@gollum,
gollum wrote:
Is this an appropriate policy for an American public official?
IMO, no. Just to be clear, my understanding is that she is only granting one on one interviews to minorities on the two year anniversary of taking office. General press conferences are open to all and this rule does not apply to other days.
This is her take:
Quote:“The fact that the City Hall press corps is overwhelmingly white, has very little in the way of diversity, is an embarrassment,” Lightfoot said. “One day out of 365, I say that I’m going to mark the anniversary of my two years in office by giving exclusive one-on-ones to journalists of color, and the world loses its mind.”
She was sued over the issue by a conservative outlet.
Quote:University of Chicago law professor Geoffrey Stone told the Chicago Tribune he expects the court to throw out the lawsuit. He noted public officials commonly pick and choose which media outlets to favor, and that Lightfoot said the decision applied to one date and wasn’t a blanket policy.
“Given that she’s talking only about one day, it seems to be blown out of proportion, to make a fuss over it,” Stone said.
gollum wrote:
When she denies interviews to a white journalist from say, The New York Times, should that publication then send her one of its black reporters?
No. The Chicago Tribune was granted an interview by a minority reporter but backed out of it when Lightfoot would not rescind the policy.
Stumble It!
Tweet This
Bookmark on Delicious
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace