You can't even imagine this happening in our country
Assemblywoman Woerner proposes bill to help save newspapers, journalism
Fourteen times during the state basketball tournament I rose from my seat, faced the flag and listened to our national anthem.
Fourteen times.
Personally, I think the tournament committee overdid it. One national anthem before each session would have been plenty, but when you have that many rockets red glare and bombs bursting in air, it does give you time to reflect on the meaning of patriotism and the value of democracy. It's something I've been thinking about a lot lately.
Here's the thing, we love our country warts and all.
We generally accept there is no better country in the world and that we are lucky to have grown up in a free society that provides opportunity for all.
That was clear at the state basketball tournament. It was why we rose time after time to honor our country.
But here's the thing, we baby boomers and most of you that followed, have grown up believing freedom and democracy are our birthrights.
They were protected.
They were our inalienable rights.
We cannot imagine a world where we can't express an opinion, carry on a lifestyle of our choice or not have a say in the world around us.
It is unimaginable even after witnessing what happened on January 6.
So when the Republican candidate for president suggests he will be a dictator - just for a day - to enact revenge on his political enemies and members of the press, we chalk it up to the ultimate boisterous boasting of political hyperbole.
It gives us pause, but we still are protected because "We the People" have the Constitution.
And the Bill of Rights.
Again, we can't imagine how that would happen.
Someone would stop it.
Hungary, a democracy since 1949, adopted a new Constitution in 2011 that reflected an ideology rooted in conservative Christian world that politicized previously independent institutions.
That may sound familiar. We are seeing some of that in our own country.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's has been in the news a lot lately. Last week he met with former President Donald Trump.
Trump tells us what a great leader Orban has been.
What a "strong" leader he has been.
How he does it the right way.
Orban also stopped in Washington, D.C,, not to meet with President Biden or other administration officials, but to speak privately to the leadership of the Heritage Foundation and several right-wing politicians, analysts and public personalities.
Since Orban gained power in 2010, he has gained and maintained power, not by killing rivals and suspended freedoms, but by slowly, gradually gaining control of the media.
Fidesz, the ruling party in Hungary, with the help of business allies with deep pockets has gradually bought up the independent media.
This is how the International Press Institute described what happened in Hungary:
"Over the past decade, the ruling party has gained an unprecedented influence over private and public media, allowing it to muzzle the independent press and distort the market to entrench a dominant pro-government narrative. The bulk of major print, radio and television media were acquired by business figures connected directly or indirectly to the ruling party, in some cases with the help of loans from state-controlled banks. Estimates vary, but studies identify Fidesz as being in direct or indirect control of between 70-80 per cent of the media market."
It's as if Rupert Murdoch's media empire bought CNN and MSNBC while being bankrolled by the Republican National Committee and insisting their right-wing views are the only ones reported.
This did not happen in Hungary over night, but over the past 14 years.
Newspapers and televisions stations were ordered to change their editorial positions to go along with the ruling political party Fidesz and support Orban.
One by one, the major opposition newspapers were bought by Fidesz supporters. Others changed their editorial positions to align with the ruling powers over night. The remaining independent media were being pressured to sell their businesses to rich Fidesz supporters.
The few independent media left are under duress.
Their reporters are being accused of spreading "Fake news" and being national traitors for reporting critically on the government or its stance on the Ukraine War.
Fidesz and Orban are playing the long game.
Their influence on the media helped Fidesz to gain a landslide victory in the last parliamentary election.
This is how we lose our democracy. Not with dramatic Jan. 6-like riots, but because of a gradual campaign of indoctrination by media sanctioned and controlled by the political party in power.
Reporters Without Borders now ranks Hungary 72nd on its world-wide press freedom scale.
The non-profit organization Human Rights Watch sums it up this way:
"The (Hungarian) government’s increased control over public and private media, part of its broader assault on rule of law in Hungary, undermines the ability of the media to hold the executive to account, a vital function in a democracy."
One employee of a television station told Human Rights Watch "that reporters are told by their editors what to report on, which terms to use and to avoid, and, if they do not like it, leave."
This past week, U.S. ambassador to Hungary, David Pressman, said of Hungary, “All aspects of government power — from procurement, to licensing, to tourism subsidies, to concessions, to tax and audit actions, to regulatory policy — provide favorable treatment for companies owned by party leaders or their families, in-laws or old friends.”
