Hey journalists, you’re the 99 percent

They are horrible journalists. That’s the only reason we can come up with for the continued failure of most reporters and news anchors to accurately and clearly cover the Occupy movement. OK, maybe not horrible. But certainly obtuse.

Locally, I keep hearing reporters focus on the stupid camping ordinance (which we all know has always been intended as a means to harass and control the homeless population). The national media are finally starting to talk—very, very briefly—about economic inequality, corporate personhood and its influence on government.

But the Occupy Sacramento group has issued some very clear statements. That might be important—more important, even, than the city’s inability to comprehend the difference between homeless camping and active, self-organizing protest—if it were actually presented as news to readers.

Hey, get a clue, reporters! Occupy Sacramento is now putting out a daily press release, which is where most mainstream newshounds get their news tips, anyway. Maybe that will make it easier to figure out.

Let’s try this. Fellow journalists, staff writers, freelancers and pundits: How secure are your jobs? Your pensions? Wonder what’s going to happen to you when the next quarterly reports for your media outlet are analyzed by the big dogs at corporate headquarters?

Yeah, I thought so. You’re the 99 percent.

Compiled from Kel’s Hot Flash.

<hr>

‘Zero sum’ or 6-to-3?

I know it’s cynical, but like a lot of people I want to know how the election of Steve Hansen—who announced he’s running for Rob Fong’s District 4 city council seat—would affect the balance of power at City Hall.

Hansen says he’s “not anybody’s candidate” including Mayor Kevin Johnson’s. He noted that he set up an independent expenditure committee against Johnson in 2008, in his contest against Mayor Heather Fargo.

Hansen hasn’t talked to the mayor about running, he said, “I do think his people might be interested in seeing me run for their own reasons.”

The main reason being that they could get rid of Fong, who—until he announced he wasn’t interested in another term—has been an obstacle for Johnson on things like the strong-mayor initiative.

Hansen said he thinks SMI isn’t going away. But he declined to say whether he was for or against. “I do think we should be able to have conversations about governance, without it being an internecine war.”

“We’ve had such zero-sum politics with regards to the mayor. It really disturbs me,” Hansen added.

Makes sense to me. Then again, I also think the supposed dysfunction of the city council is a bit exaggerated by folks who got tired of being on the losing end of 6-to-3 votes.

Compiled from Snog.