COEUR d’ALENE, Idaho — Dave Miller, owner of Lyfe Public House in downtown Coeur d’Alene, has taken his grievance against the Hagadone Corporation that owns the Coeur d’Alene Press public on November 25 via video posts on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
“The Coeur d’Alene Press is owned by Hagadone Hospitality and the Coeur d’Alene Resort, that whole corporation,” stated Miller while standing in front of the Coeur d’Alene Press building on November 24. “The reason why that is significant is because they have been able to control or greatly influence the narrative of the news and actually what gets covered here in our community.”
Growing up, we got the Press everyday…It wasn’t until I got older that I realized there might be an agenda or there might be a narrative that [the Press] is trying to paint.
Dave Miller
Miller used his own experience with the Press as an example.
On January 2, 2022, Miller opened Lyfe Public House on Lakeside between First and Second Street. “I got called right away by the Press,” he shared. The paper wanted to do a piece on his new coffee shop, and he believed it would be a good way to share his heart and vision with the community.
“The interview was actually pretty strange,” Miller continued. The article by Hannah Neff came out on January 5. “The article said ‘Coffee’s not all that’s brewing’ with a large picture of my daughter.” He describes how the article began with ‘coffee, tea and controversy?’ and that it was written with quotes from people in the community who were not associated with Lyfe given more prominence over his own quotes.
“They [the Press] were painting us as a far-right group,” said Miller. He continued by explaining how the article spent more time discussing politics than it did sharing the opening of his new coffee shop.
“Why would they paint us as a far-right company? Why would they talk about J6? Why would they not quote me until page 6, 7, or 8, whenever it was,” he asked.
I actually wish I had the article, but I threw it away because it was garbage in my mind.
Dave Miller
Miller described being upset about how the Press portrayed him and his business only three days after it opened. “They were painting me in a picture without allowing people to ever get to know me.”
I’m a pretty simple guy. I try to live life by loving God, loving my family, loving our country, loving our community, and I love freedom.
Dave Miller
He believes the article was intended to keep people away from Lyfe Coffee House. “The part of the community that leans left was obviously upset…the people that are kinda in the middle are thinking ‘Man, I don’t really want to be associated with a far-right organization’…I felt like I was taking a hit my third day open.”
However, Miller said the most upsetting aspect was how the Press placed a large picture of his daughter as the main image, making her face the feature of its contrived political narrative.
In a Facebook video posted on November 12, Miller shared how the Hagadone Corporation had recently purchased the property where Lyfe is located with plans to tear it down. He publicly lambasted Hagadone Corporation CEO Bill Reagan for “immoral and unethical” business practices. While Reagan maintains all actions by the large property development and hospitality company are perfectly legal, Miller said he told Reagan “that doesn’t make it right” and will not be intimidated or silenced.
If you read an article by Hagadone’s paper…understand there might be an agenda. Understand there might be a narrative they are trying to convey.
Dave Miller
Miller ends the video with, “The reason why I am sharing this story is because I’ve thought about all of the small businesses…where an article might come out and paint them in a certain light…Man, give these small businesses a chance.”
Owning a small business is tough enough. We do not need a huge corporation that owns the media to come after us. It’s just not right.
Dave Miller
Editor’s Note: Normally, Kootenai Journal would send a request for comment to the Hagadone Corporation, however, since it owns the Coeur d’Alene Press, it has a large publishing footprint and is capable of commenting on its own.
