Real Reporters Are Still Harshing Mayor Mike’s Mellow

At the end of May, we learned that Mayor Bloomberg thought a reporter asking a question about term limit extensions was "a disgrace."   While it’s no surprise that the mayor’s campaign twitter account links to his press releases, a curious tweet popped up today, linking to the Cobble Hill Blog.

Over 5,500 Bloomberg-subscribed tweeters, including Brooklyn The Borough were pointed by the campaign via twitter, to read about the mayor’s, and Borough President Marty Markowitz’s, efforts to revitalize the Brooklyn waterfront.  What readers didn’t know is that the Cobble Hill Blog merely re-posted, word for word, a press release sent out by the borough president’s office.

The release provided no substantial information about the projects, and ended with a quote from Markowitz.

“Brooklyn is booming,” said BP Markowitz. “And the initiatives and projects outlined today will add to that boom…"

Boom?  What boom?  Sounds like business as usual, it’s just that, now, you never know where your information is coming from.  The blog made no effort to be transparent about their lack of journalistic integrity, which should have led with the fact that the ’story’ was a press release.  The headline, quotes and photo with caption were all in place, so that to the average person this read as news, not a press release. 

Today, the same ‘disgraceful’ reporter, Azi Paybarah, a former colleague of mine, reported a short item about the mayor’s opponent, Comptroller Bill Thompson, whose office put out a press release of its own questioning whether the city’s high school graduates had all, in fact, completed necessary requirements for the diploma.  At a press conference, the comptroller called the school system the "Enron of American education, showing the gains and hiding the losses."

Mayor Bloomberg’s, and formerly Hillary Clinton’s campaign press secretary, Howard Wolfson, retorted by saying "Instead of politicizing the comptroller’s office with phony attacks, Mr. Thompson should be explaining his own failed record on education. The facts are clear: When Bill Thompson ran the old dysfunctional Board of Education graduation rates were flat and dropout rates increased. Under Mike Bloomberg’s leadership, graduation rates have skyrocketed and dropout rates have fallen. Bill Thompson had a chance to help oversee our schools and he failed. Why would we ever want to go back again?”

"It is also surprising that the first official comments about our audit came from the Mayor’s campaign – and not from education officials – and before our office had formally started a news conference to announce the findings," Thompson responded in an update on the Politicker. "That shows who injected politics into government."

In related news, the mayor’s government press secretary, Stu Loeser, hasn’t yet responded to Brooklyn The Borough’s request to receive the mayor’s press missives via email, as I had as a reporter for the New York Observer.