Alaska journalists resign over article edits following lawmaker pressure

Four journalists at the Homer News, Juneau Empire and Peninsula Clarion newspapers in Alaska have resigned over a decision by the newspapers’ owner to revise a published article about a vigil for right-wing activist Charlie Kirk following pressure from a Republican state lawmaker on Sept. 24, 2025.

Hundreds of people gathered Sept. 17 in the small town of Homer in southern Alaska at a vigil for Kirk, who was shot and killed in Utah on Sept. 10. The original Homer News article about the vigil identified Kirk as “a far-right political activist and Christian-Nationalist icon.”

Rep. Sarah Vance, a Republican state lawmaker from Homer who helped organize the vigil, criticized the article for what she described as “hate-baiting bias” and called for it to be edited. “If the paper continues to treat community events as opportunities for partisan spin, the consequences will be financial as well as reputational,” she wrote in a Sept. 24 Facebook post.

The newspaper’s owner, Carpenter Media Group, later removed, edited and reposted the story, which prompted the four journalists to resign in protest. Carpenter Media owns hundreds of newspapers throughout the United States and Canada.

In their joint resignation letter Sept. 29, the four journalists said Carpenter Media changed the Kirk article without consulting them. “What we do have a problem with is Carpenter Media management changing a story at the behest of an elected official. We believe this destroys the credibility the public has placed in us as reporters and editors,” the letter said.

The letter continued: “The willingness to acquiesce to a public official’s editorial demands and have conversations with her about the direction of our coverage is a betrayal not just of the journalists who work for Carpenter Media, but of the company’s integrity as a purveyor of news.”

The journalists gave two weeks’ notice, according to the letter, but Carpenter Media fired all four immediately, according to local media reports.

Carpenter Media president Tim Prince told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that the company stood by its decision to edit the article because it “fell well short of our standards and those of unbiased community journalism.”

Chloe Pleznac, who wrote the original article and was among those who resigned, defended her original characterization of Kirk in an interview with Juneau-based radio station KTOO.

“Vance said I should have published the original article as an opinion piece because of the language I used to report the opinions that Kirk regularly, proudly espoused,” Pleznac said. “My reporting of those opinions is not a reflection of my bias but rather a reflection of my research.”

The three others who resigned include Erin Thompson, who was the regional editor of the Homer News, Peninsula Clarion and the Juneau Empire; Peninsula Clarion sports and features editor Jeff Helminiak; and Peninsula Clarion reporter Jake Dye.