Maybe Viktor Orban was telling the Heritage Foundation how you do it?
In 2018, the government furthered tightened control on the media by establishing a private foundation to consolidate pro-Orban media. Owners transferred ownership to the foundation often without payment. It controls more than 470 media outlets.
Imagine if Republican Party supporters - someone like Elon Musk - bought Gannett (which owns over 200 newspapers) and ordered it to endorse Republican candidates and print only their press releases.
That's how I see it happening.
Suddenly, one party is controlling the media. The result: It is suddenly getting 80 percent of the vote.
That's how we lose our democracy.
Gradually, we just give it away.
Back to Sweet 16
Joe Girard III, who led Glens Falls to a state basketball championship five years ago, is heading back to the Sweet 16 after Clemson defeated Baylor Sunday, 72-64.
Girard made it to the Sweet 16 with Syracuse three years ago before losing to sixth-seeded Houston.
Girard scored 13 points and made two free throws to seal the victory Sunday. Thewin came on the heels of seven-point effort on Friday as Clemson defeated New Mexico, despite a bad shotting day from Girard.
He did get some air time Friday when he was clobbered with an elbow to the chin while fighting through a pick. They showed the painful play several times in slow motion.
Clemson will play against second-seeded Arizona on Thursday.
Stefanik vote
Rep. Elise Stefanik was joined by 100 other republicans in averting a government shutdown Friday leaving the House Republicans split. There were 112 GOP members who voted to shut the government down.
The Senate finally approved the deal to fund the government at about 2 a.m. Saturday morning.
Helping newspapers
Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner is again on the front lines of trying to aid local newspapers and keep journalism alive locally.
The Local Journalism Sustainability Act is being sponsored by Woerner and Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigel. It would provide payroll tax credits to local newspapers and other small media outlets in an effort to keep publications open. They pointed out that close to 200 weekly newspapers had closed in New York over the past 10 years.
Considering the important of local journalism, you would think this would be a no-brainer for the Legislature, but according to Diane Kennedy of the New York News Publishers Association, it has been a difficult sell to get it in this year’s budget.
"This is a full blown crisis. We live in a deliberative democracy. That means our voters need to be informed to make wise choices," Hoylman-Sigal told the Times Union. "How are they informed? Largely through local news."
The bill would allow qualifying outlets - they must employ fewer than 100 workers which would be almost all community newspapers - to claim tax credits for half of wages paid to journalists. Unfortunately, the Senate version of the leaves out any newspapers that are part of a chain. Essentially, that is most newspapers these days.
If you value democracy, every citizen should encourage their elected state representative - Sen. Dan Stec and Assemblyman Matt Simpson - to support this initiative.
Cambridge issue
The outrage over the school mascot issue has always seemed a bit ridiculous to me.
There are simply more important issues for schools to address than to be sidetracked by whether your mascot is an eagle, tiger or the most dangerous critter of all - an angry citizen.
After students were polled and proposed a new mascot, the board of education thought it needed some more thought.
The students wanted to be tigers.
The board wondered if wolves or eagles were better, so they tabled the matter to poll the rest of the community.
The board suggested that the mascot should have these characteristics: strength, pride, power, loyalty and wisdom/knowledge.
I would suggest one more - common sense.
Just approve the students' choice and move on to addressing more important issues about educating students.
Staffing shortages
The North Country Public Radio had an excellent story about the staff shortages facing many North Country schools. A recent survey found that 9 out of 10 school districts were struggling to hire teachers and staff.
The Massena school superintendent told NCPR that they were relying on retirees coming back into the workforce.
Many retirees were asked to return to work in the spirit of service.
In 2022, the state estimated the public school system would need 180,000 new teachers by 2032, but teaching programs aren't graduating enough to reach those numbers.
Winter returns
This has beenone of the mildest winters in years - until Saturday.
The 18 inches in my driveway was more than the snowfall for the entire rest of the winter.
Just two days earlier, I had finished raking the yard. Putting fertilizer down will have to wait a few weeks.
Will your news blog, “The Front Page” be eligible for state funds? Is this news site providing an alternate to The Post-Star and stealing readers from The Post-Star? In other words, are you part of the problem?
I think you are absolutely right Ken.