Monday, June 08, 2009
Dan Janison, I find your reporting unsatisfying
The state GOP in NY managed to wrest control of the closely divided state senate from Dems today. They did so by enticing two Dems to caucus with the GOP, by promising to make one President pro-tem of the Senate.
The news is stunning.
But what is not stunning is the response of Long Island'sDem response rag daily paper Newsday. Dan Janison tries to capture the mood, and it's a veritable j-school class in using loaded language and a judgmental tone:
Got that? When the GOP takes control, NY has become a banana republic. I wonder if he called Spitzer's attempted take out on Bruno a "coup"? I also likes the way he leaves out the fact that the "room went dark" because flustered Dems tried to close the legislative session("you go now!") against parliamentary rules when they saw things going the GOP's way.
Ooooohhhh, I like it. Gotta have a villain. Skelos "plotted" and "subverted." Did Pelosi "subvert" the GOP majority in '06 or simply win an election? Just wondering.
This one is my favorite. You know a journalist is pissed when he goes straight to character assasination. But here's my question: if Janison is so outraged over the domestic violence and campaign finance allegations, I'm sure he was calling for these senators to be ousted from the Senate immediately, even when they were still voting under the Dem flag. Right?
Powerful friends like Brooklyn's indicted corrupt Dem judges? Spitzer's fear squads that spent years conducting drive-by hits on the finance community (a.k.a. the state's tax base)? The race baiting charlatans, like Dem mouthpiece Al Sharpton, that run around whipping up violence and discontent against the police and white people in general?
Dan Janison: cover up, your bias is showing.
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Exciting HYPOCRISY update!
Check out how Janison reported the DV allegations against Monserrate when he was still a faithful Dem:
Focus is totally on how the Dems could lose power. Nothing about the fact that somehow the party is tarnished by their affiliation with a spouse abuser.
Then the good news: Hiram will fight the charges and it'll take the courts years to get around to it.
If only he had taken the same tone he did with Hiram today, and come out with something like this:
Some expression about airborne pork comes to mind.
The news is stunning.
But what is not stunning is the response of Long Island's
For those learning of it downstate, this struck like lightning.
Word of the parliamentary coup's early moments in the Senate chamber in Albany Monday smacked of reports from a foreign capital under siege, complete with descriptions of rooms going dark and TV feeds cut off and a mob scene in the hallway.
Got that? When the GOP takes control, NY has become a banana republic. I wonder if he called Spitzer's attempted take out on Bruno a "coup"? I also likes the way he leaves out the fact that the "room went dark" because flustered Dems tried to close the legislative session("you go now!") against parliamentary rules when they saw things going the GOP's way.
Two weeks shy of a year ago, Sen. Dean Skelos (R- Rockville Centre) took over a sparse Republican majority from retiring leader Joseph Bruno - only to see himself turned minority leader months later when two regional GOP veterans lost bids for re-election. But like others banished from power, Skelos plotted a return, looking for help in subverting his successors.
Ooooohhhh, I like it. Gotta have a villain. Skelos "plotted" and "subverted." Did Pelosi "subvert" the GOP majority in '06 or simply win an election? Just wondering.
Of two New York City Democrats who helped restore his clout Monday by defecting, one is under criminal indictment for a violent act of domestic violence, and the other is merely under scrutiny for living outside his district and being a long-term state campaign scofflaw. That senator, Pedro Espada Jr. of the Bronx, now gets what he bid for more than six months ago when the plotting began, the position of president pro tem.
This one is my favorite. You know a journalist is pissed when he goes straight to character assasination. But here's my question: if Janison is so outraged over the domestic violence and campaign finance allegations, I'm sure he was calling for these senators to be ousted from the Senate immediately, even when they were still voting under the Dem flag. Right?
Which proves Albany's foremost rule of operation: Grab whatever allies and power you can get your hands on.
Powerful friends like Brooklyn's indicted corrupt Dem judges? Spitzer's fear squads that spent years conducting drive-by hits on the finance community (a.k.a. the state's tax base)? The race baiting charlatans, like Dem mouthpiece Al Sharpton, that run around whipping up violence and discontent against the police and white people in general?
Dan Janison: cover up, your bias is showing.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Exciting HYPOCRISY update!
Check out how Janison reported the DV allegations against Monserrate when he was still a faithful Dem:
Sen. Hiram Monserrate (D-Queens) was charged with a domestic-abuse crime late last year, raising the prospect that his seat would become vacant and loosen his party's new grip on the house.
Nassau Democrats will look to guard against such an impact on their house - if federal tax allegations lodged Wednesday against Corbin (D-Westbury) chase him quickly from office.
Fortunately for their party leaders, both accused lawmakers are expected to fight the charges in court - making any abrupt losses of clout unlikely.
Another break for Democratic leaders: Criminal cases can take years to resolve, and some elected officials have been known to serve for long periods under a legal cloud.
Focus is totally on how the Dems could lose power. Nothing about the fact that somehow the party is tarnished by their affiliation with a spouse abuser.
