Yesterday in Tinley Park, IL, the 20th anniversary Farm Aid concerts took place. There was much controversy, as the day before the Chicago Tribune, citing IRS records, claimed that just 28% of the funds raised by Farm Aid goes to those who the organization is supposed to be helping: family farmers.
The Tribune article did not go unnoticed yesterday at the shows:
From the Daily Herald:
In its span of 20 years, Farm Aid has long named corporate farms and unfair government policy as the twin foes in its battle to save the family farm.
But during its daylong anniversary concert in Tinley Park Sunday, the chief nemesis named onstage and off was the Chicago Tribune.
The newspaper ran a story Saturday that cast a pall over the organization's festivities, reporting the charity organization spent less then 28 percent of its revenue in its mission to help the family farmer.
The story was publicly met with denouncements of the newspaper from artists: Farm Aid co-founder Neil Young tore the paper in two during a morning press conference.
In the middle of his band's set at the Tweeter Center, Wilco leader Jeff Tweedy said, "Chicago Tribune, you should be ashamed of yourself I don't care if you say one nice thing about us again. You (expletive) up."
During a backstage interview with the Daily Herald Sunday, Glenda Yoder, associate director with Farm Aid, said the story was "highly inaccurate."
Curiously, as of this writing, there is no mention of the Farm Aid backlash against the Chicago Tribune in either the Trib's print or online editions.
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