Well the Omaha World Herald's continuing vendetta against Mayor Jim Suttle is starting to crack us up.
Now we here at Leavenworth Street enjoy using the various Faces Of Suttle to adorn our posts. But we're a blog, and we're expected to have a little fun with the mugs of the pols that we skewer from time to time.
But the OWH is supposed to be an unbiased news source, right?
Then how to explain this shot they added to the online story about Suttle's salary?
Really, that's the best you got?
Compare that to the main shot of Mike Fahey the OWH uses:
Gosh that Mayor Fahey is a swell, happy guy....
The OWH: It's Blog-tastic.
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Speaking of the OWH, how about THIS headline for their least favorite member of the Nebraska Congressional delegation:
"Rep. Smith's Playing Time Scant"
Yes, this is a story about how Rep. Adrian Smith of CD-3 played in the House Dem vs Repub charity softball game. Smith pinch-ran twice and scored once.
Not much better in the print edition:
"No at-bats for Smith in congressional ballgame"
So is the headline, "Smith scores in a pinch for GOP"?
Or how about, "Smith honors UNK at House game"?
No, it references that Smith didn't play the field.
We're sort of amazed it didn't say, "Smith skips House duties to play games".
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Senator Mike Johanns at a Senate Banking Committee hearing yesterday:
“I really worry today if what we’re seeing is a dead cat bounce, where all we are doing is pushing so much liquidity into the marketplace that we’re just setting ourselves up for the next cliff.”While it's apparently a regularly used financial term, I think we can all agree that Dead Cat Bounce would be an excellent band name.
You can thank me later, kids.
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**UPDATE**
For those of you who don't know, Joe Jordan is leaving KMTV Channel 3 in Omaha as of June 26th.
Jordan is taking a new gig at The Franklin Center for Public Integrity. (We're looking for more info on it, as there are a couple of groups with similar names.)
We are sad to see Joe leave the Omaha MSM. Mainly because he is the only reporter who seeks to ask the incisive follow-up questions for pols, rather than let them deliver their own spin.
Sure Joe often tried to make himself more of the story, but he usually made interviews interesting and got nuggets that you seldom got from other reporters.
We're not quite sure on what he'll be reporting (Joe feel free to contact us - not sure your old email works!), but we look forward to hopefully getting more news from him in the future.
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26 comments:
We will miss you Joe!!! Love you Joe!!! Ok I mean love in the platonic sense...lol
Joe is the best!!!
Sweeper: I apologize for going off topic here but in your previous post, Brian T. Osborn the Political Prognosticator, replied that he never guaranteed that Scott Kleeb would beat Mike Johanns, that he only wagered a "6-pack of beer" (which, for BTO, would be Keystone Light).
BTO: You're right. You never said the word "guarantee". From February 21, 2008, 3:17pm:
"But come November you're going to have to get used to the idea that Sen. Scott Kleeb will be going to Washington."
My apologies for misinterpreting your idiotic prediction as being a "guarantee".
Joe is one of the few REAL reporters in this city. And he was the only reason I watched KMTV. Good luck Joe!
Say it ain't so, Joe! You will be missed.
Joe's reporting represents a type of television journalism that is disappearing as the American media market continues its descent into tabloidism.
The OW-H is already there. Over the past two years, the newspaper's focus has really shifted inward. Less national and international news, and more intensly local. The management is finally acknowledging what most newsies have know for years: Anyone under 40 who is not a current subscriber to a daily newspaper never will be one.
Thus, the paper now focuses its reporting on issues it presumes are of interest to its aging subscribers. Consider the following:
- Frequent (sometimes daily) stories about "the greatest generation" and/or "honor flights." Don't get me wrong, I honor those who have served, but the OW-H is nakedly pandering.
- "Community Connection" section. This is just plain bad. Reminds me of the Norfolk Daily News.
- Vacation photos in the Sunday paper. Ditto.
- Tabloid stories. Two recent examples - (1) the LONG story about the 19 year-old who was tried for sexual assault and acquitted. The story had it all: "hot mom," teenage boys, booze, alleged digital penetration. So far so good, right? Except the jury ACQUITTED the kid. In other words, the jury rejected the evidence that the paper spent about 30 paragraphs reciting. Three years ago, that story would probably have appeared on page 2 of the Midlands as a one paragraph "Omaha Man, 19, Acquitted in Sexual Assault Trial" blurb. (2) the Samp story. To date, the paper has traded in nothing but rumors. Trash, trash, trash.
Peter Kiewit and Gilbert Hitchcock are surely rolling over in their graves.
Ultimately, this is what the public gets in a one newspaper town. Lazy and self-serving journalism is a poor service to the public.
I say again: Wake up, people!
Paul M.,
You just can't help yourself. For you it just isn't the truth unless you quote people with the words that you put in their mouths, rather than what they actually said. Maybe you should try to get a job with Faux News, they love to play loose with facts, just as you do.
I am a graphic designer by trade, not a political prognosticator. But if I quote someone, I make at least a minimal attempt to find exactly what it is they said rather than just listening to those delusional voices in my head.
There are highly paid professional political prognosticators that have missed the mark by a greater degree than I did. But I'm glad to provide you an easier target to practice YOUR incisive political acumen against. It does, after all, offer you the opportunity to demonstrate your foolishness.
Perhaps, if you would provide us the remainder of your last name, we could compare all your public comments, and hold you as responsible for them as you have done with mine. I won't be holding my breath for that to happen since I am well aware of how all you anony-cowards behave.
Oh, and I really don't care for Keystone Light. I like Miller Genuine Draft, or Corona.
Things are about to get even more rough for Suttle.
