By Hunter Walker 8/24/12 9:25am

Law & Order

Times photographer Robert Stolarik and a police officer at an Occupy Wall Street protest last December. (Photo: YouTube)

NYPD Returns Press Credentials to Photographer After His Arrest

New York Times freelancer Robert Stolarik was arrested and allegedly beaten by the NYPD on August 4 while taking pictures for the paper in the Bronx. Yesterday, the police department gave Mr. Stolarik back his press credential, which was taken at the time of his arrest. The National Press Photographers Association, which has had its general counsel, Mickey Osterreicher, working with Times lawyers and negotiating with the NYPD on Mr. Stolarik’s behalf announced the return of his press pass in a blog post.

“We are very appreciative that the NYPD reconsidered their position with regard to the return of Robert’s credentials but still believe it is unfortunate that they were taken in the first place and we will work very diligently to see that the charges are dismissed,” Mr. Osterreicher said. Read More

By Hunter Walker 8/06/12 7:32pm

The Fourth Estate

Times photographer Robert Stolarik and a police officer at an Occupy Wall Street protest last December. (Photo: YouTube)

Police And Paper Have Conflicting Stories After Photographer Allegedly Beaten And Arrested in The Bronx

According to the NYPD, New York Times photographer Robert Stolarik “violently resisted” being arrested Saturday night and “inadvertently struck” an officer after he got too close to police who were dealing with another suspect. Mr. Stolarik and Times attorney George Freeman dispute this account and claim he was kicked and beaten by the police after simply attempting to do his job. After a long winter that was filled with clashes between New York City’s press and police at Occupy Wall Street, Mr. Freeman told The Politicker this incident shows the NYPD has failed on its promise not to interfere with those who cover the news on city streets. As for, Mr. Stolarik, he just wants to get his cameras and press pass back. Read More

By David Freedlander 6/11/12 12:46pm

Guessing Games

NewYorkTimesLogo

Who Will Win The New York Times Congressional Endorsements?

Last month, The Observer wrote a piece detailing how the New York Times endorsement process works, what the editorial board looks for in a candidate, and how much getting the gray lady’s nod determines who emerges victorious on election day.

Now, with New York’s federal elections only a few weeks away, we take a look at each of the competitive elections on June 26, take a guess at which way the paper will go and deduce what kind of an effect it will have.

Disagree? Make it known in the comments.

U.S. Senate Republican Primary—Bob Turner vs. Wendy Long vs. George Maragos

It is no by means a certainty that The Times will endorse in the GOP Senate primary, and if they do, expect it to be a hold-you-nose-and-vote-for-the-guy-who-is-marginally-better-than-the-rest kind of endorsement. Expect something along the lines of the paper’s endorsement of Mitt Romney in the presidential primary in April, in which they mocked Mr. Romney for abandoning his moderating tendencies and slammed GOP extremism before declaring the Massachusetts governor “the best choice of the field.” For this little noticed Senate race for the right to go up against Kirsten Gillibrand, the paper is likely to go with Bob Turner, a Queens businessman-turned-congressman, who is far less strident in his social views than Wendy Long and more dynamic than George Maragos. Mr. Turner is running very much as the candidate of New York City, and hometown pride may count for something here. Read More

By Colin Campbell 6/07/12 1:19pm

Twitter

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Paul Krugman Continues Beef With Republic of Estonia

Earlier today we reported on the President of Estonia, Toomas Hendrik Ilves, lashing out at New York Times columnist Paul Krugman over what he felt was an unfair treatment of his country. Their dispute isn’t over yet, however.

The original complaint came from a blog post where Mr. Krugman labeled Estonia’s recent economic performance as “a terrible — Depression-level — slump, followed by a significant but still incomplete recovery.” Read More

By Hunter Walker 6/07/12 8:45am

Beef

Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves (Photo: Getty)

Estonian President Explains His Twitter Tiff With Paul Krugman

Yesterday evening, Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves made a series of angry posts on Twitter taking issue with a blog post written by the New York Times’ Paul Krugman criticizing Estonia’s economic performance. Many who saw the Twitter spat doubted the account actually belonged to Mr. Ilves, but The Politicker reached out to the Estonian government and received confirmation and a statement from the man himself.

“Yes I send my own tweets,” Mr. Ilves said. “It was a sincere and immediate defense of the major and often difficult efforts of Estonia to deal with the economic crisis and to stick to the rules adopted in the European Union.” Read More

By Hunter Walker 5/22/12 9:27am

Media Criticism

Fox News President Roger Ailes (Photo: Getty)

Roger Ailes Calls Jon Stewart ‘A Socialist’ And Says New York Times Is ‘A Cesspool of Bias’

Fox News head honcho Roger Ailes gave a commencement speech at Ohio University yesterday in which he accused MSNBC, the AP and The New York Times of left wing bias and described Daily Show host Jon Stewart as a “socialist.” Media blogger Jim Romenesko compiled Tweets describing the content of the speech that were written by media lawyer Media lawyer and Harvard Law & Policy Review blogger Jonathan W. Peters, who witnessed the address and posted quotes from Mr. Ailes’ remarks.

“Jon Stewart is a comedian. He wouldn’t do well without Fox. And he basically has admitted to me, in a bar, that he’s a socialist,” Mr. Ailes said, according to Mr. Peters. “The New York Times is a cesspool of bias.” Read More

By Colin Campbell 4/02/12 12:27pm

Protests

Assemblyman Cymbrowitz and Sate Senator Diane Savino

Officials Protest NYT’s ‘Offensive’ and ‘Dangerous’ Depiction of Russians

Elected officials in southern Brooklyn are putting The New York Times on notice.

At issue is an article about insurance fraud in Russian-speaking communities of Brooklyn where a law-enforcement official was quoted saying, “This is the Russian mind-set, and this is why it’s endemic in the system …. If you’re not scamming the system, if you’re not scamming the government, you’re not doing what you’re supposed to be doing — you’re looked upon as a patsy.” Read More

By Hunter Walker 3/20/12 6:24pm

Mistaken Identity

Ydanis Rodriguez (Photo: New York City Council)

New York Times Confuses Ydanis Rodriguez With ‘George Martinez’

The New York Times accidentally identified Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez as “George Martinez” in a story today. The case of mistaken identity appeared in the caption of photo that accompanied the Times’ article about the press conference on the NYPD’s alleged use of excessive force at Saturday’s Occupy Wall Street protest Mr. Rodriguez held yesterday along with fellow Council members Jumaane Williams, Melissa Mark-Viverito and Stephen Levin.  Read More

By Hunter Walker 2/23/12 3:06pm

Show Me Your Tweets

My new profile photo. (via Photoshop master Richard Blakeley and Tom Selleck)

Is This Twitter Avatar Too Sexy for Politics?

Earlier today, D.C. gossip rag FishbowlDC published a post declaring “an unusual trend” developing among female “campaign and White House reporters” using “provocative, sometimes sexy photographs of themselves for their Twitter accounts.” As examples of this “trend,” writer Betsy Rothstein cited The New York Times’ Ashley Parker, Maeve Reston of the Los Angeles Times and The Hill’s Amie Parnes, all three of whom have, in this reporter’s opinion, absolutely normal, appropriate avatars.

Since Ms. Rothstein’s post only accused women of spurring this “sexy” avatar trend, I found her post to be a clear example of the objectification and double standards that have existed far too long surrounding women in the workforce. Read More