Despite nominating a Mayoral candidate and six City Council candidates, Journal News reporter Colin Gustafson managed to give Mayor Noam Bramson the last word on every issue raised by St. Paul in an article on St. Paul’s debut as the Republican standard bearer.
In an article about Richard St. Paul’s nomination to lead the GOP ticket…
St. Paul gets:
I think the current administration lacks a vision for New Rochelle We need new leadership and new vision to reach the heights where New Rochelle deserves to be I think we’re losing money because we haven’t negotiated good deals with applicants [41 words]
Bramson gets:
New Rochelle faces difficult challenges but also has enormous potential, and I have worked my hardest to advance a positive, inclusive vision for our city’s future. There is much more still to do. I hope to earn an opportunity to continue serving The abolition of the IDA would place New Rochelle at a distinct competitive disadvantage at precisely the moment when we need to be focused on sustainable economic development.[70 words]
41 v. 70.
In addition, for every St. Paul statement there is rebuttal from Bramson with the Mayor getting the last word each time including the final quote at the end of the story.
In response to St. Paul’s proposal to abolish the IDA, Gustafson adds this commentary:
It is unlikely to pass, however, as most council members support the agency.
Gustafson fails to mention that by “most” he means the Democrats have a 4-3 majority on Council. A majority on Council support the IDA but it is not “most” when it is 4 of 7. Most would be more like 6 of 7.
And the JN wonders why their circulation keeps dropping? Stop pretending to be neutral, plant your Democratic flag for all to see and proudly declare your loyalty to the Dems.
It is not better at AOL Patch which has, as predicted, morphed into a propaganda platform for Noam Bramson and the Democratic Party. Note how Noam’s famous dominates the front page?
Journal News Bias?
I wish I had seen your Blog on this when I was discussing the lack of coverage for New Rochelle, Southern Westchester and about the proposed Iona College Dorm. I have stated several times before; The Journal News has a bias slant to anything they print except the Obituaries. “Perception is Everything”. It seems that someone is pulling the strings about what to print and what not to print. What happened to the local paper they once were? It seems to be that most articles have become self- serving political fluff. Now that everyone on council is running for election in November, in their self-made districts, you will see more and more self- serving political fluff. I have been told by Liz Anderson, “You are on our radar”. The Journal News is not a fair and equal forum for the people unless they have some influence, be it political or monetary. People must now go to other media outlets for fair and just treatment. The Journal News subscription circulation in this area will begin to drop off. Half of their information comes from the mother ship, USA Today, which is now laying off more people.
Robert Dickey, the head of Gannett’s US Community Publishing division, said in a memo to employees that the layoffs were necessary to “align our costs with the current revenue trends.”
“While we are seeing improved circulation results and audience growth, weakness in the real estate sector, slow job creation and now softer auto ad demand continue to challenge revenue growth in the division,” he said.
“National advertising remains soft and with many of our local advertisers reducing their overall budgets, we need to take further steps to align our costs with the current revenue trends,” he said.
Maybe they should consider a few less advertisements for all of the car dealers in Upper Westchester and Rockland County. Go back to being true journalist like they are supposed to be. People might start reading their newspaper again.