Mayor De Blasio: Media Warps Things 'Out Of All Possible Meaning'
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Mayor Bill de Blasio upped the ante Friday after his email comments about the media were made public.
In a testy face-off with reporters he said he'd prefer a state-funded media, like they have in Europe, CBS2's Political Reporter Marcia Kramer reported.
The mayor chose the battleground carefully: Room Nine in City Hall, where several media outlets maintain workspace. He walked in to explain, but not apologize, for his suddenly public email exchanges with advisors and political consultants that were critical of the newspapers, television stations and media coverage of his administration.
"You have to think about how things are perceived, including, because of the tabloid culture, how things will be warped out of all possible meaning," de Blasio said.
He said he abandoned his campaign vow to be open and available, now only taking questions an average of once-a-week, because "I have felt too often that we were trying to do something earnest and decent and it was not given its due."
But with his left-of-center views, he made it all about the haves and have-nots.
"We need a stronger, more independent media that also focuses on everyday people more, not just the interests of a corporate ownership structure," he said.
As Kramer reported, he must have forgotten the fact that CBS2 has always focused on everyday people, showing him things like pictures of moldy food served in schools, a homeless man bathing in the fountain at Columbus Circle and a woman and her pets begging outside an Upper West Side movie theater.
"Don't you think that the media serves an important role in society and in focusing your attention on things you should pay attention to?" Kramer asked.
"Undoubtedly, the media plays an absolutely crucial role in society," de Blasio replied. "As to the homelessness point, 100 percent right. We were not recognizing some really important things that needed to be focused on."
The mayor was asked whether he wants to see a state media in this country.
"We should have a robust non-profit media. We have the beginning of it with things like a public radio, public TV. We should have a lot more of that," he said. "There's a lot of good history, for example in Western Europe, of having different state entities with different viewpoints."
As Kramer reported, the mayor seems to have learned a lesson about communicating by email. He said he's not doing it anymore if a court can order him to disclose his emails to the public.