Friday, June 27, 2014

How Local TV News Make Millions Rehabilitating Candidates, Lobbying on Issues While Dumbing Down the Public 838



Local TV Which Does Not Cover Govt Makes Millions Off of Special Interest Ads to Influence Govt

Education War TVAds
Organizations on both sides of the education battle are spending big, with pro-charter groups and the state teachers union spending $757,093 in January and February alone, State of Politics reports:  * Spending on advertising has fueled the increase in TV lobbying costs. Well-funded special interests funnel millions to lobbyists for public campaigns to sway lawmakers on hot-button issues (TU)  Local News which is mainly weather, traffic, cooking and dog segments is making millions in lobbyists spending.  Union and business interest like the pro fracking interest are also spending millions on ads to local stations.  All this money is coming in as local news dumbs down.  Local TV stations stand to profit from boom in super-PAC spending (The Hill)*CSNY’s budget blitz: $3.9 million (updated)(TU) *Save NY airing tax cap ad(TU) *Budget opponents up their ads and mailers(TU) *Bloomberg Blames Negative Ads For Poor Showing In Education ...(Politico) *Save NY now airs on school money(TU) *NYC's Bloomberg Pays for TV Ads Backing Cuomo's Pension *  Bloomberg Defends His Administration With TV Ad - NY1.com * Local TV News For $ale: How Special Interests Control News Content and Public Opinion


NYS Comptroller Audit Exposes Start Up Waste
Start-Up NY More A Public Relations TV Ad for Cuomo Than A Jobs Program
Audit exposes wasted effort in Cuomo’s ‘Start Up’ program (NYP)  An audit to be released Monday by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli raises “real doubts’’ about the value of Gov. Cuomo’s $200 million-plus “Start Up NY’’ advertising campaign to attract businesses to... * The Times examines the goals, success and questions stemming from Cuomo’s Start-Up New York economic development initiative, and notes that the approved businesses are mostly mom-and-pop operations: * Dan Janison examines the tension between the governor and state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli over START-UP NY ad spending by ESDC.* Most New Yorkers support Start-Up NY,a tax-free incentive for businesses to operate at or around state colleges.   (WNYC)
TheDem assemblyman charged with overseeing economic development says it was amistake to boost $ for Start-UP NY (Capital) * The promotional campaign for Start-Up NY has cost taxpayers $53 million since the its inception in late 2013, while the program has led to $1.7 million in private investment and 76 jobs so far, GannettAlbany reports: * Cuomo’s job creation program Start-Up NY didn’t deserve the $50 million in extra advertising money it swept from the New York Power Authority in this year’s state budget,according to Assemblyman Robin Schimminger.* Andrew Kennedy, chairman of the Start-UP NY approval board, said the job creation program is “on its way towards those thousands of jobs” after officials questioned its effectiveness, Capital New York reports: * Editiorial: Cuomo's Start-Up NY plan slow to pay off so far (NYDN) * Government logic: Spending $28M to create 76 jobs (NYP Ed) *  
Cuomo's Start Up NY is a nonstarter:(CrainsNY) Reminder: Cuomo's Start Up NY spent $28M for 76 jobs. NY's own estimate was ''fracking,''with NO gov't subsidy, could create 25,000 jobs! * The Post’s Kyle Smith writes that Cuomo’s Start-Up NY program does too little for very few businesses and doesn’t justify the investment the state has made in the program:

 An unlikely coalition from New York’s political right and left has called for the suspension of Cuomo’s Start-Up NY economic development program following reports of modest initial success and significant marketing costs.* Strange Bedfellows Unite Against START-UP (YNN) * A group of liberal and conservative groups called on the state to stop adding new businesses to START-UP NY while the state Comptroller’s Office audits the economic development program, State of Politicsreports * Cuomo’s projections for START-UP NY are not impressive, with the nine out-of-state companies on the 2014 list pledging to create 451 jobs based on a $4.3 million investment, E.J. McMahonwrites in City Journal: * The New Yorkgovernor’s #EconomicDevelopmentprogram is heavy on hype but light on #jobs * The Times Union writes that the state Board of Elections perpetuates a blatant loophole in campaign finance rules in refusing to close the LLC loophole, bowing to their political masters: * Cuomo defended the START-UP program, calling it “inarguable,” and said the report from his own ESDC that found the effort had produced just 76 jobs in a year was “misleading.”An audit of the advertising contract for Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Start-Up NY program “is being finalized” and “will be announced shortly,” DiNapoli said. * DiNapoli: ‘No Tangible Results’ From ESDC Advertising (YNN) * An audit from Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s office found the state’s $211 million ad campaign to promote economic development programs and attract businesses to the state has not produced any “tangible results,” State of Politicsreports:  *One Cuomo administration official, when asked about the slow growth of, and outlook for, START-UP NYfurnished a NY Times reporter with a children’s poem about a blossoming garden: “Dig In,” by George Shannon. “Plant a little. Plant a lot,” the poem reads. “Plant the seeds and bulbs you bought.”* Editorial: Start-up NY failing to deliver promisedjobs   via @pressconnects

When Dies Most New Yorker Will Be Left With Is Shit TV Local News 
A ‘Darker Narrative’ of Print's Future From Clay Shirky (NYT) The New York University professor and author responds to my column on print’s importance to The Times.* The Newspaper of Record offers a revealing hit parade.
Today the Media Protect the Corrupt Political Bosses, Ignaoring the Unfair Advantage Data and Field Gave Candidates in 2009, or PACs in 2013  




