More PIO disappointment

Mayor Richard Berry's pio Chris Huffman-Ramirez maintains that there are people in the Berry administration who have the authority to decide who is, and who is not, a member of the free press according to the First Amendment.

He has implied, but will not come right out and state, that he is one such.

His standards, in order to "qualify" for First Amendment protection; one has to "own a printing press" (or work for someone who does) or a "broadcast license" (or work for someone who does).

In fairness, Huffman-Ramirez has graciously given his permission for me to

"freely express my opinions on my blogspot" though he'll "... leave news reporting to the professionals who have been trained and educated to do so."

My follow up questions regarding training and education prerequisites , remain unanswered.

Because, according to him, I am not entitled to the "extremely responsive treatment" afforded to "real" journalists; he referred me to the pios who serve the great unwashed - "constituents".

So I wrote the following email to Director of Constituent Services Tito Madrid and Citizen Contact Center Division Director Esther Tenenbaum;

Esther Tenenbaum, Division Director, 311 Citizen Contact Center,
Tito Madrid, Director of Constituent Services, Office of the Mayor,

Ma'am, Sir,

I have been in contact with Chris T Ramirez, Director of Communications, Office of the Mayor.

He has informed me that "the city" claims the right to "credential" members the press, over and above the credentials provided under the First Amendment to the Constitution.

I have asked him to identify the person(s) who claims the authority to decide who gets "credentials" and who does not; in order to sort out who gets ""extremely responsive treatment" from Public Information Officers and who has to contact one or the other of you instead."

If you can then;
1) who in city government claims the authority to decide which of the press is "credentialed" and which is not? and
2) by what standards is that decision made?

I am grateful for your time and attention,

ched macquigg

Neither has extended the courtesy of even acknowledging the receipt of my request.

Add two more names to Berry's list of pios who are doing a great job of "telling the truth" as opposed to "spinning" the truth.

Were this not so deeply disturbing on so many levels, and
were it not so philosophically indefensible on any level,
it would be funny.

Instead, it is simple scary, very scary.




photo Mark Bralley