Four newspapers are capable of covering Saratoga Springs Albany Glens Falls newspaper that doesn’t make much of Saratoga Springs
The Publishers who come and go are only interested in revenue. Except that there were a long line of publishers who automatically wanted to endorse only Republican candidate, we can discount them. That leaves us with Ms. Lombardo. Ms. Lombard has been long among us. Her most notable accomplishment was her op ed the day after the Bush/Gore election when everyone was hanging onto every news outlet waiting to hear the details and possibly the outcome of the election. In her op ed Ms. Lombardo told us she didn’t want to go to election night parties. She then spent an entire editorial talking about her broken refrigerator and what she went through to replace it. She showed her truly astonishing priorities and her perhaps imperfect grasp of the important issues that impact our lives.
Take the most talked about issue of the past few years, Charter Change. The Saratogian could have educated us with an overview of the various alternatives to the Commission form of government. It could have outlined the extraordinary and tax spending measures Mayor Johnson was taking to prevent citizens from voting the proposed charter up or down. It could have weighed the benefits/deficiencies of the Commission form of government. It did none of these things. This Saratogian, this paper that for decades ran its brilliant cartoon of the five headed monster whenever there was a problem between Commissioners; whenever the issue of charter was raised, was strangely silent. No real information on the issue; no cartoon. I don’t know what it tells you. It tells me that Ms. Lombard and the paper are controlled by the revenue and opinions of its advertisers, Roohan Realty, Stewarts, Adirondack Trust, Gordon Boyd Energy Company - Mayor Johnson supporters all. As a newsperson, Ms. Lombardo is certainly past her sell by date.
And that leaves us with the Daily Gazette. At one time when Kathy Parker was reporting on our City it was one of the better newspapers in the area. No more. Last spring when I submitted a letter to the editor (see below), I received the usual phone call asking if I had written the letter. I said yes. The young lady asked if I were still a member of the S. S. Democratic City Committee. I answered yes, why did she want to know. She said, she’d have to put that below my name. I told her that I was writing as a private citizen, not as a representative of the committee so if she had to note that I was a member of the committee, she shouldn’t publish the letter. But, I told her to tell her editors that it was a disturbing policy. She asked if I would like to speak to her editor. I said yes please.
One Arthur Clayman, editor, got on the phone. I explained that I didn’t represent the committee so he couldn’t publish the letter with the committee name below mine. He said that was his policy. I told him I’d read plenty of letter written by Brian Hollowood who was a member of the Republican City Committee and it never so stated. He repeated his policy and we agreed that he wouldn’t publish my letter.
Ten minutes later Mr. Clayman called back. He said if I took out Congresssman Chirs Gibson’s name he would publish my letter under my name alone. He had given me ten minutes to think. I asked if he had the names of all committee persons of the Democratic, Republican, Independence
I don’t know what this tells you. It tells me that although voter registration between Democrats and Republicans is almost even, our city, our county is still in the vice of single party control, in our case Republican. Although we do elect Democrats now and then, if a Democrat is to stay in office for any length of time he/she has to play ball with Republican “city fathers” – I believe its called picking one’s battles. Anyone who stands for the rights of citizens to free information; for multiparty participation in city governance/boards; for free interchange of ideas is personally vilified and so turned out of office.
Again.... we have no impartial newspaper to inform; no impartial newspaper to educate; no impartial newspaper to rally people to participate in their City, their government, their future.
Letter to the Editor:
Mendacity
Remember the congressional election of 2010. Our TVs were flooded with ads featuring our neighbors. They said don’t vote for Murphy. He will kill Medicare and hurt seniors. They deceived voters.
Congressman, Dr. Chris Gibson and his compatriots are doing exactly what they falsely accused another of planning. Their plans include cutting Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Planned Parenthood specifically and healthcare in general - safety nets most needed in times of economic trouble.
Conservative rhetoric rails against “entitlements”. If we and our children can’t have a social safety net (entitlements), why should corporations with rich balance sheets have subsidies (entitlements).
Dr. Gibson seems to be a social ideologue caring only about low taxes. He has the knowledge and experience to know where and how to streamline the military budget. Instead, he plays with our social safety nets ignoring all other government spending and revenue issues.
Politicians like him paid by corporate donors sermonize about low corporate taxes, low taxes on income over a million dollars and large corporate subsidies to stimulate the economy and create jobs. We have been trying that for the past ten years. It hasn’t worked! The jobs are gone; the deficit blown; the middle classes being asked to sacrifice while the few prosper.
I certainly understand the pressing need to lower our national debt for our children’s sake. But before putting citizens, seniors, women and children now or in the future at risk, we should be looking at oil subsidies, large corporate farming subsidies, our entire tax code and a panoply of programs/loopholes that help multibillion dollar corporations not ordinary citizens.
Congressman Gibson is either a zealot or has a callous disregard for regular citizens. During the “shut down” debate Gibson and his ilk promised to dismantle everything that has made America
304 Words
Nancy Goldberg
