I’m sad – and a bit relieved – to report that TLO is still the Rodney Dangerfield of the local media.
We can’t get any respect!
I was reminded of this earlier this week when Yawn Doc reported that Paul “Big Text” Bondar – the longtime Oklahoma family man who obviously has no connections to Russia – filed a lawsuit against various media outlets for libel and defamation, and that we weren’t one of them.
Former political candidate Paul Bondar is seeking more than $10 million in alleged damages from Gannett, Nexstar Media Group, ABC News, and the Americans 4 Security PAC for defamation he claims to have faced while trying to unseat Oklahoma’s most powerful congressman…
Bondar is suing Gannett because The Oklahoman reported that Bondar was living in a condominium owned by a man with connections to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Bondar is suing Nexstar because the news outlet reported that it could not confirm Bondar was a resident of Oklahoma. An ABC News affiliate also reported that “Bondar’s wife may have a loose connection to a Russian pop star who has received awards from Putin” — a tie that Bondar’s campaign rejects.
Seriously, what do we have to do to get noticed around here?!
I’m pretty sure we were the first media outlet to mock Bondar for campaigning in an SUV with Texas plates and even shared pics of his vehicle!
We also lampooned Paul Bondar when he aired that commercial where his opponents looked like they were being forced by Russian assassins to give lukewarm endorsements of his campaign:
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsPaul Bondar is so desperate that he's running campaign ads promoting hypothetical endorsements. Good stuff.. pic.twitter.com/j9pVxpUXge
— The Lost Ogle (@TheLostOgle) June 18, 2024
In addition to all that, we were the only local media outlet to share pics of Bondar mourning his massive election defeat the following day at a DFW-area Buc-ee’s:
Despite all this, we didn’t get one token or courtesy mention or shout-out by Bondar in his frivolous lawsuit. Sure, I know we don’t have things like “assets” and that we get to hide behind the “Hey, it’s all just satire!” excuse, but they could have at least mentioned us in a footnote.
Who knows? Maybe Bondar was flattered by our endorsement of his campaign and decided to save us from the headaches and legal costs associated with a frivolous lawsuit!
You can read more about Bondar’s lawsuit over at Yawn Doc.
Outside of being reminded of our irrelevance, the big revelation for me is that Bondar apparently wasted $6 million on the race:
“In his lawsuit petition, Bondar claims a ‘loss’ of $6 million he ‘invested’ into his ill-fated run for Congress… Bondar also claims the reporting damaged an ongoing business relationship with Alera Group, Inc., an insurance conglomerate that purchased Bondar Insurance Group in 2021. Bondar has remained with the company as a managing partner of the subsidiary bearing his surname.”
Paul Bondar spent $6 million trying to buy a Congressional seat in Oklahoma and didn't spend one dime with us! The insults just pile up!
I know TV commercials, radio ads, and Oklahoma car rentals can be expensive, but spending $6 million of your own money to unseat one of Oklahoma's most powerful and well-connected politicians is stupid and dumb! Instead of suing the media, he should be suing his brain.
Stay with The Lost Ogle. We’ll keep you advised.
