Paper still has head in the sand when it comes to real scandals
We almost made it
through the week without the need for issuing a "Hypocrisy Watch." Mick Hinton of the
Tulsa World, has written the
talking points memo for Oklahoma Democrats' today, under the guise of "objective journalism." The piece reports that Speaker
Cargill is "summon[
ing] key lobbyists" to "special meetings" outside the capitol for fundraising activities. Now usually when one thinks of a summons, you think of a court of a law and a judge mandating you appear. Was this a deliberate choice of words Mick?
We've copied every quote from a lobbyist in the piece. You'll notice a familiar, recurring theme in every comment. Remember, this is every lobbyists quoted in the piece, so we're not purposely
omitting positive
quotes:
"Lobbyist Bobby Stem confirmed that he met with the speaker on Tuesday at an office outside the Capitol."
"It was the friendliest fundraising meeting I've ever had, and you can quote me on that," said Stem, a prominent lobbyist during Democratic administrations." (What would you expect from a Democratic lobbyist?)
"Stem said there was no strong-arming for contributions, although he said it was "very pro-active" with money raising emphasized in several ways."
"One lobbyist said he felt uncomfortable going to the "un-neutral" site, while another said it was "cheesy." Both spoke on the condition that they not be identified."
"After leaving the office, lobbyist Jim Walker acknowledged that he had just talked with the speaker, but said "it is no different than what used to occur at the Capitol, from time to time."
"But others said they felt compelled to comply with the speaker's wishes. They said that has been the case in the past, but the methods were different this time around."
Hey Mick, how about investigating the attorney general and the
poultygate scandal going on "five minutes from the Capitol?" What about the Chairman of your newspaper
contributing money to the AG while his paper is endorsing him. We'll re-use the analogy we made earlier this week regarding your paper's lazy reporting. This piece was akin to a reporter covering the Superbowl and only writing about Prince's new shoes! What about the fact that it was held in plain view away from the Capitol? What about the angle that it illustrates the reforms
Cargill is looking to initiate?
Labels: Ethics Reforms, hypocrisy watch, Press Bias, Spkr. Cargill, Tulsa World
Posted at 2/23/2007 04:41:00 PM
