Sunday, April 13, 2008

T Dog's Think Tank: Can you smell what the mayor is cookin' ?

Usually the T Dog Media Blog doesn't devolve into local politics since this is a media blog (it says that in the name!) and not a political one. But yours truly can't pass up an opportunity to take this on since it involves those wonderful bedrocks of journalism, the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times (yes, I'm being sarcastic...)

Last Friday, Mayor Richard M. Daley of Chicago blasted the Tribune and Sun-Times for criticizing his plan to move the children's museum to Grant Park and selling the naming rights to the venue to an insurance company.

So, Da Mayor blasts Big Media for criticizing his plan for Grant Park.

Oh, now he gets it. Did he just fall out of a tree or something?

Don't pay any attention to the man behind the curtain, or in Daley's case, the idiot. The only time he criticizes Big Media is only at his convenience - when they rip a self-serving idea of his.

Listen to his comments, from Friday's Daily Onion - um, I mean Sun-Times:

"They're advising me what to do with the city and they're going right in the tank. I love that. The Sun-Times is in there, too. This is unbelievable. They're giving us advice constantly on how to run the city," [while] their stock is going down,".

"They're [The Tribune] selling Wrigley [naming] rights. They want to develop the whole area, tear Wrigley Field down and build high-rises. It's like, aren't they in Chicago? Don't they know they have elected officials? They have community groups out here? No. Talk about arrogance."

Another typical clueless politician. Is it any wonder why the public hates them so much? If Mayor McCheese cared to do any research on why both newspapers' circulation are declining, it's because of market forces, not because the city's residents are critical of the rags' thinking. At least give the people of Chicago some credit. And arrogance? Oh, boy! Daley wrote the book on it. He makes Vince McMahon look like a responsible human being (yeah, I'm stretching it a bit.)

Let's face it: Daley could give less than a rat's ass about media consolidation, or the dwindling number of media voices in the marketplace.

While yours truly is not a fan of the Tribune or Sun-Times or their sometimes ludicrous editorials (the Tribune seems to have a problem with warm weather in January), I am also not a fan of pols who use the issue of media consolidation to only benefit themselves and their "causes", which in this case, is a stupid children's museum (It's all about the children. Yeah, right.) Daley's more powerful than the Trib and Sun-Times put together anyway, so what's he complaining about?

Where was Daley on the night of Sept. 20 last year when the FCC was in town at Operation PUSH discussing media consolidation and its effect on the city's residents?

He was nowhere to be found.

Did Daley say anything when the Tribune was sold to Sam Zell and the FCC let the company keep the paper, TV station, and radio station?

He didn't say a word.

So if anyone thinks Daley is going to join the bandwagon against media consolidation, they are only fooling themselves. There's a better chance of South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone heaping praise on Family Guy than Daley taking up any cause. He and other politicians only care about themselves and whine like children when they don't get their way.

And since he's pushing a children's museum, don't be surprised Daley is the first person honored with a statue at the place since he acts like a child.

So the next time Daley opens his yapper about the media, he should take advice from former wrestler The Rock... Know your role and shut your mouth!

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