

CP: Is it hard to be a conservative writer at the Chronicle?
DS: Well, you know, there’s no question that most of the people who work here don’t vote the way I do, and they disagree with many things I say, but for the most part they understand that they need other points of view, and they really like it. People sometimes are surprised when I write a column, and I get people who ask, “They let you write that?” But not only do they, they pay me to write it. They appreciate it.

CP: What is your favorite part of the job?
DS: Well, I mean, the whole job is just great. I get to write about subjects that interest me, and I get to look into them. I get to go to events that are a part of history, and it’s just the best job in the world.

CP: What do you think of the bias in the media?
DS: I think that a lot of people in the media think alike, and they tend to be liberal, and they think that liberal is fair. And they try to be fair, and for most of the time, they are fair. And they think that they are being fair but sometimes have a blind spot. It seems to be a groupthink, where because many of the media are liberal, they are too. It’s like if you spend most of your time in insurance, you’ll think like everyone else. And I see many writers who try to get beyond that group mentally, but I don’t think they always succeed. I know they don’t always succeed.

CP: Do you think things will ever change?
DS: No. To be perfectly blunt, no. I think sometimes conservatives get whiney about these issues, and that’s a mistake. There are other outlets; while newspapers are overwhelmingly liberal, there are some that are conservative, like the Washington Times. There are many other outlets. They can get their views out: There’s talk radio, there’s the Internet. It’s not like they can’t get their views out. There are people like me. There are people who work for newspapers, and again, you can use the Internet. There are also people who can see through the liberal filter. I just don’t hope that people think they can be whining victims. Yes, there are biases, but it’s something that is easily gotten around.

CP: Would you tell us a little about your favorite column?
DS: It was a piece I wrote for the Wall Street Journal about teachers complaining about their salaries. And it was a fun column to write because it was interesting, and there were people who had an interest in pressuring me to shut up. Instead, I shined a light on them. That was the “Teachers on the Whine Line” column. That was probably my favorite column ever.

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