Good afternoon,
A TV news veteran and Delaware native Paul Wilke have teamed up on a news website with a middle of the road stance and the unusual name Walking Duck.
Wilke is a long-time friend and former co-worker.
It isn’t easy being in the middle these days and the past four years have only widened the gap.
Walking Duck offers links to news stories from a variety of outlets. The goal is to provide content without the loaded language and heated rhetoric that make their way into coverage. You can check out their work at walkingduck.com.
Co-founders are Wilke and Mark Halperin.
Paul was born in Seaford and grew up in Wilmington. (Yes he is the son of a DuPonter). He returned to the state with bachelor’s degree in journalism from Syracuse University,
After a stint at selling cars and snapping up a black license plate, Paul came on board at the Delaware Business Review in the 1990s. When I moved on to the Business Ledger, Paul was named editor.
Later on, Paul took on what at the time was the arduous task of uploading stories to the Business Ledger’s website, perhaps the first of its kind in Delaware
Paul’s other career came in public relations where he worked for credit card giant VISA in Singapore and later San Francisco.
With his wife Audra, he founded Upright Position Communications in the Bay Area.
Halperin’s career on the other coast had its ups and downs.
He rose to prominence as an author and TV journalist. but was fired from left-leaning MSNBC after allegations of sexual harassment with female co-workers dating back to the ’90s when he was with the ABC network. He apologized and sought counseling.
A long-time fan, Wilke worked with the TV journalist on a path forward, stressing to female associates at the agency they could opt of any projects related to Halperin.
Of late, Halperin has been appearing on the NewsMax cable network with a show that fits in with his centrist stance. The show stands in contrast to the normal bill of fare at the network that has focused on claims of fraud in the election that sent Delaware’s Joe Biden to the White House.
The show, produced by Walking Duck, features focus group discussions from both sides of the spectrum. Halperin also has a daily newsletter “Wide World of News” that offers commentary and points to stories of interest.
Paul sees plenty of room in the middle for Walking Duck.
“As the daily news cycle continues to chum the waters with inaccuracies and over-the-top rhetoric, journalism seems to be broken: We watch, read, comment on, retweet and engage with reporting we wholeheartedly agree with and absorb what we find shocking. Truly unbiased information rapidly delivered remains in short supply,” he said.
Paul describes WalkingDuck.com “as part news analysis, part human-curated content designed to quickly, and accurately provide news stories to follow.”
Walking Duck Co-Founder Halperin said, “It’s the human-curation aspect that makes this distinctive. We will only post those stories that are credible. We are fact checking and eliminating left/right bias. Being informative is key – We’re not providing clickbait, nor will we put a story on Walking Duck for the sole purpose of generating views.”
Enjoy your evening. – Doug Rainey, chief content officer.