Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Caught in the Cookie Jar
I don't want to get in the way of Matt's excellent post below, so I'll keep this short. Here is an extraordinary story from The Village Voice on Rudolph Giuliani's questionable dealings with the New York Yankees during his time as mayor of New York City. I feel that it serves as a warning to those civic officials who might confuse their own predilections with the public good, as well as a reminder to myself that good journalism actually does exist in the world. There's certainly lots in the article to talk about, but I'll leave that for the comments.
Labels: New Arena
# posted by andy grabia @ 2:37 pm 
Comments:
Certainly a damning read, but the third-last line says it all to me. In case you hadn't picked up the writer's angle yet:
the story of him and his team is not just a saga of disturbing infatuation and self-absorption. It is an object lesson in what kind of a president he would be
While the ring stuff is "sexier" to read about (I mean, who wouldn't want a championship ring of their favourite team?) it doesn't particularly irk me from an influence-peddling standpoint. The real concerning stuff is the section on a new stadium.
I predict people will be more outraged that he got championship rings and free tickets than they will be about him gifting a $71-million minor league stadium nobody wanted, not to mention the tax loopholes on the new MLB ballpark. That seems perverse to me, but what have you.
Rudy Giuliani is an American hero. And I don't care what your pithy little blog has to say about it.
statengop said...
America! Fuck yeah! Rudy's going to save the motherfuckin' day yeah!
Awesome, you can add "pithy" to the list now Grabia.
How about the love/hate dynamic for fascists down here in the US of A?
I have a love/hate for their love/hate.
The problem seems to be that "good journalism" always seems to have its own motivations, it's all a matter of perspective really. Given Giuliani's imminent political aspirations, I'd wager that this article too has more in common with a pre-emptive military strike than unbiased journalism.
Given Giuliani's imminent political aspirations, I'd wager that this article too has more in common with a pre-emptive military strike than unbiased journalism.
But does it really matter, so long as good information comes out? I concede the point that the VV will likely have it out for Rudy, but it's not like this information fails to serve the public good. If all the points connect, it's pretty damning info.
And I agree about the stadium being more important than the rings and tickets, Pete. In fact, I'd rank it #1, the tickets #2, and the rings last. Part of the problem with the ring argument is that the writer is basing their value on what they would fetch on the market, not what they actually cost to make. To me, there's a big difference.
I predict the lack of commenting has more to do with peopel being too lazy to read through the whoel thing than it's being uninspiring. Which it's not.
Or maybe it's because Rudy is going to be the next PRESIDENT and it's best not to create an international incident so soon?
Wise restraint from my fellow Albertans.
You're comparing the New York media environment to Edmonton? Even if Murdoch manages to buy the Journal (the real one, the Wall Street one), that still leaves, oh, 50 New York newspapers that he doesn't own.
Rudy's life is an open book because he's managed to piss off every New Yorker at least once, some of whom are newspapermen dying for scoops. People can live pretty quiet lives in Edmonton--if bin Laden were a big advertiser, I bet he could hide in Edmonton pretty easily.
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Certainly a damning read, but the third-last line says it all to me. In case you hadn't picked up the writer's angle yet:
the story of him and his team is not just a saga of disturbing infatuation and self-absorption. It is an object lesson in what kind of a president he would be
While the ring stuff is "sexier" to read about (I mean, who wouldn't want a championship ring of their favourite team?) it doesn't particularly irk me from an influence-peddling standpoint. The real concerning stuff is the section on a new stadium.
I predict people will be more outraged that he got championship rings and free tickets than they will be about him gifting a $71-million minor league stadium nobody wanted, not to mention the tax loopholes on the new MLB ballpark. That seems perverse to me, but what have you.
# posted by 
: May 17, 2007 9:37 am
: May 17, 2007 9:37 am Rudy Giuliani is an American hero. And I don't care what your pithy little blog has to say about it.
# posted by : May 18, 2007 2:57 pm
: May 18, 2007 2:57 pm statengop said...
America! Fuck yeah! Rudy's going to save the motherfuckin' day yeah!
Awesome, you can add "pithy" to the list now Grabia.
How about the love/hate dynamic for fascists down here in the US of A?
I have a love/hate for their love/hate.
The problem seems to be that "good journalism" always seems to have its own motivations, it's all a matter of perspective really. Given Giuliani's imminent political aspirations, I'd wager that this article too has more in common with a pre-emptive military strike than unbiased journalism.
Given Giuliani's imminent political aspirations, I'd wager that this article too has more in common with a pre-emptive military strike than unbiased journalism.
But does it really matter, so long as good information comes out? I concede the point that the VV will likely have it out for Rudy, but it's not like this information fails to serve the public good. If all the points connect, it's pretty damning info.
And I agree about the stadium being more important than the rings and tickets, Pete. In fact, I'd rank it #1, the tickets #2, and the rings last. Part of the problem with the ring argument is that the writer is basing their value on what they would fetch on the market, not what they actually cost to make. To me, there's a big difference.
I predict the lack of commenting has more to do with peopel being too lazy to read through the whoel thing than it's being uninspiring. Which it's not.
# posted by : May 22, 2007 10:38 am
: May 22, 2007 10:38 am Or maybe it's because Rudy is going to be the next PRESIDENT and it's best not to create an international incident so soon?
Wise restraint from my fellow Albertans.
# posted by : May 22, 2007 2:35 pm
: May 22, 2007 2:35 pm You're comparing the New York media environment to Edmonton? Even if Murdoch manages to buy the Journal (the real one, the Wall Street one), that still leaves, oh, 50 New York newspapers that he doesn't own.
Rudy's life is an open book because he's managed to piss off every New Yorker at least once, some of whom are newspapermen dying for scoops. People can live pretty quiet lives in Edmonton--if bin Laden were a big advertiser, I bet he could hide in Edmonton pretty easily.
# posted by : June 01, 2007 2:45 pm
: June 01, 2007 2:45 pm Post a Comment
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