Pssst! Live Chat Tuesday, Noon - 1 P.M.
I hope you'll join me from noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday for the weekly live chat here on TroxBlog. I'll be here taking questions and comments about current events in our state of Florida and the Tampa Bay area.
To observe or take part in the chat, look for a new announcement here at noon Tuesday with the headline, "The Aug. 28 Chat Is Open." Click on the "Comments" link of that announcement to see what folks have had to say so far, or to add your own thoughts.
As always, if you can't be here live, you can always come back later to read a transcript of the chat. And if you'd like to "pre-file" a question or comment right now, use the "Comments" link of this item, a few lines below, and I'll try to work it in. But I hope you can stop by!
Welcome to TroxBlog, the web-home of columnist Howard Troxler, where he and readers discuss his column topics and current events. The goal here is to focus on the merits of issues, instead of personal attacks or knee-jerk partisanship.
Howard,
Great article today… and dead-on as usual. The Pinellas County Government Access is the exactly the same thing; a taxpayer funded, campaign propaganda tool for incumbent politicians. In 2005, when Channel 8 turned the responsibility of covering and airing local campaign debates back of to Pinellas, it was summarily eliminated. I attempted to get an answer from the County Attorney as to how and when the County will begin to cover local political debates, but was given the standard runaround by Churuti and staff.
The truly sad part about it is that they no longer try to hide their distain for public involvement in the process. Deals and decisions are cut and made behind the scenes, as in the Smith ordeal, and every attempt is made to keep the people’s business out of the sunshine and inaccessible to the average taxpayer.
I’m very curious as to what the Grand Jury special “sealed” report – regarding the Smith ordeal – will reveal. If we – the electorate of Pinellas – do not make some sweeping changes as it relates to those who sit in “our” municipal, county, and constitutional seats… I’m afraid we’re in for a world of hurt, and continued abuses of power.
Question: What might your thoughts be as to the responsibility, and the current level, of our local media’s coverage of local campaigns and debates?
Posted by: 20/20 | August 28, 2007 at 08:41 AM