The right-wing news outlet that published a five-part series of stories leading to the suicide of small-town Alabama mayor Fred "Bubba" Copeland has ties to the utility giant Southern Company and its subsidiary Alabama Power, according to a report from banbalch.com.
K.B. Forbes, publisher of the Ban Balch blog and CEO of its parent organization -- the CDLU public charity and advocacy group -- says the Copeland suicide (which is drawing national attention) -- shines light on an Alabama media environment that is dysfunctional, compromised, juvenile, and downright mean-spirited:
Under the headline "Media Whores Fighting Over Doing Tricks for Clicks and Cash; Smear Job Leads to Tragic Suicide," Forbes writes:
The horrific suicide of Smiths Station Mayor F.L. “Bubba” Copeland happened last Friday after a series of articles exposing his secret and private life by media outlet 1819 News, a mouthpiece for Southern Company and their wholly-owned-subsidiary Alabama Power.
On Monday (11/6/23), another Southern Company mouthpiece, Alabama Political Reporter viciously attacked 1819 News. Bill Britt, Editor-in-Chief, hypocritically wrote:
The media’s duty, in its purest form, is to hold the powerful accountable, to ensure that those who occupy public office adhere to their oaths, and to report on wrongdoing without fear or favor. However, the integrity of this duty is compromised when the media morph into moral adjudicators, keen on sensationalizing the personal lives of public figures to the point of persecution.
The case of 1819 News and their targeted exposé of Copeland’s personal life is a glaring example of crossing that sacred line. The conservative blog, with links to Alabama’s Republican political establishment, chose to unveil the private, consensual actions of Copeland—actions that took place within the sanctuary of his home, known and accepted by his wife, and hurting no one. . . .
It is particularly disturbing that the person steering this narrative, Bryan Dawson, president and CEO of 1819 News, comes with his own checkered past. A convicted felon turned fundamentalist, one would assume his own journey might incline him to empathy, to understanding the complexities of human identity and the path to self-acceptance. Yet, under his leadership, 1819 News has demonstrated a brazen disregard for these nuances, seeking instead to brandish sensationalism under the guise of public interest. . . .
In the case of 1819 News, while its donors are not publicly listed, the organization’s ties with the Alabama Policy Institute (API) and the reported involvement of notable conservative figures in its creation, such as former state senator Phil Williams and API’s then-president Caleb Crosby, give some indication of the kind of ideological framework from which it likely draws financial support. . . .
The lack of transparency regarding donor identities does pose questions about accountability. If these individuals or entities are proud of the work 1819 News is doing, one would expect them to stand by their convictions publicly. Yet, there is a marked absence of such disclosures. This opacity could suggest a discomfort with the outlet’s methods or an awareness of the potential backlash that might follow public association with such tactics.
In the shadowed corridors of power and influence, those who finance 1819 News and similar organizations may prefer to remain unnamed, but in doing so, they contribute to a culture where transparency is undervalued. This dynamic has detrimental effects on public trust, particularly when the news outlet becomes the story itself due to questionable reporting practices.
Bill Britt should look in a full-length mirror, Forbes suggests. Perhaps that is because these issues hit close to home for Forbes and others who have dared to look critically at scandals that have been swirling around Southern Company. Writes Forbes:
Alabama Political Reporter (APR) was paid $120,000 by Alabama Power in 2020 to attack us, the CDLU, this blog, and attorney Burt Newsome. APR wrote five smear pieces, and Hypocrite Britt himself shot the first salvo without even reaching out to us, as any real journalist would have done.
The five APR articles brandished sensationalism under the guise of public interest. APR, in the shadowed corridors of power and influence, was paid secretly by Alabama Power until documents were anonymously unveiled last year.
Britt and his colleague Josh Moon, who amputated his brain for Southern Company, appear to be nothing more than a bunch of Bangkok whores who sold themselves and their integrity for $10,000 a month.
At the time, Moon was a failed real-estate agent who had no listings and eventually let his real-estate license lapse. Not only did Moon smear the CDLU, Burt Newsome, and K.B. Forbes, he appears to have become obsessed, allegedly stalking us, our offices, and allegedly driving in front of Forbes’ family home.
As with many envelope journalists, the $10,000 a month was good enough to turn tricks.
Longtime attorney Donald Watkins has become a serious member of the investigative press, and he provides background on the Bubba Copeland story. Writes Forbes:
Now Donald Watkins reports another bombshell about the 1819 News reporter, Craig Monger, who wrote the devastating piece that led to the tragic suicide.
October 26, 2023, is the day the Monger family’s world crashed. According to the two bankruptcy filings, Tricord and Bobby Monger [Craig’s father and co-owner of Tricord] are flat broke.
Six days after the collapse of Tricord, Craig Monger published an online article in 1819 News that ended the world of Smiths Station, Alabama, Mayor Fred Lavon ”Bubba” Copeland in every way.
In addition to serving as Smiths Stations’ Mayor, Fred Copeland was a successful businessman who owned and operated The Country Market in the Salem community. Copeland also served as a pastor at the First Baptist Church of Phenix City, Alabama.
On November 1, 2023, Craig Monger “outed” Fred Copeland’s secret lifestyle as a cross-dresser. It appears that Copeland occasionally dressed as a woman and posted photos and comments about his feminine alter ego and persona as a woman.
On November 3, 2023, an emotionally distraught Fred Copeland killed himself with a firearm.
Fred Copeland leaves behind his loving wife, Angela Copeland, and three children.
Craig Monger knew, or reasonably should have known, that his article would make Copeland’s life unbearable in a deep “Red State” that is filled with hatred toward its LGBTQ+ citizens.
Forbes closes by raising a central question in all of this. He also exposes the juvenile depths to which some members of the Alabama media can stoop:
People are asking: Was Monger paid to do this hit piece? If so, who paid Monger? Over the weekend, an X exchange (formerly known as Twitter) between Josh Moon of APR and Jeff Poor of 1819 News, led to them blasting each other for the same offense: journalistic prostitution, also known as envelope journalism. The tweets were deleted, but the alleged media whores came out severely battered, with their egos bruised, and their stiletto heels broken.APR, 1819 News, Moon, Britt, and Monger appear to be paid smear artists, media whores, who cross-dress as journalists, not in private, but out in the open.