Morning News Incessant Giggling All the News You Could Use?
When did local morning news shows become so contaminated with incessant giggling? I know it's a ancient refrain, I know it's not new, but this morning in particular the sound of mindless chortling seems even more annoying than usual. I think they could save oodles of dough by just having a laugh track. Don't get me wrong, the well-placed cachinnation is completely acceptable but when it becomes the source of much of the promised news heft, then we have a problem, Houston. More Lionel



Local TV That Dumbs Down NYers Will Make Millions in 421-a Ad Wars
Real State Industry Joins 421a Air War (YNN) With the clock ticking in Albany and the rent laws set to expire next month, a new coalition led by downstate real estate interests is launching a multimillion dollar campaign in favor of a “revised” version of the controversial 421a tax abatement program it insists will result in more affordable housing in New York City.  The Affordable Hosing and Local Jobs Now Coalition’s campaign features a TV ad, which will start airing on broadcast and cable stations in NYC and Albany today, as well as radio and paid digital ads. The ad, which was made by Global Strategy Group and can be viewed below, slams “special interests” pushing for a “deceptive wage proposal” to be included in 421a that would “stop builders from hiring local workers, severely restricting new affordable housing construction and denying thousands of families a place to call home.” That’s a reference to the coalition group UP4NYC, formed by labor unions and contractors, which earlier this month launched its own multimillion dollar campaign calling for 421a to be modified to guarantee higher wages for construction workers. In fact, the Real Estate Board of New York – or REBNY, which is the driving force behind the Affordable Housing and Local Jobs Now Coalition – supports de Blasio’s affordable housing plan, and is calling on Albany lawmakers to approve it before the session’s scheduled end next month. Members of the new coalition also include the NYS Association for Affordable Housing, the Community Preservation Corporation and the NAACP.* Poll Gives Thumbs Up to Start-Up NY Despite Criticism  (WNYC)




The Media War On An Informed Citizenry  

How Is News Coverage Effect By Journalists Looking for High Paid Lobbyist and Govt Flack Jobs 
Lisberg From Daily News Reporter to MTA Flack
Room 9 reporter leaves City Hall beat to joinconsulting firm (NYDN) A City Hall reporter is leaving behind the cramped press room known as "room 9." El Diario’s senior political reporter Marlene Peralta, 34, is joining the consulting firm Progressive Cities, founded last year by Dan Morris. “Marlene has a deep understanding of what drives news coverage and how press coverage can inform the decisions of elected officials and government agencies in cities,” said Morris in announcing his first hire.

As Reporters Look to Become Lobbyists or Govt Flack Local TV Makes Millions Off of Campaign and Public Interests Tax Payer Funded Commercials While Dumbing Down New Yorkers 
In 2009 when Tom Robbins wrote The Mayor's Press Pass, in the Village Voice it look like independent media coverage of politics was dead and Bloomberg would control news coverage for good. Since the Robbins story lobbyists has gained power over the news media using the advertising dollars they control, in influencing what news stories are covered and how they are covered. Now five years later we not only see new full of fluff and none coverage of issues important to New Yorkers like a closing hospital and a governors race. We also see very little  investigative independent journalism like Robbins, Jack Newfield and Wayne Barrett produced for years at the voice.  Just ask the biggest corruption fighter in town today, U.S. Attorney who criticized the lack of investigating reporting in today's NYC media. Newspaper gives vote of approval to paying political candidates (New York World) * A Takeover Of Journalism by Lobbyist and Politicians (2011 True News)Shrinking Newspaper Coverage Means Less Real TV News More Sexy Reporters(True News)


CrainsNY Engquist Where the Flacking the Truth 
Spin city (CrainsNY) "I took part in a panel discussion recently on discerning spin from truth when politicians speak. I estimated that 90% of what they say is spin. But it
's not just elected officials. Everybody spins. Interest groups, flacks, even holier-than-thou good-government groups assail me daily with hundreds of messages spinning ostensibly true information to suit their purposes. I don't resent the spin; these people are advancing their causes. But it's enough to make my head, well, you know."



Local TV Stations Win Campaign Commerical $$$ As the Voters Lose 
Corporate-owned local TV rakes in political ad $, but"barely covers politics or government at all"   No matter who prevails this Election Day, one tiny constituency can already lay claim to a landslide win. Thanks to our nation’s increasingly unregulated campaign finance rules, large media corporations once again enjoyed a tidal wave of political ad spending this midterm election, and none more so than the rarefied ownership of our nation’s local TV stations. But when it comes to the long-term health of both journalism and our democracy, these robust news profits are nothing but a hollow victory. Just how robust are they, though? The final numbers aren’t known yet, but the figure for political ad spending this election cycle up through mid-October was $1.3 billion, according to a Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB) analysis. And that left out the final few weeks of frenzied political crunch time, which might mean the total could reach or surpass the 2010 mark of $2.1 billion.* * As he confronted a federal investigation and sagging poll numbers, Cuomo always possessed one source of comfort: No matter the adversity he faced, he could pay for enough television advertising to try to wash his problems away, The Times reports:

Local TV News Which Makes Millions Off of the Culture of Big Campaign Spending Has Not Cover the Moreland Commission

Pay to Report Local TV


Spending on advertising has fueled the increase in TV lobbying costs. Well-funded special interests funnel millions to lobbyists for public campaigns to sway lawmakers on hot-button issues (TU)  Local News which is mainly weather, traffic, cooking and dog segments is making millions in lobbyists spending.  Union and business interest like the pro fracking interest are also spending millions on ads to local stations.  All this money is coming in as local news dumbs down.  Local TV stations stand to profit from boom in super-PAC spending (The Hill)*CSNY’s budget blitz: $3.9 million (updated)(TU) *Save NY airing tax cap ad(TU) *Budget opponents up their ads and mailers(TU) *Bloomberg Blames Negative Ads For Poor Showing In Education ...(Politico) *Save NY now airs on school money(TU) *NYC's Bloomberg Pays for TV Ads Backing Cuomo's Pension *  Bloomberg Defends His Administration With TV Ad - NY1.com * Local TV News For $ale: How Special Interests Control News Content and Public Opinion
Teachout No Debate Little Press At Closed LICH Hospital . . . Media Thinks Public Does Not Care About A Closed Hospital? Or Something Else Going On?
Props 2 Bkln Eagle, NY1, Capital NY, WCBS! Shame on rest of press For Skipping Teachout's Press Conference on the Closing Of the LICH Hospital
No wonder why only 10% of the public knows who she is. The same lack of investigative press coverage can explain why 69% of the public does not know what the Moreland Commission is or 60% Don't Know the name to the AG.Even with Teachout on the ballot everyone expects a record low turnout for a governor's Primary.

Horse Feathers Media Meets "Vinny the Chin" Avoidance and Pretending Not to Know

The Making of An Uninformed Public

In 2009 when Tom Robbins wrote The Mayor's Press Pass, in the Village Voice it look like independent media coverage of politics was dead and Bloomberg would control news coverage for good. Since the Robbins story lobbyists has gained power over the news media using the advertising dollars they control, in influencing what news stories are covered and how they are covered. Now five years later we not only see new full of fluff and none coverage of issues important to New Yorkers like a closing hospital and a governors race. We also see very little  investigative independent journalism like Robbins, Jack Newfield and Wayne Barrett produced for years at the voice.  Just ask the biggest corruption fighter in town today, U.S. Attorney who criticized the lack of investigating reporting in today's NYC media. Newspaper gives vote of approval to paying politicalcandidates (New York World) * A Takeover Of Journalism by Lobbyist and Politicians (2011 True News)Shrinking Newspaper Coverage Means Less Real TV News More Sexy Reporters

An enlightened citizenry is indispensable for the proper functioning of a republic.” - Thomas Jefferson

Political Corruption Enabled by the Media Who Write with Blinders
"Rather than just covering the cases that my office and other offices are already bringing, figure out ways to break new ground and to cover new stories" Bharara

When it comes to investigative journalism reporters and newspapers become "Vinny the Chin" ignoring the issues while pretending not to know what is going on. Today's reporters operating in very weak media economy and with lack of experience or historical understand think good journalism is reporting first what the  mayor or any pol said, now what is really going on. * U.S. Lost 30% of its Paid Journalists in 6 Years


The Dumbing Down Of Journalism is Not All About Political Decisions Not to Cover A Camdidate for Governor  Its About the Quality of Reporters

Jon Friedman‘s latest Marketwatch column is a good one. In framing what he thinks it still takes to be a good journalist, he laments the fact that many of his Stony Brook journalism students are fixated on the glittery sheen of the boob tube:
When I asked my students last semester what they hoped to do in their careers, the majority said they wanted to be on television. (The most honest of them declared they wanted to be TV stars, not so much for the big bucks but since it just seemed so darned cool to be on TV!) None of them said he or she hoped to be a link in the chain to the late, great Edward R. Murrow. (Who?)
It’s not my students’ fault that TV news today has taken on the mentality of the fabulous 1976 film Network (a movie most of them had never heard of, much less seen). It’s all about flash and pizzazz. News and entertainment are so blurred that it’s hard to tell them apart.

Local TV News Which Makes Millions Off of Campaign Ads, Lobbying Ads Like Airbnb and Government Public Service Ads 


Pay to Report Local TV New$
Spending on advertising has fueled the increase in TV lobbying costs. Well-funded special interests funnel millions to lobbyists for public campaigns to sway lawmakers on hot-button issues (TU)  Local News which is mainly weather, traffic, cooking and dog segments is making millions in lobbyists spending.  Union and business interest like the pro fracking interest are also spending millions on ads to local stations.  All this money is coming in as local news dumbs down. Copy Cat Journalism * Shrinking Newspaper Coverage Means Less Real TV News More Sexy Reporters


Shrinking Coverage Means Less Real News on TV Which Reads the Newspaper Headlines Every Morning
 Local TV stations stand to profit from boom in super-PAC spending (The Hill)*CSNY’s budget blitz: $3.9 million (updated)(TU) *Save NY airing tax cap ad(TU) *Budget opponents up their ads and mailers(TU) *Bloomberg Blames Negative Ads For Poor Showing In Education ...(Politico) *Save NY now airs on school money(TU) *NYC's Bloomberg Pays for TV Ads Backing Cuomo's Pension *  Bloomberg Defends His Administration With TV Ad - NY1.com * Local TV News For $ale: How Special Interests Control News Content and Public Opinion * Local TV stations stand to profit from boom in super-PAC spending (The Hill)


Local TV News Has Become Wires and Lights in A Box


"This instrument (television) can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise it is merely wires and lights in a box. There is a great and perhaps decisive battle to be fought against ignorance, intolerance and indifference.”Edward RMurrow 1958 speech * Good Night, and Good Luck: Edward Murrow Speech

When Negative Stories Are Printed by News About Airbnb or Cuomo's Moreland Problems Local TV News Makes Money


How Local TV News Make Millions Rehabilitating Candidates and Cleaning Up Policies Harmful to the Public


State Democratic Party Tried to Distract Public Attention From Cuomo's Moreland Scandal
Pro-Cuomo ad blitz to soften anti-corruption panel scandal’s hit(NYP) The state Democratic Party opened its war chest for an ad blitz promoting Gov. Cuomo to blunt a blistering report detailing how his administration meddled with an anti-corruption panel, records show. The state Democratic Campaign Committee spent $281,655 for ads that began airing July 19, one day after the governor’s office learned The New York Times was going to print a lengthy story about how Cuomo aides compromised the workings of the Moreland Commission panel.

