Governor Pillen criticized for comments about journalist
Governor Jim Pillen received criticism for his comments about journalist Yanqi Xu.
Xu is a reporter with the Flatwater Free Press, an independent Nebraska newspaper based in Omaha. In an article published on Sept. 7, 2023, she examined the issue of nitrate contamination with livestock facilities owned by Pillen and his family.
Pillen and his family have owned or operated 108 livestock facilities throughout Nebraska. Twenty-seven of the facilities are required by state law to have monitoring wells installed. She found that 16 of the 27 wells have been recorded as having nitrate levels about 50 parts per million, five times above the limit set by the Safe Drinking Water Act. While no one is drinking from these wells, Xu argued that the nitrates moving with the groundwater is a cause of concern for individuals living downstream.
Waste from concentrated livestock production is a major cause of nitrate contamination in groundwater. Excess consumption of nitrates has been linked to many health conditions including childhood cancer, thyroid disease, birth defects and blue baby syndrome.
Xu’s article also reported that a dozen Pillen Family Farm livestock operations have violated state regulations in the past 30 years.
Several days after the article was published, Governor Pillen appeared on KFAB, a commercial radio station in Omaha. He was asked about the article and responded: “Number one, I didn’t read it. And I won’t. Number two, all you got to do is look at the author. The author is from communist China. What more do you need to know?”
Matt Wynn, Flatwater Free Press Executive Director, responded to Pillen’s comment in a column published on Oct. 17. He criticized Pillen for writing off Xu’s work simply based on her country of origin. He wrote, “As an employer, that infuriates me. As a believer in democracy and a free press, it saddens me. As a Nebraskan, it embarrasses me.”
Wynn’s article details Xu’s life. She grew up in China, studied international journalism and English in Beijing before getting her master’s at the University of Missouri-Columbia. She has lived in the United States since 2017 and has been employed by the Flatwater Free Press for two years. She is currently pursuing a second master-degree in analytics and was awarded with a O-1 visa, reserved for those with “extraordinary ability by sustained national or international acclaim.”
Pillen has also been criticized for the hypocrisy of his statement. His phone call was made from Japan, where he was on a trade mission for Nebraska. Before being asked about Xu’s article he spoke about the state’s relationship with Japan and stated, “Our history’s really simple. We’ve had Japanese immigrants, over a hundred years ago, that helped in agriculture and building our railroads. We are the most welcoming state in the country.”
Xu has received public support from state lawmakers, the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, the Asian American Journalists Association, and the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN). The INN honored Xu with the 2023 annual Insight Award for Explanatory Journalism for her series, “Our Dirty Water,” which looked into the larger issue of nitrate water contamination. INN’s announcement for the award concludes with, “Following Xu’s reporting, the state’s legislature introduced four new water quality bills.”
On Oct. 20, Pillen made his first public appearance since Wynn’s article was published. Pillen stated, “I’m not going to talk about any reporter. I’m not going to talk about any sideshows. I’m focused on my job.” When asked if he stood by his remarks, Pillen responded, “My comments were my comments. That’s what I have to say about it.”
By Aubrey Benton