Last week the NYT said it was the Surrogate Court that was keeping the Queens political machine alive. True News said it was much more than the court that was fueling that political machine. Yesterday the NYT wrote an article on when is a blogger a journalist. Today True News looks a Queens local newspapers that have not only turn they back on journalism but have become partners, house organs with the Boss Crowley’s political machine.
Soviet Queens Pravda
A Takeover Of Journalism by Lobbyist and Politicians
In queens the local newspaper, the political machine and government all work together. The paper do not preform the role of checks and balances that Founding Father envisioned to protect the people from the government and ensure a working democracy. Instead Queens local newspapers have gamed journalism to operate as a co-machine in Queens. They work in campaigns and are lobbyist to the same elected officials they help elect or reelect. The papers operate as the house organ for the Democratic party to controling who becomes gets elected or becomes a judge in Queens county. The judges in turn send the legal ads worth tens of thousands dollars to the local papers.
At the heart of the queens newspaper conspiracy is Michael Nussbaum. He wears many hats. Executive V.P. and Associate Publisher TRIBCO owners of the Queens Tribune and several other papers and magazines in that borough. Nussbaum owns the papers along with Congressman Ackerman and Mike Schenkler who services as publisher of the operation. Schenkler calls Nussbaum the driving force behind Multi-Media, which he calls the papers printing, promotion arm. What Schenkler does not tell us is that Multi-Media does campaign printing for elected officials like State Senator Shirley Huntley, Assemblyman Edward Braunstein and Councilman Peter Koo. One of Nussbaum papers hired the wife of Councilman Leroy Comrie Marcia to run their southeast queens local edition.
A queens pol says Nussbaum and a large political consultant lobbyist group work together often in printing for candidates. Parkside is run by Evan Stavisky who works for almost all the candidates backed by the queens machine. Stavisky move into the big time by working for Brian Mclaughlin and many of the organization that led to the former queens congressman conviction. Stavisky was in the middle of the city council slush fund non investigation where Quinn and the others walked away untouched. n 2005 in a NYT article Dick Dadey executive director of Citizens Union expressed concern about what he called "a growing problem" of council members being lobbied by firms that serve as political consultants to many of them. It not just the local queens newspapers that control what becomes news. Most of the political writers in NYC know but have not written how Evan lives in Rockland County where his wife is an elected democratic leader and Evan services an elected district leader in Queens. It is a deal reporters who do not understand politics make to endure that they continue to get news tips from Stavisky.
Newspaper V.P. Nussbaum is not only campaign consultant he is also a lobbyist for developers like Patrick Thompson who is trying to clear FAA clearance to finally redevelop the illegally partially torn down 20 years ago RKO Keith. Schenkler wrote that Nussbaum “brings us Asian clients and friends. His network includes the very top government officials and business giants in the Far East as well as their counterparts here in our country.” If you want to know where Nussbaum gets his asian clients all you have to do is check with one of the other papers owner Congressman Ackerman. The congressman is a member and the former Chair of the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific which has oversight on U.S. policy towards nations in Asia. Ackerman has already show that he knows how to use the paper to benefit himself and his partners. He was Nussbaum papers publisher and weekly columnist until 1978 when he was elected to the state senate.
Nussbaum Was Convicted for Bribery in 1987 of Soliciting a $250000 Bribe for Borough President Donald Manes
Nussbaum was a member of Queens machine before he became a journalism. He was a public relations consultant who was found guilty for collaborating with Donald R. Manes, the Queens Borough President, in soliciting a $250,000 bribe for the awarding of a cable-television franchise in Queens. It was all part of massive scandal that U.S. Attorney Giuliani started to get him into the mayor's office, that involved Mayor Koch, the city's Parking Violations Bureau, the death of the Queens Borough President, judges, the Bronx county leader and a tangled. Nussbaum conviction was later overturned by a higher court. The appeals court ruled that Mr. Nussbaum could not be charged with bribery because he was not a public official, and that there was insufficient evidence linking Mr. Manes - the only public official implicated - to any bribery plot. Manes killed himself as another scandal CitySourse began to point to him.
Queens Courier Owner Schneps Follows Nussbaum into the Political Printing Business
It is clear that Ackerman and Nussbaum are not the only political running local newspapers in the city today. Vicky Schneps who owns the Queens Courier. She also owns a string of other Queens Papers. He son owns a couple of papers in Brooklyn, She was paid $18,000 by 2010 State Senate candidate John Messer for printing. Printing is how Nussbaum connects to campaigns. Schneps was also paid and $9500 for T-Shirts by Messer.
Pols and Judges Pay Newspapers With Legal Ads
Most local papers in NY survive today with legal ads from the court. Other states have abandoned the government subsidy of legal ads by allowing them to be placed on the Internet for free. Local papers depend on the Albany pols to make money. If you ever wonder why they play up to local elected officials and print their press releases now you now know why.
The Queens Organization Understands the lesson of the Soviet Union . . . . Control Information, Control People
As the demonstrations in Russia indicate the former home of Provida is moving toward democracy. Not only is Queens and the rest of New York stuck with newspapers designed to control them. That control which really means an uninformed public has help cause Queens to become the most corrupt borough in the city. Where assemblymen rip off hospitals and little leagues, a comptroller rips off the CFB and taxpayers and a congressman get free mortgages from a developers.
So money really is a store of value - and to work it needs to be something that people in a community, society or country all agree has value, over time people have used gold and silver most commonly , but also sea shells and even tobacco have been used simply because everyone saw those items as having value. Paypal is also not a safe way to send money unless using your credit card. Lindrith, 20 miles N of Cuba64. Many, like expenses on treatment of disabled parents, special tax concessions for senior citizens, or donations to certain charities, are often overlooked15.
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