Cuomo Best for Tax Payers to Close Moreland * Gov. Cuomo’s Moreland mess: He did it for us(NYP)  Rest easy, New York: In his handling of the Moreland Commission, which was investigating Albany’s corruption, Andrew Cuomo was only doing what’s best for us taxpayers.After five days in hiding, the governor emerged Monday to deploy some Clintonesque grammar to explain that it all depends what you mean by the words “interfered with.” Turns out in Cuomo’s office it means offering “advice.”* State Democrats launch new attack ad against Rob Astorino(NYDN) * Of the two dozen companies so far announced that will receive 10 years of tax breaks as a part of Start-Up NY, more than half are actually expansions of companies that already operate in New York or elsewhere, the Times Union writes: 

Will the State Comptroller Duck Reality In His Start-Up NY 100 Million TV Campaign 

Insiders agree state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, is completing a hot-potato audit of Cuomo’s controversial “START-UP NY” TV campaign that will make or break DiNapoli’s reputation for years to come
 New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo spent just shy of $20 million on his re-election effort in the two-month period ending Monday, according to filings his campaign made with the state Board of Elections, The Wall Street Journal reports:

State Comptroller investigates Cuomo’s state-funded ads(NYP) State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, a Democrat long derided as weak and indecisive, is completing a hot-potato audit of Gov. Cuomo’s controversial “START-UP NY” TV campaign that will make or break DiNapoli’s reputation for years to come, insiders agree. Over $100 million has been spent around the country on START-UP or similar commercials supposedly designed to promote New York’s new business-friendly, tax-reducing policies. But Republican critics and even many of Cuomo’s fellow Democrats say the commercials have really been about boosting the governor’s popularity in and out of the state. “If those ads have done anything to help New York, I don’t know about it,’’ one of the state’s best-known Democrats told The Post.* Fred Dicker: “State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, a Democrat long derided as weak and indecisive, is completing a hot-potato audit of Gov. Cuomo’s controversial ‘START-UP NY’ TV campaign that will make or break DiNapoli’s reputation for years to come, insiders agree.”* Cuomo Has $9.1M Left In The Bank(NNN)*  Zephyr Teachout and the Working Families Party reunite toattack Gov. Cuomo on charter schools * Cuomo spent about $8 million in the weeks before and after his Nov. 4 re-election, outspending Republican foe, Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, by more than 5-to-1.* Cuomo’s committee has taken in $46.9 million over the past four years – the biggest haul of any governor in state history.
Brain-Washing: TV Ads, Emails

The Selling of Airbnb
Airbnb Finally Gets In the Game and Starts Poaching Politicos

START-UP NY ad and Cuomo 2014 ad touting improved credit rating and "ending political gridlock" just ran back to back on CBS Sunday Morning



When Negative Stories Are Printed by News About Airbnb or Cuomo's Moreland Problems Local TV News Makes Money and is the Main Source of News For Most Americans

Local TV News Makes More oney Keeping Us Misinformed  and Giving the Special Interest News Control Though Paid Ads

Why is the agency studying 'perceived station bias' and asking about coverage choices?
The report notes the important role of television news but also describes how cutbacks have resulted in newsrooms without deep, beat-oriented expertise. It also says that news stations need to do a better job disclosing paid programming and how they serve the public interest.


How Local TV News Make Millions Rehabilitating Candidates and Cleaning Up Policies Harmful to the Public


How Pols Use TV Ads to Control Public Opinion 

State Democratic Party Tried to Distract Public Attention From Cuomo's Moreland Scandal
Pro-Cuomo ad blitz to soften anti-corruption panel scandal’s hit(NYP) The state Democratic Party opened its war chest for an ad blitz promoting Gov. Cuomo to blunt a blistering report detailing how his administration meddled with an anti-corruption panel, records show. The state Democratic Campaign Committee spent $281,655 for ads that began airing July 19, one day after the governor’s office learned The New York Times was going to print a lengthy story about how Cuomo aides compromised the workings of the Moreland Commission panel. Cuomo Best for Tax Payers to Close Moreland * Gov. Cuomo’s Moreland mess: He did it for us(NYP)  Rest easy, New York: In his handling of the Moreland Commission, which was investigating Albany’s corruption, Andrew Cuomo was only doing what’s best for us taxpayers.After five days in hiding, the governor emerged Monday to deploy some Clintonesque grammar to explain that it all depends what you mean by the words “interfered with.” Turns out in Cuomo’s office it means offering “advice.”* State Democrats launch new attack ad against Rob Astorino(NYDN) * Of the two dozen companies so far announced that will receive 10 years of tax breaks as a part of Start-Up NY, more than half are actually expansions of companies that already operate in New York or elsewhere, the Times Union writes: 

Local TV News For $ale: How Special Interests Control News Content and Public Opinion

