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What is the standard? The effect of printing news not fit to print.
WPCNR REPORTING TODAY. News & Comment By John F. Bailey. June 11, 2023:
Since when is a state convention in Georgia worth covering by a national newspaper based in New York, worth a front page of “analysis”?
It’s not.
When, when in one week the state houses of New York State blamed Governor Kathy Hochul for failure to address the affordable housing needs in the state, when the State Senators and Assembly members simply refused to go along with Governor Hochul’s setting quotas for affordable housing that each town had to provide.
This decision of the affordable housing shortage was simply a perpetuation of the redlining and restrictive zoning that towns and villages have used for years to prevent townhouse developments, small and large apartments from being built in the suburban (read mostly white) communities across the state.
The paper I read this morning has not to my knowledge front-paged that prejudiced, self-interested, “keep-my-constituents-happy policy they decided to support . The Hochul Housing Compact plan provided money for units to be built over 8 years. It required movement on affordable housing developments by the communities. But no, the feckless State Senate by their rejection of throwing out zoning as a restriction to such development, went with their self-interest, continuing to allow prejudiced zoning laws – when everyone in White Plains knows that in White Plains there is always the “Special Permit” process for changing zoning.
This morning’s paper instead analyzed a speech given by an ex-President highlighting a state convention ¾ of the country away.
In a week when, when, this same paper, chose to ignore the State Senate and Assembly swift passage of a bill requested by White Plains to allow White Plains to entertain offers for their parking garage that is part of The Galleria now owned by Pacific Retail Partners (site plan still awaited).
The proposal was sent to the State Senator (Shelley Mayer) who sponsored the bill three days BEFORE the council filed and spread to themselves and city departments. What? That’s what the description of the bill said in the state’s bill description, (received June 2, passed Wednesday June 6, and on Friday it was passed by the Assembly. Now Governor Hochul has to sign it. This was never reported by the paper I read this morning.
This was far bigger a story locally because it affects a major possible development in White Plains and sets a new policy that could affect other developments in Westchester, New York City and Long Island.
So those two stories of tremendous impact on development and addressing needs of Westchester County and all suburbs were not important? Come on: it shows how governments work. They are not transparent to the citizens and they have their own agendas. They do what they want. They use legislation that damages politicians they want to defeat in the future, or get rid of. (See the Andrew Cuomo harassment-resignation scenario).
But wait, you defend the perpetuation of discredited politician’s message to a nondescript state wide convention because he’s national figure? Because he is good copy? Because he is news? The analysis of that speech amplified a message that was neither something new, conciliatory (which would have been news)? The speech they gave “most-important place in the paper” had no news in it.
News, editors, means something people need to know about that affects your life. Why did they need to know what this person said when what could be construed to be a call to take violent action against the higest placed leaders in this country. This is rogue news judgment. It’s chasing readership, advertising dollars because it gains eyeballs.
Oh, there’s another story not being reported.
Sunday most every town supervisor, village head and county leader in the state are outraged that a bill passed by the assembly Friday made all towns villages across the state switch their elections to coincide with national and state elections in November. The bill was sponsored by State Senator Amy Paulin in the State Senate and State Senator from the NY 42nd district.
The trouble is, the State Senate did not tell all the town village and county leaders about it.
What? Three secret Albany decisions passed without telling people they were going to do this?
THAT isn’t news in the opinions of other media other than myself???
Clue to editors: secret lawmaking is news. Coverups are news. Decisions made in secret because a city, or politically connected politicians want them are news, especially when passed in the last week of a state legislature session.
They in their always smug, cavalier cleverness kept it secret. It is defended as saving towns, villages, and counties in the state as a money saving boon for the villages towns and counties. It is derided by the leaders as defocusing importance of local elections.
By the way the Albany leadership put out a news release blaming Governor Hochul for failure to address the housing issue. They did not put out news releases on switching election day or approving the White Plains right to sell the Galleria Parking Garage.
Journalism cannot continue sensationalism without responsibility.
Journalism schools must take a look at the outmoded journalism commandments of their traditions of the past, the very nature of which have been responsible for aiding and abetting the greatest killers and crimes of our country.
There was the usurping of Indian lands under the happy talk of manifest destiny; endorsement of the slave trade, making heroes of leaders of organized crime; the refusal to help the Armenians, not granting amnesty to Jews fleeing Nazi Germany; glamourizing Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Senator Joseph McCarthy, General Patton, and again this morning they did it again on the front page.
The press today is more in love with lunatics who provide good copy. No matter how lunatic they are. Why does the mad bomber deserve a half page obituary? This is another eyeball story today. The death of a mass murderer deserves one paragraph not an apology for the action and what caused it.
Unfortunately this is the perpetuation of judgment of the past being upgraded to give newspapers and media more say in swaying what they think is right or want.
I wrestle every day whether I should report certain stories, press releases, letters and news conferences I can report on (if I chose to).
I weigh whether (if I print it), will I promote a cause/objective that will do harm, incite people to violence, damage a person, hurt progress (see how judgment becomes non objective?)
Journalism has not gotten it yet.
Television news, the business press, the national newspapers controlled by multi-millionaires, use objective reporting to run their pages red with violence and reports of conflicting opinions and covering new leaders and personalities with no sense of news judgment and the lack of news judgment creates.
This has resulted to supporting political positions they see as being to their advantage.
They have consistently covering highly visible, colorful, and outspoken, shout-the loudest Senators Representatives, Governors as news.
Editors have to wake up and smell the coffee—black coffee.
Printing stories recounting lies, threats, exhortations to violence, toying with thousands of refugees and treating them like ant colonies, generate subtle messages to persons who really believe these things that these positions are OK.
Printing polls is another example of printing hypothetical maybe facts. They amplify false support. Lull the public to complacency with over confidence.
The debacle of mistrust in this country has in good part been created by the media of today and the lack of ethics in business conduct in the market place.
Let us start by asking hard questions in news conferences.
Let us stop putting on sensational eye candy of politicians pontificating, leaders giving positive news that isn’t news, analysis that that ignores the consequences of the message.
Get the cameras out of nations not in this country.
Let’s get back to the local the only place that matters to the people who live here.
Report Policy not opinion. What they will do, not what they say others should do. Report specifics.
Stop the coverage of accidents.
Stop coverage of demonstrations.
Stop second-guessing legal decisions, what they mean. You do not know.
Go for the truth always not hyperbole.
Take analysis out of news articles.
The press electronic and print should go with
Who. What. When. Why. How. If they can’t tell you report they didn’t.
Do not print any of the news that isn’t fit to print.