Queens newspaper points out the irony of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez banning them
from her local town-hall events, even though she's been going around the country giving interviews with national MSM, and they feel they gave her good coverage when she was the underdog.
This Queens newspaper was the first to report how local news reporters were banned from her PUBLIC event. Lost in the shuffle has been the point that these local reporters are her constituents, also.
Also, while they weren't allowed to report, non-reporters were tweeting and sending out other social media photos and accounts of the event. So much for privacy.
And what was to prevent some ICE person from showing up to this public event, and taking pictures or even arresting someone? If they are so concerned about this issue, they should have a closed, not a public event. All that does is keep out legitimate reporters while still allowing ICE in.
The bottom line: in this new era of "the press is the enemy of the people," no Democrats should ever imply that the press isn't part of the public or doesn't represent the public. But any candidate can have a private or closed event. That's always an option.
Link to tweet
Link to tweet
http://www.qchron.com/opinion/editorial/aoc-must-deal-with-press/article_882eed8d-4056-5f74-88ca-f5e7185717b5.html?platform=hootsuite
The Democratic nominee for Congress in the 14th District — and virtually guaranteed winner because she has no real opponent — Ocasio-Cortez held the event as part of a “listening tour” around the district she will represent. At a prior event in the Bronx, she was “mobbed” by reporters even though her campaign had told the media there would be no question-and-answer period and no one-on-one interviews, her team said. Hence the barring of the press from both another event in the Bronx and the one here. Also, they wanted residents to be able to speak their minds without the distraction of reporters and cameras. But, they said, these were the first of AOC’s events the press was barred from, and that will not become the norm.
We’re going to hold her to that. Ocasio-Cortez has been granting interviews to major media outlets nationwide since becoming a progressive Democratic star, and she should not forget the Queens press once elected — especially the paper that gave her run more and better coverage than any other here when she was seen as the underdog.
http://www.qchron.com/editions/queenswide/ocasio-cortez-bans-press-from-town-hall/article_e59fba26-ddd9-559a-af62-e11dd76e1191.html
At some point during the meeting, according to the social media feeds of attendees, Ocasio-Cortez got up and addressed the audience. . . .
Other social media users in attendance said that topics such as affordable housing, charter schools and Borough President Melinda Katz’s interest in the building of a soccer stadium were discussed.
“The way we organize around electoral campaigns is the way we need to organize around issue campaigns when Congress is in session,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
= new reply since forum marked as read
A good ol local newspaper.. Not a "rw source" reporting on AOC banning the press from her public event.. as some continue to insist.
Irony indeed.. thank you for the report, pnwmom
... and finding out that you're in over your head. All this could have been avoided with experience or experienced handlers/organizers.
All I'm saying is that this could have ended less than 24 hours after the fact with a simple admission of error, apology, and assurances of having learned from the mistake. It's a newbie mistake to think that aggressively doubling-down actually solves anything.