Dem's campaign ads help Cuomo beat back Moreland mess(stargazette.com)With Cuomo and his party amassing a massive monetary advantage over his Republican foe, Democrats have pounded Astorino with a wave of attack advertisements
If you were watching WCBSTV local news this weekend you would have seen a commercials paid for by The Committee to Save New York (business interests supporting Cuomo) called "Turn the Tide" which told the views that Governor Cuomo did a wonderful job at fixing pensions and the states economy.  Spending on advertising has fueled the increase in lobbying costs. Well-funded special interests funnel millions to lobbyists for public campaigns to sway lawmakers on hot-button issues (TU)  Local News which is mainly weather, traffic, cooking and dog segments is making millions in lobbyists spending.  * CBS donated $45,000 to @nygovcuomo
Cuomo and his supporters spent over $10 million last year to gain public support to push through his agenda. Union and business interest like the pro fracking interest are also spending millions on ads to local stations.  All this money is coming in as local news dumbs down.  It is not a secret that TV and radio stations rely on the local newspaper for most of their hard news. So those "rip and read" broadcasters have offered their views much less hard news as newspaper staffs shrivel amid the draconian layoffs caused by the internet and the recession? Local TV stations stand to profit from boom in super-PAC spending (The Hill)*CSNY’s budget blitz: $3.9 million (updated)(TU) *Save NY airing tax cap ad(TU) *Budget opponents up their ads and mailers(TU) *Bloomberg Blames Negative Ads For Poor Showing In Education ...(Politico) *Save NY now airs on school money(TU) *NYC's Bloomberg Pays for TV Ads Backing Cuomo's Pension *  Bloomberg Defends His Administration With TV Ad - NY1.com * Local TV News For $ale: How Special Interests Control News Content and Public Opinion

Dumb Down Local News

Keeping the Public Uninformed While Laughing All The Way to the Bank

Local News which is mainly weather, traffic, cooking and dog segments is  making millions in lobbyists spending.  Cuomo and his supporters spent over $10 million last year to gain public support to push through his agenda. Union and business interest like the pro fracking interest are also spending millions on ads to local stations.  All this money is coming in as local news dumbs down.  It is not a secret that TV and radio stations rely on the local newspaper for most of their hard news. So those "rip and read" broadcasters have offered their views much less hard news as newspaper staffs shrivel amid the draconian layoffs caused by the internet and the recession? Local TV stations stand to profit from boom in super-PAC spending (The Hill) * Local News  Dumb Down Journalism (True News)


Local TV News Makes Millions Keeping the Public Dumb Against the Teachings of Our Founding Fathers  
"God forbid we should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion. The people cannot be all, and always, well informed. The part which is wrong will be discontented, in proportion to the importance of the facts they  misconceive.If they remain quiet under such misconceptions, it is lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty. ... And what country can preserve its liberties, if its rulers are not warned from time to time, that this people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to the facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure." 


Local TV News Has Become Wires and Lights in A Box and Tits and Distraction 

This instrument (television) can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise it is merely wires and lights in a box. There is a great and perhaps decisive battle to be fought against ignorance, intolerance and indifference.”Edward RMurrow 1958 speech * Good Night, and Good Luck: Edward Murrow Speech



The Only Real News New Yorkers Receive From Their Local TV News Are From the Commercials
Local News Makes Millions For Their Owners As They Ignore Investigative Reporting About Government and Politics
NY GOP to air first attack ad of campaign against Gov. Cuomo(NYDN) New York Republicans will start taking on Gov. Cuomo on Monday with an ad attacking the incumbent for claiming New York is experiencing an economic renaissance. The first GOP attack ad of the campaign, called “Cuomo’s New York,” will strike back at the governor’s months-long, multimillion-dollar “Start Up NY” TV ads that tout New York’s alleged economic turnaround. “Andrew Cuomo is spending millions of our tax dollars on ads that are not true,” states the GOP ad, which goes on to claim New York ranks last nationally in economic outlook, has the nation’s highest property taxes, leads the country in outmigration and has been ranked the worst state to retire. “Andrew Cuomo’s policies have New York last in too many categories,” concludes the ad. “And no amount of . . . ads will change that.”* The first GOP attack ad of the campaign, called “Cuomo’s New York,” starts airing today. It will strike back at the governor’s months-long, multimillion-dollar “Start Up NY” TV ads that tout New York’s alleged economic turnaround. * New York’s notoriously high taxes – and how to lower them – could play a big role in this year’s gubernatorial race between Astorino and Cuomo.* State Republicans Launch Ad Knocking START-UP NY Promotion(YNN)


As the U.S. Attorney Investigates Moreland Sabotage Local TV Give Us Happy News Laughing All the Way to the Bank

Friday Update
* Some legal experts say the fact that Gov. Andrew Cuomo had state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman deputize the panel’s members could call into question the governor’s argument that he was free to do with the panel as he saw fit, the Daily News writes:

Cuomo critics charge illegality after Times' Moreland expose (Capital)

The Cuomo administration last year ordered the Moreland Commission to withdraw a subpoena to a media-buying firm that had placed millions of dollars’ worth of advertisements for the state Democratic Party and for Gov. Andrew Cuomo when he ran for governor in 2010, The New York Times writes: 
 When Cuomo and lawmakers passed the law creating the Joint Commission on Public Ethics the legislation also called for the creation of an eight-member review panel to study the activities and performance of the commission, but the review panel has still not been created, the Times Union reports: 6,500-WORD HIT -- Times 2-col. lead (New York Edition; moves to second story in National Edition): “Governor’s Office Hobbled Corruption Investigations Promised Free Rein, Panel Found Panel Found Groups Linked to Cuomo Were Off Limits,” by Susanne Craig, William K. Rashbaum and Thomas Kaplan, with research by Jack Begg:

