Peak News, the “citizen journalism” initiative led by conservative activists and political figures, held a webinar last week with historian and Christian conspiracist William Federer and Colorado Springs School District 11 (D11) Superintendent Michael Gaal encouraging supporters to “Take the Media Back.”
Federer gave a long-winded presentation on how the liberal media has betrayed people, drawing connections between public relations pioneer Edward Bernays and Social Emotional Learning, which Federer described as “weaponized loneliness.”
As a Charis Bible College instructor and board member of Truth and Liberty, Federer has long been involved in causes close to the Christian right. He was recently featured in Seth Gruber’s anti-abortion film “The 1916 Project” and last summer criss-crossed Colorado spreading conspiracy theories peppered with John Birch Society talking points and a rehashing of Pat Robertson’s 1991 conspiracy tome “The New World Order.”
“Federer is going to be sharing the history of the media’s betrayal, how the media that’s supposed to be serving the public good has actually become a tool of the government, of corporations, and is manipulating us,” explained Chaim Goldman, the founder and host of Peak News and the organizer behind Church Voter Guides. “We all know what’s going on, and it’s sad, but what can we do about it? Well, we’ll talk about that tonight by explaining the peak news model.”
Earlier this month D11’s majority-conservative Board of Education approved Peak News’ “Professional Media Practicum” course, to be offered through D11’s Odyssey Early College and Career Options, by an instructor provided by Peak News. In an Aug. 14, 2024 letter, Gaal expressed his support for Peak News and Goldman’s proposed class.
“I am writing to express my enthusiastic support for the Journalistic Ethics and Vocational Training Program proposed by Executive Director Chaim Goldman and the esteemed Board of Directors of your organization,” said Gaal. “As an educator deeply committed to fostering the development of responsible and skilled students, I recognize the crucial need for such a program in today’s rapidly evolving media landscape.”
During the May 7 D11 board meeting, where Goldman’s class was approved, board member Julie Ott raised questions about Peak News’ supporters and conservative ideological bent.
“My concern is several things,” said Ott. “The internship opportunities don’t appear to be defined beyond this one news organization, and to me that’s concerning because this particular news organization admits to and encourages what might be considered bias in its own programming, and if students’ values don’t align with that, my concern is that they’re in a internship, work-based learning environment, they may not get the promotion or other opportunities other students might have.”
Salem Media, Goldman’s employer and the host of the Peak News program, is currently involved in a defamation lawsuit from former Dominion Voting Systems executive Eric Coomer after former KNUS radio host Randy Corporon platformed Douglas County podcaster Joe Oltmann, whose claims about an alleged “antifa conference call” have been ruled “probably false” by a Denver District Court judge. Last year, Salem Media, the company behind the conspiracy film “2,000 Mules,” issued an apology and said it would halt distribution of the film and remove both the film and book from its platforms.
“My understanding is that this class is going to teach objective journalism, radio broadcasting, and ethics regarding journalism without exposing our students to any specific ideologies,” said D11 Board President Parth Melpakam in response to Ott’s concerns.
However, from Goldman to the “esteemed” board of directors mentioned by Gaal, to their “citizen journalists,” Peak News is closely aligned with conservative Republican politics. Their board of directors includes John Graham, a former District 49 board member and Leadership Program of the Rockies alum, Andrew Dalby, a former conservative candidate for Colorado Springs Mayor, and Jeff Anderson, the faith advisor for U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank (R-CO) and former U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn.
Peak News’ citizen journalists are equally invested in conservative politics. “We’re putting Zach Goldman, who’s my son, he’s been interning here for a year,” said Goldman. “Jordan Baldwin, who is our number one investigative journalist, and a whole bunch of others, but we didn’t want to give their names and photos because they’re out there.”
Baldwin is a regular presence at anti-LGBTQ protests. During a February event in support of transgender people, Baldwin was confronted by members of Parasol Patrol, the group providing security and serving as marshals for the march. At one point, Baldwin brandished a can of mace. Weeks later, Baldwin testified in support of Rep. Scott Bottoms’ (R-Colorado Springs) bill to make bringing a minor from another state to Colorado for abortion or gender-affirming care a class 2 felony.
During last year’s presentations at churches across Colorado, Federer, who appeared in last week’s webinar alongside Goldman and Gaal, also expressed opposition toward transgender people. “They want to take away your rights and freedoms, and they want their Satanist theocracy, right?” said Federer during a July 16 event in Del Norte. “They have transgender dominionism. If you don’t go along with that, they want to cancel you.”
Federer also accused “the globalists” of working to infiltrate Christianity. “It’s interesting, the same globalists —remember we talked about globalists — Rockefellers, the Soroses, the same globalists that are giving money to woke seminaries so they’ll teach the Christians not to get involved in politics,” he claimed. “They’re giving money to the LGBTQ activists to get them involved … They’re giving money to silence the Christians. They’re giving money that activate their supporters.”
Due to an unspecified emergency, Gaal was unable to speak during the webinar with Goldman and Federer, logging off just before his presentation was scheduled to begin. Peak News’ class will be available for students during the 2025-2026 school year, and Goldman claims they will be able to receive college credit for the course through Pikes Peak State College.