The OWH has a copy of his proposed budget filled with tax increses. Not one, many.
This will be ugly.
A few more questions. In a time when Suttle is demanding everyone give back salary, or wages are froze, how does he think he can get away hiring staff at 25% more salary than previos staffs?
Talk about stupid, he counts not filling his newly created CO-chief of staff position as a cut staff position. No that he rules out filling it later to boot.
Things are going to be interesting over the next week.
Joe Jordan is finally going away??? Way past time IMHO. He is famous (or is that infamous) for the creative editing of candidate interviews to fit his own particular bias. If Joe was asked prior to an interview if the subject could also make a complete recording, Joe would blow a gasket and cancel the interview.
I agree with Sweeper and other here that Omaha needs some good hard-hitting political reporters...and that we don't have any.
Anony 1:55,
There is always Paul M.
Oh. Wait a minute . . .
Warrants confirm Samp investigated
http://omaha.com/article/20090619/NEWS01/706199844
It seems the only SS has recruited the OWH in his battle against Jim Suttle, either that or SS works for the OWH, interesting theories. And what happened to the policy against linking?
i work for the owh and I agree the owh is a joke when it comes to journalism.
that is why terry kroeger has to go. he is allowing the owh to become a joke
To the extent that Joe Jordan asked tough questions, had the guts to ask follow up questions of politicans on camera, provided a forumn for issues to be discussed like in his old Sunday morning show "Face the Midlands", presented interesting stories which encouraged viewers to ask important questions, Joe Jordan will truly be missed. He was one of a kind and he provided a great service to Omaha & democracy.
To the extent that Joe Jordan played into the "gottcha" type of politics of "slash and burn", demonizing, etc. Joe Jordan will not be missed. I don't know if it was to boost ratings or to just get people to pay attention, many of Jordan's stories were too dramatic, too sensational, that often framed the politican in the worst possible light defenseless. This only fed into the public's cynical view of politics in general and did not enlight or truly inform the public.
Al,
We have a "no-links" policy here on on L. St.
To Nate, you'll note that the previous link was to an OWH news story, which I consider generic in nature, so not a big deal.
The links we don't want are the type listed by the reader who wants you to follow up on his agenda or to his personal site.
Basically we don't want to have to police every link, so we just say none get put up. (Again, I really don't count news story links here.)
Again folks: If you want to make a point, type it yourself.
Thanks
Ed.
Great leading by example Mr Suttle....giving your staff higher rates of pay while as the city slides into bankruptcy, as you yourself have said.
Payraises in this economy? WTF? Someone smack that guy up alongside the head. He is a Democrat? Really?
Thanks for the clarification
Nebraskans are politically retarded.
We say that Joe Jordan's questions were “tough… important… a great service to Omaha & democracy." Yet in the next breath we complain about Joe Jordan's political demonizing of politicians, saying Jordan's stories were “too dramatic, too sensational (and) often framed the politician in the worst possible light... (and) fed into the public's cynical view of politics."
Are you kidding? Freedom demands voters be absolutely cynical of every politician who seeks power over free people.
Joe Jordan doesn't make people cynical. An unending string of power hungry politicians does that.
Nebraskans are real dunces ala politics. We never quit being dimwits from Unicameral-ville. We always expect politics to be something other than corrupting. We always wish to trust our elected officials, when in truth no one should ever be less trusted than a person who swings the hammers of power.
Joe Jordon is a mean, hard bitten, personally biased reporter who shines a painfully hot spotlight on politicians. When my guy is in that hot light, I hate Jordon worse than the devil.
However, our problem isn't that Jordon acts that way. Our problem is that every other reporter in Nebraska ought to be acting exactly like Joe Jordon and yet they don't. If they all did, their various personal biases would generally balance their own painfully hard questions against that of other reporters' painfully hard questions. They would compete to see who would most strongly hold politicians to account. Today they don’t.
Omaha without Joe will have zero hard questions being asked of all those we elect to corrupting positions of power.
Nebraska has too few Joe Jordans, too few Omaha newspapers, and way too many voters who think that somewhere out there are human beings we can elect who are incorruptible.
Nebraskans are infected with a statewide political stupidity that guarantees Nebraska a sad future of inept and crooked government.
Sorry for the length. Feel strongly about this.
Brian Osborn and Roger Hannah are really going at it over at NNN. Physicial threats are involved.
All started over the talk about Lisa Hannah getting fired from her job with SEIU.
In the same thread at NNN, Jane Kleeb asks everyone to stop attacking one another and go door to door for their health care plan.
(Roger Hannah confirmed his wife, Lisa, was fired from her job with SEIU--presumably by Jane.)
But this is the health care plan that would cost $1 trillion more over 10 years and still leave 30 million people uninsured. Some plan.
Kalediscope is the only media outlet that creates a space for the public to discuss and debate issues in a thoughtful, civilized, respectful way.
Too bad the Leavenworth Blog wasn't into scoring partisan points and playing slash and burn hit pieces all day long or they too could be providing a needed public service.
The choice was between the high road and the low road and the Leavenworth Street blog chose the low road and turned this blog into nothing more than a partisan Republican hit machine.
sad.
Kalediscope? Really? That's the comparison?
Uh...ok.
And whaddaya mean "turned this blog"?
I don't think we ever "turned". We've been talking politics since Day One.
Glad to have you join.
-SS
NE Voter, good job of the breakdown of where OWH is going in your comments...I completely agree and that was a well said and thought-out post.
In today's press conference, Mayor Suttle refers to Omaha as "your city". Doesn't Suttle also live here? Or did he move to Council Bluffs?
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