Here is an interesting turn of events that merits some exposure. Newspapers and journalists sometimes call themselves objective or suggest they are independent of the subjects they cover.
The Star-Ledger, for example, claims to hold itself to a high level of ethics and intergrity. In fact, the Ledger is a partner in Union County government corruption either willingly in as a result of manipulation, and it is being noticed.
Tina Renna wrote a column published online at http://countywatchers.blogspot.com/ titled: The Star-Ledger has a stunning reversal in policy.
"When the New Jersey State Attorney General's office served subpoenas at the Union County Improvement Authority where the Director is the Union County Democrat chairman Charlotte De Filippo just weeks before the general election in 2007, the Star-Ledger chose to suppress the news claiming it is their policy not to interfere with local elections," she wrote, adding, "DeFilippo had been served with subpoenas in September and October..."
"In direct contrast to that policy on Friday, May 30, 2008 just 4 days prior to the Primary Election, and today May 31 just 3 days prior to the Primary Election, in which Elizabeth Board of Education board member president, Armando DaSilva, an outspoken opponent of Elizabeth Mayor Bollwage and the Union County Democrat Committee is running for City council, the Star-Ledger chose to break a story and continue by publishing another story the following day about the Corzine Administration sending a team of inspectors to the Elizabeth school district that week after auditors alleged they have found far-reaching spending abuses. Lucille Davy, the state’s Education Commissioner whose husband James was in Governor James McGreevey’s cabinet and currently has a no-bid county consulting contract, issued the subpoena on behalf of the state Board of Education," scribed Renna. "Quoted in today’s Ledger article is Kirk Nelson, general counsel for the Elizabeth board 'The politicization of the state Board of Education is frightening on the weekend before a municipal election.'"
Renna might be taken to task for run on sentences, but she makes a valid point.
Either a news black out serves to keep elections honest or the public is able to discern the meaning of politically-charged allegations loosed on the eve of balloting.
You cannot have it both ways and still claim to be independent.
Then the Star-Ledger took one step more in the direction of openly taking sides. In a precedent setting move, the Voice of New Jersey failed to publish a story about the hotly contested Elizabeth mayoral election. Nothing. Nada. Zip, Zilch.
In what can only be described as an extention of Mayor J. Christian Bollwage's "No news is good news" philosophy, the state's largest daily newspaper completely ignored the campaign of challenger Edward Bryant Koon, the first black Democrat to mount a serious attempt at becoming mayor.
The council candidate who was sullied by the politically-inspired subpoena, DaSilva, never got a paragraph describing his herculean door to door effort.
Former Councilman Sammy Rodriguez, pursuing a return to public office 20 years after his unsucccessful challenge to the previous mayor, was also ignored by the Ledger.
Democrat George O'Grady, who won a closely contested ward council race in 2006 only to have the victory stolen by political bosses who riggest the election, did not get a brief mention because the Ledger failed to publish even an abbreviated missive about the candidates mounting a challenge to political insiders whose corruption is manifest.
Mayor Bollwage was sued by the ACLU after he went around destroying copies of a newspaper published by his political adversaries and now a former newspaper publisher says Bollwage inspired a criminal conspiracy to deprive him of taxpayer revenue.
If this sort of behavior is accomodated by the state's largest newspaper, how much freedom of the press is left? Is the Ledger undermining its future by sacrificing integrity?
Vladimir Putin erased political opponents and other critics of the government from Russian news and political talk shows. Political humor has been exiled from television.
Senior government officials in Russia and Union County deny the existence of government infringements on the press, but the Ledger is going to find it harder to explain why they missed two stories that had a direct bearing on two different elections while running one that had a substantial credibility gaps.
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