Then the good news: Hiram will fight the charges and it'll take the courts years to get around to it.
If only he had taken the same tone he did with Hiram today, and come out with something like this:
New York State Democrats are now relying on two State Senators to maintain their majority in Albayn: one is under criminal indictment for a violent act of domestic violence, and the other is merely under scrutiny for living outside his district and being a long-term state campaign scofflaw.
Some expression about airborne pork comes to mind.
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4 comments:
As appalling as Janison's reporting of yesterday's power switch is, I think the highlighted passages in the update section are even more shocking.
Fortunately for their party leaders, both accused lawmakers are expected to fight the charges in court - making any abrupt losses of clout unlikely.
Another break for Democratic leaders: Criminal cases can take years to resolve, and some elected officials have been known to serve for long periods under a legal cloud.
Are you f***ing SERIOUS? The only difference between Janison's reporting and a bucket of shit is the bucket.
How can you discuss a story about a guy who allegedly committed "...a violent act of domestic violence..." and use words like "Fortunately" and "Another break." Talk about TOTALLY exposing your biases and not even trying to hide them. He may be more of a bleeding heart than Maddow + Matthews + Olbermann combined.
Way to keep an unbiased opinion. Dan Janison, as well as yourself, has opinions, like a normal human being should. Now you can bash other people's views, or you can develop your own to become a better reporter yourself, instead of putting all the blame on others (even if you don't agree with them).
Ahem:
First of all, of course he has his own opinions. That's part of being a columnist. Everyone has opinions. You have no right to call his journalistic credentials into question, especially when I don't even know that you have anything important to say for yourself.
As an American citizen (and I do not know that you are worthy of that title), it is your imperative to respect the opinions of others: "A free society is a place in which every man has the right to say what he wants and all others have the right not to listen."
You don't like it? Don't read it.
Now, if you had a legitimate argument with Janison's opinions, that is one thing. To call him a "cheap whore" is quite another. What makes you any less biased and partisan than he is? So he uses a sarcastic tone. That's his writing style. Sometimes people express opinions that are different from yours. Learn to cope.
Dan Janison is an excellent reporter, and a dedicated journalist. May I see your credentials? Which newspaper do you work for?
This is a man who works extremely long hours and does copious research and gives issues serious thought. As his son, I would know.
If I sound offended, it's because I am. I'm sure you would do the same for your father.
Point 1: Dan Janison, as well as yourself, has opinions, like a normal human being should. Now you can bash other people's views, or you can develop your own to become a better reporter yourself, instead of putting all the blame on others
Dan Janison can have whatever opinions he wants. But when he's writing stories under Newsday's "News" banner (i.e., NOT an editorial or opinion piece), his personal politics shouldn't enter into it. That's Journalism 101. Or should I say, Journalism 101 back before journalism became the last refuge for Democratic activists and hypocrites.
Oh, and by the way, I'm not interested in being a journalist. I have a job in another profession. I'm merely a citizen who is aware of the decaying standards of our press corps.
Point #2: it is your imperative to respect the opinions of others: "A free society is a place in which every man has the right to say what he wants and all others have the right not to listen."
Contradictory much? "It is imperative to respect other people's opinions by ignoring them."
That's OK, I'll give you a pass on the nonsense, since I know what you meant to say: "everyone should be able to say whatever they want, regardless of how biased it is."
I don't disagree with you there. But I think you'll agree that there is no obligation for the hard news consumer to buy a product (e.g., Newsday) that is a partisan pamphlet masquerading as "newspaper." The blatant double-standard that Janison applies (note the "Hypocrisy update") wouldn't be allowed by the editors in a paper that was making even a token effort at being ideologically neutral. Referring to Skelos as a "plotter" and "subverter", and complaining about the "dark Senate" without properly attributing the chaos to the Dems who shut the power, is misleading at best, propaganda at worst.
Point 3: if you had a legitimate argument with Janison's opinions, that is one thing. To call him a "cheap whore" is quite another.
You are right. "Cheap whore" was over the top. However, my disagreements with his use of loaded language are laid out plainly, so my "legitimate argument" is evident to all.
Point 4: What makes you any less biased and partisan than he is?
Nothing. I'm probably more biased and partisan than he is, but that's just a guess. But what's important is that I'm not getting paid to pretend I'm a neutral journalist, as Janison is. He is purportedly offering an even-handed account of political events, with the imprimatur of one of the largest circulation newspapers in the country to give it the facade of authority. That is disingenuous and wrong. Any citizen that cares about his or her country should speak out. A free press that is honestly reporting events is a necessity for a free democratic nation to persevere. What Newsday has been doing for years now is a direct threat to said freedom.
Point 5 This is a man who works extremely long hours and does copious research and gives issues serious thought. As his son, I would know.
If I sound offended, it's because I am. I'm sure you would do the same for your father.
I commend you for your passionate defense of your father. It is natural and it is right. I'm sure your Father is a good person, and he's clearly a better writer than I am.
But that doesn't give him the license to allow his idelogical perspective to color what he is reporting to the citizens of Long Island as fact.