Brett Reese, the radio station owner and Greeley school board member who aired broadcasts labeling civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. a "sexual degenerate" and "communist," is looking to expand his local media empire beyond FM-104.7 KELS The Pirate. His target: the Greeley Tribune, the longstanding daily newspaper that diligently covered the MLK controversy that put the city in the spotlight last month—from Reese's claims that he received threats and would carry a gun to school board meetings to the board distancing itself from Reese. 

In an ad posted on Craigslist for his news website, the Greeley Gazette, which also followed the board meetings, Reese offers a taste of the battle lines ahead: "We are a small band of ruffians interested in the truth and in balancing the lefties at The Tribune by catering to Republicans and free thinking moderates in Greeley." He adds: "Notorious boss Brett Reese, thats [sic] me, and wonderful pranksters to write beside."

A call to Reese earlier this morning has not yet been returned.

Asked if the Tribune has a leftist bias, editor Randy Bangert, points out via e-mail that the paper endorsed Republicans Ken Buck and Cory Gardner in the November midterm elections. "Two years ago we endorsed Marilyn Musgrave, and I recall doing a count: Out of 12 political races in which we endorsed, nine were Republicans," Bangert writes. "But Brett loves to just throw out things that have no basis in fact (i.e., 'I am the number one radio station in Greeley.'). And, of course, every community has some readers who define 'fair and balanced' as endorsing 12 out of 12 Republicans, or 12 out of 12 Democrats.

"We're almost always somewhere in between those extremes, which means we're obviously run by the leftist media conglomerate conspiracy, or whatever Rush and Glenn are calling us these days," he adds, humorously. "Sorry I don't have time to comment more on this issue but I have to run to our weekly leftist conspiracy meeting. Our high school sports coverage is clearly leaning to the left, and as a card-carrying member of the leftist media conglomerate conspiracy, I need to get that straightened out."