I will begin by admitting some childish delight at 10:30 one night, when I saw my one time nemesis reporting from the corner of Bumfuhc and God Knows Where, about how miserably cold it was there.
Chris Ramirez, before he went off on the establishment's media, was the Public Information Officer for Mayor Richard Berry.
I can still remember the smirk on his face, when it became apparent that Berry was going to let Ramirez decide who and who is not protected by the First Amendment.
Ramirez argued; you have to own a printing press or a broadcast license to be included under the protection the First Amendment provided for the political pamphleteers of the day, and continues to provide for the political pamphleteers of this.
Berry, to his enduring shame, let him get away with it. As far as I know, he still let's city PIOs decide who gets to ask them questions, and who doesn't. PIOs get to decide who and who doesn't enjoy Constitutional protection of their human right to be a free press.
It gets better.
While we're on Ramirez' and journalism; how does the Mayor's go to guy, get to report on the Mayor or anyone else at City Hall, without creating the appearance of a conflict of interest?
I remember that from an email exchange with Ramirez where he was pontificating on Journalism, Journalists, and Journalist's ethics, link, among which is written;
Avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived.And better still.
Last night, I happened to see Ramirez chasing after someone, and trying to get a candid, forthright and honest answer to a legitimate question, and the guy blew him off.
You have to love the irony in it.
photo Mark Bralley
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