Unfortunately this is the Kansas City Star we're discussing, even if we posted our side to the story, they are notorious for removing content that is contrary to their agenda. So even if someone were well articulated and educated and gave a very valid and sound discourse concerning SB656, they'd never publish it in the paper, or they'd have it pulled down within an hour at the most from their website.
You say all that with absolute conviction, but do you have any actual experience with it? Hate to bust any bubbles, but reality is different. It's not hard to get published
if you know your stuff and your approach - that's crucial. But that's not even the problem. Been there done that. The difficulty is that they continually want different people, not the same people again, and it takes a fairly steady stream to influence people.
I'm amazed to see naive and accepting views about media and no tactical approach. I had some media training back in the day. Ah well, move on, nothing to see here. Real experience doesn't count for shucks, does it?