Councilman Bill Greenlee: "Sometimes I think, 'I Could Be Covering the World Series Instead of Being at City Hall Getting Yelled At.'"

Philadelphia at-large city councilman Bill Greenlee was born, raised and still lives in Fairmount.

Before entering politics, he studied journalism at Temple in the 1970's. He had dreams of being a sportswriter. While still in college, however, he began volunteering for David Cohen's campaign for city council. He wound up working for councilman Cohen for the next 26 years. After Cohen passed away in 2005, Greenlee won a special election to fill Cohen's position. He was re-elected in 2007 and 2011.

"Sometimes I think, 'I could be covering the World Series instead of being at City Hall getting yelled at,'" Greenlee said with a laugh.

He loves his job, he added, especially helping people who need help the most. He's worked on legislation to ensure people's homes are not stolen from them (which was surprisingly easy). He crafted a bill that said victims of domestic violence could not lose their jobs because of missed time due to the violence. And his most recent accomplishment was getting an earned sick pay bill through council (it now waits for the mayor's reaction).

"The actions of city council affect people on a more day-to-day basis than that of Congress or the Senate," Greenlee stated.

But there tends to be very little coverage of city council, he said. The newspapers pay attention to the mayor and political controversy (rather than the substance of bills). Television almost never covers council.

"There are times when I get frustrated," Greenlee admitted.

Much of this is determined by how we communicate these days. There are more ways for people to get information now, so there is greater competition for viewers. Less-intriguing news - like council actions, gets bypassed.

When Greenlee has stories he really wants covered, he'll hold a press conference or reach out to specific journalists who he knows would be interested. If stories pertain to specific audiences or specific neighborhoods, he taps into those niche outlets like the Northeast Times or WURD.

When he was a college journalism student, he was instructed to read everything because it's important for all journalists to have at least a little knowledge about everything.

"I'm disappointed by how little young people know about local government," he said about modern youth.

You should be interested and engaged, he said.

What did you think of the councilman and his ideas?

April Fools? Can Journalists Make Jokes?

A BLOGGER FOR FORBES.COM posted a story yesterday about Mitt Romney dropping out of the presidential race.

The story continued:

The move shocked observers, including Senator Santorum, as Governor Romney seemed poised for a decisive victory in Wisconsin.

The governor, however, said he concluded that he has “no chance” to win the general election in December and that a Santorum candidacy in 2012 would be in the “best interest of the party.”

He explained, “It will save time. As many observers have pointed out, my defeat in 2012 will be interpreted by the party faithful as evidence that our problem is that we’ve become too pragmatic and moderate. In 2016, we’ll ˜correct™ that and nominate some right-wing nut and get demolished in the general election.

It’ll be like Goldwater in 1964. I don’t want to wait until 2020 to get my party back. I’m all about efficiency. Let’s get our butts kicked now and move on.”

Of course, the whole thing was an April Fool's day joke. After the story was circulated via news aggregators, it was pulled from the Forbes site.

Should journalists play pranks like this? Is it lighthearted fun or irresponsible?

See the full, original post here. Photo by AP via ABC news.

Can You Say That On-Air or In Print?

LAST WEEK, THE Washington Post discovered that, for many years, presidential candidate Rick Perry leased a hunting camp that he had a racially offensive nickname for. Here is the lead of the Post's story:

In the early years of his political career, Rick Perry began hosting fellow lawmakers, friends and supporters at his family’s secluded West Texas hunting camp, a place known by the name painted in block letters across a large, flat rock standing upright at its gated entrance.

“Niggerhead,” it read.

Other media outlets followed the story and repeated the name, including the New York Times.

Should the media use the term in print? On air?

Does running the term perpetuate the awful connotations, or do we reduce it's power by repeating it?

Should Private Lives Be Public Fodder?

FORMER PENNSYLVANIA GOVERNOR Ed Rendell and his wife, US Appellate court judge Midge Rendell, have separated.

Is that news? Front page news, above the fold?

For years, rumors of infidelity have swirled around the former governor, who served two terms as mayor of Philadelphia. Should those rumors be brought to light as word of the Rendell split spreads?

Should the media report the rumors?

Are the private lives of public officials (or former public officials) newsworthy?

Is this a distraction from news that impacts the citizens of Pennsylvania, like the pending budget cuts that are about to be announced (because of the budget cuts, your tuition may skyrocket)?

Or is this information that people need and want?

Should Journos Give People What They Want?

IT WAS REVEALED that USA Today has 27 reporters covering the entertainment industry.

They only have five covering Congress.

Is there anything wrong with that? Are they simply recognizing the fact that people want entertainment information? Or should they be devoting more staff to "serious" news?

By the way, does Bristol Palin count as a celebrity?

Can Journalists Attend Political Rallies?

SEVERAL NEWS ORGANIZATIONS have banned their journalists from "participating" in political events, including the upcoming event in Washington DC with Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.

"NPR journalists may not participate in marches and rallies involving causes or issues that NPR covers," reads a memo sent to NPR staffers. "This restriction applies to the upcoming Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert rallies."

The news organizations argue that journalists could lose credibility if seen at those events.

Should journalists be able to attend political rallies? Are they allowed to have their own political opinions?

Should they be registered to vote within a specific party? Or should they remain undecided or independent?

Is the Candidate's Kid Public Fodder (And Are Journalists Allowed to Publish facebook Images)?

THE SON OF a state representative/ gubernatorial candidate in Minnesota was busted for underage drinking - while on the payroll of his father's campaign.

An alternative weekly newspaper broke the story and used old facebook pictures (above) of the 20-year old.

This is a two-part ethical dilemma:

1). Is the kid newsworthy? Just because his father is involved in politics and is a candidate to become governor, should the son also be considered fodder for the news media?

2). Is it acceptable for the media to publish images from facebook?