“The commission developed a list of promising targets, including a lawmaker suspected of using campaign funds to support a girlfriend in another state and pay tanning-salon bills. The panel also highlighted activities that it saw as politically odious but perfectly legal, like exploiting a loophole to bundle enormous campaign contributions. But a three-month examination by The New York Times found that the governor’s office deeply compromised the panel’s work, objecting whenever the commission focused on groups with ties to Mr. Cuomo or on issues that might reflect poorly on him. … “[F]ederal prosecutors are investigating the roles of Mr. Cuomo and his aides in the panel’s shutdown and are pursuing its unfinished business. … Things got so bad that investigators believed a Cuomo appointee was monitoring their communications without their knowledge. … In a 13-page statement responding to The Times’s questions, Mr. Cuomo’s office defended its handling of the commission. It said the commission was created by and reported to the governor, and therefore he could not be accused of interfering with it…. Yet, The Times found that the governor’s office interfered with the commission when it was looking into groups that were politically close to him. In fact, the commission never tried to investigate his administration. “Beyond that, Mr. Cuomo’s office said, the commission needed the governor’s guiding hand because it was, simply, a mess: Its staff was plagued by ‘relationship issues’ and was ‘mired in discord.’ The commissioners, whom he earlier called some of New York’s sharpest governmental and legal minds, ‘did not understand the budget or legislative process or how state government worked,’ the statement said. Their subpoenas often had ‘no logic or basis,’ and those that touched on the governor’s supporters were more for show than for legitimate investigative purposes, the statement said.” h ttp://nyti.ms/1nADaNo * Zephyr Teachout: If Gov. Cuomo knew about Moreland Commission meddling, he should resign(NYDN)* Bill Hammond ‏@NYDNHammond  "One state senator appeared to be supporting a girlfriend in Connecticut and paying tanning-salon bills." Hmm.* The odd couple and the defunct commission: A NY moment(Newsday)* 2,200-word response to NYT inquiries about Committee to SaveNY  *  NYT: Cuomo's officescuttled investigations into his political allies(TPM) * Stewart-Cousins Defends Cuomo Interference in the Moreland Commission(NYO)* While today’s New York Times story on the Cuomo administration’s extensive meddling in the now-defunct Moreland Commission is exhaustive, it does not address what laws may have been broken or by whom, State of Politics reports: http://goo.gl/DwkAmG
INSIDE MORELAND: CITY & STATE COVERAGE FLASHBACK:
* Exclusive from April 15: Moreland Commission sources say an assistant counsel to the governor, who professed himself to be the author of the SAFE Act, was selected as the lead writer of the panel’s December 2013 report after several independent candidates for the position were nixed:
* Exclusive from May 11: Internal Moreland Commission documents obtained by City & State reveal the Commission investigated the questionable campaign spending of around two dozen state lawmakers, including state Sens. George Maziarz, John Bonacic, Patrick Gallivan and Greg Ball:
* Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Zephyr Teachout, responding to The New York Times report on the Cuomo administration’s extensive meddling in the now-defunct Moreland Commission, said that if the governor knew of efforts by top aide Larry Schwartz to obstruct the commission’s work, then he should “immediately resign,” State of Politics reports: * State of Politics adds that good government groups also called on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to explain himself * Westchester state Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins—the Democratic minority leader in the state Legislature—defended Cuomo’s interference in the Moreland Commission on the Capitol Pressroom radio show, echoing the governor’s arguments that because he staffed the pane and was free to intervene, the Observer reports * #Cuomo Silent After NY Times Report Details Restraining ofAnti-Corruption Commission *More Moreland meddling, a Cuomo insider ultimately pegged towrite commission's interim report.(City and State)
WINNERS AND LOSERS: Questions about interference into the Moreland Commission once again swirled around the governor and his administration this week, upending a sleepy election season, but, don’t worry, the winners and losers voting process is completely transparent and independent, so you can feel at ease casting your ballot here:
Cuomo Moreland Ad
Tom Robbins ‏@tommy_robb 
Moreland Comm. exec. director Regina Calcate
rraknew a little something about lobbyingRetweeted Tom Robbins (@tommy_robb):  Too clever by far more than half: How Cuomo's bid to 'Restore Public Trust' turned into its opposite,stunningly told

Good Government Groups Are So Full of Shit

Cuomo’s interference in an ethics panel was "terrible" and "shocking," good-gov't groups say regarding recent report







Local TV News For $ale: How Special Interests Control News Content and Public Opinion

If you were watching WCBSTV local news this weekend you would have seen a commercials paid for by The Committee to Save New York (business interests supporting Cuomo) called "Turn the Tide" which told the views that Governor Cuomo did a wonderful job at fixing pensions and the states economy.  Spending on advertising has fueled the increase in lobbying costs. Well-funded special interests funnel millions to lobbyists for public campaigns to sway lawmakers on hot-button issues (TU)  Local News which is mainly weather, traffic, cooking and dog segments is making millions in lobbyists spending.  * CBS donated $45,000 to @nygovcuomo
Cuomo and his supporters spent over $10 million last year to gain public support to push through his agenda. Union and business interest like the pro fracking interest are also spending millions on ads to local stations.  All this money is coming in as local news dumbs down.  It is not a secret that TV and radio stations rely on the local newspaper for most of their hard news. So those "rip and read" broadcasters have offered their views much less hard news as newspaper staffs shrivel amid the draconian layoffs caused by the internet and the recession? Local TV stations stand to profit from boom in super-PAC spending (The Hill)*CSNY’s budget blitz: $3.9 million (updated)(TU) *Save NY airing tax cap ad(TU) *Budget opponents up their ads and mailers(TU) *Bloomberg Blames Negative Ads For Poor Showing In Education ...(Politico) *Save NY now airs on school money(TU) *NYC's Bloomberg Pays for TV Ads Backing Cuomo's Pension *  Bloomberg Defends His Administration With TV Ad - NY1.com * Local TV News For $ale: How Special Interests Control News Content and Public Opinion

