By Colin Campbell 5/01 10:35am

The Fourth Estate

nypost nyt

The Tabloids Tout Bloomberg’s Times Tirade

Yesterday afternoon, Mayor Michael Bloomberg fiercely condemned The New York Times for its lackluster coverage of the shooting death of 17-year-old Alphonza Bryant and its editorials critical of the NYPD’s controversial stop-and-frisk policy. “Do you think that if a white, 17-year-old prep student from Manhattan had been murdered, The Times would have ignored it?” Mr. Bloomberg sarcastically asked himself. “Me neither.”

Several of The Times competitors took notice.

“Take that, New York Times!” New York Post columnist Michael Goodwin declared in an op-ed piece prominently featuring The Times‘ logo. “And thank you, Bloomy.” Read More

By Colin Campbell 4/11 8:23am

fun with puns

(Photo: Newseum.org)

New York Post Relishes Return of Anthony Weiner

After former Congressman Anthony Weiner revealed his possible return to electoral politics yesterday, one could not help but wonder what pun-filled direction the New York Post would take. After all, during Mr. Weiner’s 2011 scandal, the tabloid simply wallowed in its own innuendos.

Today’s paper didn’t disappoint.

The Post‘s full coverage of Mr. Weiner’s potential mayoral candidacy starts with the cover, which blares “WEINER’S SECOND COMING!” and “Anthony: Erect me Mr. Mayor,” along with one of the sexual pictures that helped force his resignation. Read More

By Colin Campbell 4/02 6:52pm

The Press Box

John Liu.

Out of Comptrol: Can John Liu Charm and Hustle His Way to Gracie Mansion?

“I’m not particularly fond of getting the shit kicked out of me by the media all the time,” John Liu told The Observer last week. “But that doesn’t alter the reality.”

The reality, the city’s comptroller said, is not necessarily found in the headlines every morning. For example, he disputes a New York Daily News report that “debunked” his claims of childhood sweatshop work. The New York Post said he “needs to just go away.” And Mr. Liu feels it’s “plainly obvious” that federal prosecutors are driving negative New York Times coverage as they investigate his mayoral campaign for fund-raising improprieties.

“You’re not supposed to fuck with the Fourth Estate,” Mr. Liu explained while sitting on a bench after a Harlem event, displaying two of his signature traits in one quick sentence—a penchant for direct talk and an increased interest in how the media portrays him. Read More

By Hunter Walker 3/26 7:51pm

Housekeeping

Chuck Schumer, Michael Bloomberg, Kirsten Gillibrand and Hunter Walker at the U.S. Capitol Building. (Photo: NycMayorsOffice on Flickr)

Programming Note: Editor Leaves Politicker to ‘Spend More Time With My Family’

Today is this reporter’s last day here at the good ship Politicker. We hoped our last post on the site would be a final journey into the “Vallone Zone,” but, as of this writing, Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. did not respond to our email sent late this afternoon. As a result, we have no option other than to print a series of thank yous and farewells with a few juicy bits of gossip thrown in to, hopefully, help you forgive us for publishing something so utterly self-indulgent. Read More

By Hunter Walker 3/25 3:56pm

Moguls

US-OSCARS-ARRIVALS

Did Mayor Bloomberg Warn Rupert Murdoch to ‘Stop Twittering?’

At his press conference this afternoon, Mayor Michael Bloomberg was asked about his thoughts on the “Twitter universe” in light of a recent scandal involving an EMS lieutenant who was suspended after the New York Post revealed a series of racist statements he made on the social media site. Mayor Bloomberg described it as evidence people need to be far more careful about what they post online and suggested he’d even warned one of his fellow media moguls, Rupert Murdoch, to stay away from Twitter.

“Everything you send out is going to be retweeted, re-Facebooked, re this, re that and … if you write it down, some day somebody’s going to FOIL it or get it based on a judge’s order,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “You should write down, number one, only things you believe and, number two, then think about how it would look if somebody else sees it.” Read More

By Hunter Walker 3/19 5:04pm

Twitter

drunkhulk

Joe Lhota Wants to Meet Drunk Hulk

Prior to launching his mayoral bid, Republican former MTA chairman Joe Lhota was an extremely prolific Twitter user. Since hitting the campaign trail, Mr. Lhota has made far fewer posts on the social media site and stopped tweeting the witticisms he was previously known for. When Politicker saw Mr. Lhota at lunch yesterday, we asked him why he reduced his Twitter presence. Mr. Lhota attributed his lower Twitter profile to instructions from his campaign press team, specifically, his spokeswoman Susan Del Percio.

“I eventually will get back. You know I get handled by my press people,” said Mr. Lhota. “Susan, she threatened me, so I have to be careful.” Read More

By Hunter Walker 3/18 10:34am

Early Exits

Tom Allon (Photo: Facebook)

Tom Allon Is Dropping Out of the Mayor’s Race

A little over five months after he announced a “fusion candidacy” for mayor on the Liberal and Republican party lines, Tom Allon, CEO of the local newspaper chain Manhattan Media, is ending his bid for City Hall. Mr. Allon announced his decision in a statement that attributed the decision to his direct acquisition of Manhattan Media’s political news organization, City and State Media.

“When I decided to enter the mayoral race in July, 2011, I had a deep desire to lead this wonderful and unique city and to finally fix our crumbling public education system, the single greatest cause of New York City’s jobs crisis and increasing inequality in the five boroughs,” Mr. Allon said. Read More

By Hunter Walker 3/05 4:24am

Family Matters

Abong'o Malik Obama (Photo: Facebook)

President Obama’s Kenyan Brother Believes He’s Been a Victim of Possible Voter Fraud and ‘Racist’ Press Coverage

Abong’o Malik Obama wants to have a career in politics like his half-brother, President Barack Obama. However, hours after the polls closed in Kenya’s elections last night, Mr. Obama said he wasn’t sure whether his bid to be governor of Siaya County was a success and he is concerned the election results may have been tampered with. He’s also extremely angry about tabloid coverage of his campaign.

“It’s impossible to tell at this time, the whole system crashed,” Mr. Obama told Politicker when we called him Tuesday morning to inquire about the election. “We have no idea, it’s still hanging out there, and I myself am extremely disappointed and there is a high risk that the results may be manipulated.”  Read More

By Hunter Walker 3/04 2:25pm

Media Criticism

The photo that illustrated the Breitbart.com story on Herman Cain.

Breitbart.com Compares Herman Cain’s Critics to Jim Crow ‘Dog’ and ‘Fire Hose’ Attacks

The news that former presidential candidate Herman Cain joined Fox News as a contributor last month got some negative reviews from media pundits and one Breitbart.com writer believes the criticism of Mr. Cain is racist and comparable to the violence inflicted on African-American protesters during the Civil Rights movement. In an article that appeared Friday on “Big Journalism,” the media section of the conservative web network started by the late Andrew Breitbart, writer John Nolte compared members of the “media establishment” who have criticized Mr. Cain to infamous Alabama lawman Eugene “Bull” Connor, who notoriously ordered fire hoses and police dogs to be used against anti-Jim Crow protesters.

“No one is claiming Herman Cain is perfect, but there is no question he is currently being singled out as the sexualized clownish idiot based solely on the color of his skin. This is what the left and elite media always do to those who ‘don’t know their place,’” Mr. Nolte wrote. “In the segregated South, racist whites (almost all of them Democrats) used the exact same tactics to keep blacks from obtaining political power. The only difference is that today “Bull” Connor (another Democrat) is the media establishment, the dogs are the likes of Chuck Todd, Joe Scarborough, and Howard Kurtz, and the fire hose is The Narrative.” Read More