Pictures by Jehangir Khattak

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Panel, NYCMA Workshop, July 15, 2010

Left to right: Susan Stamler, the Director of Policy and Advocacy at United Neighborhood Houses of New York, Andrew Beveridge, a professor of sociology at Queens College and the CUNY Graduate School, David Dyssegaard Kallick of the Fiscal Policy Institute, WNYC News’ Bob Hennelly, Errol Louis of the New York Daily News.

New York: New York Community Media Alliance hosted the first of two workshops — Elections 101: NYC, Albany and the Elections 2010 — on Thursday, July 15 at CUNY’s Graduate School of Journalism.

The goal of the training workshop for ethnic and community media journalists was to deconstruct the workings of the city and state government and the mechanics of the electoral process. The workshop is part of NYCMA’s election initiative, launched in collaboration with it partners: Amsterdam News; CUNY TV; Feet in Two Worlds; Fiscal Policy Institute; Gotham Gazette; Manhattan Neighborhood Network; People’s Production House; WNYC; and the World Journal. In attendance were journalists representing the city’s large number of ethnic and community publications.

Moderating the panel was Haitian Times editor and publisher Garry Pierre-Pierre, and former reporter with the New York Times.

The first speaker, Susan Stamler, the Director of Policy and Advocacy at United Neighborhood Houses of New York, runs a cluster of settlement houses that have served immigrant communities arriving in New York City for centuries, providing them with housing to English-language instruction. She pointed to huge cuts to the city’s “core” that are looming under the proposed state budget. Millions of dollars are slated to be cut from childcare, after-school programs, senior centers, and adult literacy programs. She drew connections between the need for reporters to understand how government works – by learning the rules, being attuned to governmental processes, and remembering that elected officials always want to get re-elected – and understanding how the “system” directly relates to ethnic/minority communities.

Andrew Beveridge, a professor of sociology at Queens College and the CUNY Graduate School, is an expert demographer who has provided his services to city agencies and the New York Times. His presentation began with the “five lies that ethnic sources will tell you,” focusing on the “over-counting” that most ethnic groups succumb to when left to tally their own numbers, and their perceived lack of power for their group’s size. Political power, according to Beveridge, is based not on numbers but on registered voters. He advised the journalists that in such a multicultural city, no minority group can afford to espouse their ethnic identity over any other – coalitions, he said, are the only way to go.

David Dyssegaard Kallick of the Fiscal Policy Institute framed his presentation on the premise that immigrant economic contribution, contrary to popular belief, is directly proportional to their population percentage and stated that cities can ill afford not to have immigrants. He further proposed that given a contribution of 25% to the general economy, that political representation lagged far behind, making it essential to the immigrant populous that there be a well-established relationship between community and government, especially under budgetary pressures.

WNYC News’ Bob Hennelly opened by asking how many of the audience had read the morning’s Wall Street Journal, emphasizing that journalists must understand the global economy in order to report successfully on the local economy. “We’re at a time,” he said, “when capital can be moved with the click of a mouse,” referring to the ease at which billions can be transferred to overseas banks. The government fears the exodus of wealthy people. Their bodies, Hennelly explained, are here, but their wealth is not, and thus the taxes they pay are disproportionate low. This, he maintained, makes it difficult for nation-states to support of longstanding social contracts, like government regulated CUNY and SUNY tuition and senior services.

Errol Louis, of the New York Daily News, shared his knowledge and strategies for successful coverage of local elections. “Follow the board of elections calendar,” he said. “Election season comes and goes quickly, and local coverage by mainstream media is often sparse, making the community press coverage crucial,” he added. He outlined a step-by-step guide to covering local elections that encompassing four stages: getting and staying on the ballot; lining up friends and funds; Election Day; and the aftermath. He explained that coverage should still be going strong when the results are in – who, for example, are the winners and losers besides the candidates? Which candidates will run again?

During the Q & A session, Bob Hennelly emphasized Louis’ advocacy for close local coverage: “Be present in the [candidate’s] day. Become part of their narrative.”

When asked about the existence of unbiased elections coverage, whether by the mainstream media or by the community presses, Louis dismissed the notion that unbiased coverage should even be a goal. “The goal is not to be unbiased – the goal is to be fair. People who say the news is biased didn’t get the coverage they wanted: give them a paragraph. Fair and biased is as good as it gets.”


Jehangir Khan is NYCMA Communications Manager. He can be reached at nycomm@indypressny.org