Michael Armstrong: former editor of the Homer News

Former editor of the Homer News Michael Armstrong moved to Alaska from Florida in 1979. After over a decade in Anchorage working as a freelance reporter at the ADN and as an adjunct English professor at UAA, he and his wife Jenny Stroyek moved to Homer when Jenny became co-owner of the Homer Bookstore. In 1999, Michael  began work at the Homer News, where he remained until 2022 retiring as editor of that paper. Michael has published many short stories in publications like “The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction” as well as numerous anthologies. His novels include After the Zap, Agvik, Bridge over Hell, The Hidden War, and Truck Stop Earth.   

Context for today's episode:

On September 10, conservative political organizer Charlie Kirk was assassinated while speaking at Utah Valley University. On September 17, hundreds of mourners gathered on the beach in Homer to remember the slain activist at a memorial service partially organized by Alaska State House Representative Sarah Vance. Homer News journalist Chloe Pleznak attended that outdoor memorial service, live streamed parts of it, and wrote a story about it that appeared in the September 25th edition of the paper. Rep. Vance took offense to the coverage provided by Pleznak. In a September 25th letter to the Executive Vice President of Sound Publishing John Carr and the CEO of Carpenter Media Tim Prince, the corporate owners of Homer News, she expressed her outrage, calling out the use of terms such as "far right" and "Christian nationalist" as prejudicial labels. She went on to highlight what she considers to be the “historic bias” of the Homer News and stated that: “this article represents the peak of a long-standing pattern of left-wing slant.” She concluded by warning that if the paper continues its partisan spin, “the consequence will be financial as well as reputational.”

The result was that Carpenter Media removed Pleznak’s article from the Homer News website and later replaced it with an edited version that removed Pleznak’s byline. 

The social media commentary in both conservative and progressive circles was fierce, with folks on the right arguing that the Homer News should be ashamed of its biased coverage, and with those on the left arguing that the unauthorized editing of Pleznak’s article without input from either her or her editor Erin Thompson was un-American censorship.

EXCERPTS FROM REP. VANCE LETTER (read full letter here):

'Dear Mr. Carr,

'I am writing to express my outrage over the article, "Homer holds vigil for Charlie Kirk," published in the Homer News on Tuesday, September 3, 2025.

'The piece is not journalism, but rather it is hate-baiting at its worst . . .

'From the opening paragraphs, reporter Chloe Pleznac branded Charlie Kirk with prejudicial labels such as "far-right" and "Christian-Nationalist icon," while smearing his views as "racist," "controversial," and "conspiracy theories." These are not facts; they are editorial judgements and political talking points. . . .

'And let me be clear, this is not an isolated lapse. The historic bias of the Homer News is widely recognized in the community, and this article represents the peak of a long-standing pattern of left-wing slant. . . .

'If the paper continues to treat community events as opportunities for partisan spin, the consequence will be financial as well as reputational. . . .

'I urge you to take immediate corrective action.'