I'll have more to say about this later, but G.R. Anderson has a wonderful take on the whole GagGate controversy in his City Pages blog.
http://radio.weblogs.com/0116681/ One of the many disturbing things about R.T.'s policy is that city officials are better than they've ever been about returning phone calls - and giving substantive answers. (This goes for council people too.) However, there's one exception - former police spokesperson Cyndi Barrington, of whom G.R. writes "Ah, yes, Cyndi Barrington (nee Montgomery). Her departure causes me just a little bit of glee, she whom I've come to believe legally added "Did Not Return Phone Calls" to the end of her name." As outraged as we were about the policy as reported in the Strib, one reporter in my shop actually did a little dance when he heard Barrington was gone. Cyndi wasn't mean, or malicious, just endlessly unavailable. So there's a silver lining to this turmoil. But that's what makes this policy so frightening. Cops like Craig Williams, Sharon Lubinski, Lucy Gerold, Rob Allen and many beat cops have been just excellent, and candid, about discussing public information, no matter where the chips fall. Having another gatekeeper/hurdle between the press and public information won't serve either side well. Either R.T. and Gail Plewacki - both former reporters (and bulldogs at that) - have done a horrible job of explaining what they're doing (note to communications specialists: it's not good for other media outlets to learn about your new rules from the Strib), or they've made a horrible policy. David Brauer King Field Editor, Skyway News & Southwest Journal TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Send all posts in plain-text format. 2. Cut as much of the post you're responding to as possible. ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