Dumb Down Local News Makes Millions on PAC and Other Special Interests Spending

Keeping the Public Uninformed While Racking In the Millions

Local News which is mainly weather, traffic, cooking and dog segments is  making millions in lobbyists spending.  Cuomo and his supporters spent over $10 million last year to gain public support to push through his agenda. Union and business interest like the pro fracking interest are also spending millions on ads to local stations.  All this money is coming in as local news dumbs down.  It is not a secret that TV and radio stations rely on the local newspaper for most of their hard news. So those "rip and read" broadcasters have offered their views much less hard news as newspaper staffs shrivel amid the draconian layoffs caused by the internet and the recession? Local TV stations stand to profit from boom in super-PAC spending (The Hill) * Local News  Dumb Down Journalism (True News)


Local TV News Makes Millions Keeping the Public Dumb Against the Teachings of Our Founding Fathers  
"God forbid we should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion. The people cannot be all, and always, well informed. The part which is wrong will be discontented, in proportion to the importance of the facts they  misconceive.If they remain quiet under such misconceptions, it is lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty. ... And what country can preserve its liberties, if its rulers are not warned from time to time, that this people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to the facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure." 


Local TV News Has Become Wires and Lights in A Box and Tits and Distraction 

This instrument (television) can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise it is merely wires and lights in a box. There is a great and perhaps decisive battle to be fought against ignorance, intolerance and indifference.”Edward RMurrow 1958 speech * Good Night, and Good Luck: Edward Murrow Speech




Local News which is mainly weather, traffic, cooking and dog segments is  making millions in lobbyists spending.


Pay to Report Local TV
Spending on advertising has fueled the increase in TV lobbying costs. Well-funded special interests funnel millions to lobbyists for public campaigns to sway lawmakers on hot-button issues (TU)  Local News which is mainly weather, traffic, cooking and dog segments is making millions in lobbyists spending.  Union and business interest like the pro fracking interest are also spending millions on ads to local stations.  All this money is coming in as local news dumbs down.  

Cuomo Has Mastered the Art of Politics Through the TV Commerical 

Cuomo and his supporters spent over $10 million last year to gain public support to push through his agenda. Union and business interest like the pro fracking interest are also spending millions on ads to local stations.  All this money is coming in as local news dumbs down.  It is not a secret that TV and radio stations rely on the local newspaper for most of their hard news. So those "rip and read" broadcasters have offered their views much less hard news as newspaper staffs shrivel amid the draconian layoffs caused by the internet and the recession? Local TV stations stand to profit from boom in super-PAC spending (The Hill)*CSNY’s budget blitz: $3.9 million (updated)(TU) *Save NY airing tax cap ad(TU) *Budget opponents up their ads and mailers(TU) *Bloomberg Blames Negative Ads For Poor Showing In Education ...(Politico) *Save NY now airs on school money(TU) *NYC's Bloomberg Pays for TV Ads Backing Cuomo's Pension *  Bloomberg Defends His Administration With TV Ad - NY1.com * Local TV News For $ale: How Special Interests Control News Content and Public Opinion *   Local TV stations stand to profit from boom in super-PAC spending (The Hill)*CSNY’s budget blitz: $3.9 million (updated)(TU) *Save NY airing tax cap ad(TU) *Budget opponents up their ads and mailers(TU) *Bloomberg Blames Negative Ads For Poor Showing In Education ...(Politico) *Save NY now airs on school money(TU) *NYC's Bloomberg Pays for TV Ads Backing Cuomo's Pension *  Bloomberg Defends His Administration With TV Ad - NY1.com * Local TV News For $ale: How Special Interests Control News Content and Public Opinion
A Mayoral Candidate Talking Issues That the Media Ignored 
Mayoral candidate Sal Albanese states thanks to poor coverage of the race, the former councilman argues, New York's voters are the real losers. (City Limits). Newspaper editors put public safety, failing schools, and the affordability crisis aside in favor of anatomical puns. In a real twist, I received more quotes in the month of July, when I called for Mr. Weiner to step out of the race, than during the preceding six months.Elections have consequences, and so does the way that we cover them. For the sake of our city's future, we must demand better.* Swinging for the Fences: How and Why I Decided to Run for Mayor(Huff Post)

 .
Local TV News Has Become Wires and Lights in A Box

This instrument (television) can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise it is merely wires and lights in a box. There is a great and perhaps decisive battle to be fought against ignorance, intolerance and indifference.Edward RMurrow 1958 speech * Good Night, and Good Luck: Edward Murrow Speech


What Has Happen to the Watchdog of Government or Politics?
An explosion of online news sources in recent years has not produced a corresponding increase in reporting, particularly quality local reporting, a federal study of the media has found.Coverage of state governments and municipalities has receded at such an alarming pace that it has left government with more power than ever to set the agenda and have assertions unchallenged, concluded the study“In many communities, we now face a shortage of local, professional, accountability reporting,” said the study, which was ordered by the Federal Communications Commission and written by Steven Waldman, a former journalist for Newsweek and U.S. News and World Report. “The independent watchdog function that the Founding Fathers envisioned for journalism — going so far as to call it crucial to a healthy democracy — is in some cases at risk at the local level. 



The NY Media Is Responsible for the Tantrum-Throwing Babies That Run NY



The Media Blames Cry Baby Pols
Tantrum-throwing babies are in charge of New York (NYP) In Albany, there is Andrew — engaging and gracious when he gets his way; surly, suspicious and menacing when he doesn’t. In February, reports Capital New York, a torqued Cuomo stomped out of a private restaurant dinner with New York Times staffers. Cuomo’s dinner date with The New York Times (Capital) While it's unclear why exactly the dinner went south, the governor has publicly acknowledged his rocky relationship with the Times, most recently in an interview with the Times itself, pegged to the release of his memoir, All Things Possible: Setbacks and Success in Politics and Life, on shelves tomorrow via HarperCollins. 


Pols Increasing Bypassing the Media 
Elected Officials Increasing Use Social Media to Bypass a Very Weakened Media
Elected officials are using social media technologies like blogs, Facebook and Twitter to communicate directly to voters. More than ever before, they can bypass the professional press and deliver an uncensored, unfiltered — and unchecked — message spinned by their flacks and lobbyists. The information put out by elected officials not only intends to put the pols in a positive light, it is increasing designed to mislead the public on what is really going on in they city.  Yesterday Mayor de Blasio said “We have reduced crime, the numbers are overwhelming clear” His own chief of police has reported that the number of shooting and murders are up. 

We are entering a perfect storm of the weakening of the Freedom of the Press protections created by the founding fathers.  “The Founding Fathers gave the free press the protection it must have to bare the secrets of government and inform the people.” Hugo Black, Supreme Court Judge. The invention of the Internet has disrupted a system that has offered the public a reliable independent way to find out what their government was up to for the past 250 years.  The media has also given up its very important investigative reporting role.  

One Year Ago U.S. Attorney  Preet Bharara challenged journos to do investigative reporting (CrainsNY) "Rather than just covering the cases that my office and other offices are already bringing, figure out ways to break new ground and to cover new stories," Bharara said. "Groundbreaking corruption coverage is not just good copy, it's a path to good government." Bharara. The press has a role to play. "Rather than just covering the cases that my office and other offices are already bringing, figure out ways to break new ground and to cover new stories," he said  The media has not responded to the U.S. Attorney request.  Today mostly what you read in newspapers feels like press releases. The former DA of Brooklyn called reporters stenographers. The entire 2013 campaign was full of press release promising more services for NYCHA tenants. The press never asked the candidates with the federal cuts in public housing where the funds were going to come from to repair the building.  As recent events have indicated there is no money to fix public housing. Media Today Press Release Journalism After a spike in shootings in New York, de Blasio predicts his policieswill ‘turn the tide’: (NY Mag)

de Blasio on the Social Media
More than 5,000 New Yorkers are calling on Albany to strengthen the laws around affordable housing. Join them: *  421a reforms will change tax breaks for developers and pass a small tax on luxury mansions to increase affordable housing units in our city.

Diversity is strength. @FDNY, the world's greatest fire department, will grow even stronger when it more closely resembles our city. * FDNY reassigns trainers amid ‘witch hunt’ for whistleblowers (NYP) Two veteran FDNY fitness trainers have been yanked from the Fire Academy as the department conducts what some call a “witch hunt” for whistleblowers and those trying to uphold standards, The Post has learned. Last month, The Post reported that probationary Firefighter Rebecca Wax, 33, graduated from the academy despite failing the crucial Functional Skills Test, an obstacle course of job-related tasks (inset). Under new criteria, her high academic grades made up for her physical deficiency.* NYC Mayor's Office ‏@NYCMayorsOffice   Add your name:Tell Albany to protect affordable housing. #HousingNYC


U.S. Attorney Thinks NY Journalist Have Failed to Stop Corrupion







Press Will Continue to Ignoring Bharara Pleas to Investigate Corruption as Judge Silences Prosecutor 

Bharara to Journalist Investigate Stop Copying My Press Releases do Investigative Reporting

One Year Ago in True News

Preet challenges journos to do investigative reporting (CrainsNY) "Rather than just covering the cases that my office and other offices are already bringing, figure out ways to break new ground and to cover new stories," Bharara said. "Groundbreaking corruption coverage is not just good copy, it's a path to good government." Bharara. The press has a role to play. "Rather than just covering the cases that my office and other offices are already bringing, figure out ways to break new ground and to cover new stories," he said
Daily News Crap



How Pols Deliver the News by Bypassing the Media
Twitter, Facebook and Newspapers
How Felder Puts His News In ‘Focus’ (YNN) DC Leader Jeff Klein apparently isn’t the only member of the Senate with journalistic flair. The Gotham Gazette reported last month that the Bronx Democrat, who has had a contentious relationship with the local press, decided to step up his public relations game by publishing a “newspaper” of his own. The Riverdale Record, billed as the “official publication of Senator Jeff Klein and Our Community,” features all the news the senator sees fit to print and is paid for by his political campaign committee, Klein for New York. It turns out the Riverdale Record has some competition in the former of “The Felder Focus” – a 15-page, full-color publication sent to constituents of Sen. Simcha Felder, a Brooklyn Democrat. Unlike Klein’s paper, The Felder Focus looks like a cross between a magazine and a tabloid (in terms of size, not content), and is heavy on the photos. The lead “story” of the Fall 2015 issue is about Felder’s “heartfelt speech” on the Senate floor in favor of a bill that helps the parents of special needs children seeking to obtain tuition reimbursement from New York City for sending their kids to a non-public school. 

Other stories include a blurb on Felder calling on Manhattan Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler to reconsider his support for the Iran nuclear deal, (he hasn’t), the “sweeping” success of a Felder-sponsored community clean-up and some helpful safety tips from the senator , (“If you see something, say something”). And my favorite: “Want Free Ice Cream? Wear a Helmet” – a story about Felder’s partnering with stroke and brain injury advocates in response to reports that Brooklyn’s 66th Police Precinct is the second most dangerous for cyclist in all five boroughs. (Kids wearing bike helmets were given coupons for free ice cream or ices at participating neighborhood stores). Not exactly hard-hitting news, but it’s not meant to be, according to the senator. During a brief telephone interview, Felder said his publication is meant to be a beefed up newsletter that goes out to constituents once or twice a year.





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