Station: Kelly’s no reporter
Thursday, Oct 14, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller
* We all watched a video yesterday afternoon of Republican gadfly William Kelly at a Rahm Emanuel press conference. Kelly repeatedly insisted that he was a reporter for WIND Radio as he shouted at Emanuel and was shoved aside and yelled at by a couple of real live TV reporters. Turns out, Kelly ain’t a reporter…
In July, Kelly debuted a one-hour Saturday evening radio talk show called “The Kelly Truth Squad” on WIND-AM (560). But Kelly buys the air time on WIND and is not an employee of the station — an arrangement that the host argues gives him more leeway in what he can say and do on the show.
But that arrangement caused WIND general manager Jeff Reisman to take issue with one aspect of Monday’s video. “It was wrong for Kelly to call himself a reporter at WIND when he does not work for the station,” said Reisman
* The Drudge Report linked to Kelly’s video with this headline…
Chicago hometown reporters shield Emanuel from outsider’s questions
But the TV stations rightly backed up their guys…
Neither Levine or Thomas were available for comment, but a Channel 7 spokeswoman downplayed any suggestion the video might have captured an unflattering side of Thomas as street reporter: “What the video shows is Charles Thomas trying to get in position so that he could have his question answered,” said the station spokeswoman. A Channel 2 spokeswoman said the station stands by Levine. “Jay is an aggressive reporter, and we let his reporting do the talking for him,” added the spokeswoman.
So, to summarize, we have a loud, odd individual whose greatest claim to fame when he ran for comptroller was his attempt to goad state treasurer and US Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias into a boxing match showing up at a Rahm Emanuei press availability with a video cameraman while claiming to be a radio reporter (notice the problem right there), but he isn’t a radio reporter because he only buys time on the station once a week for his talk show, but he managed to get some national attention because a site that lives to whack Democrats used the worst possible spin in its link. And, boy, does this person have high ambitions…
“I’d like to be the conservative version of Larry King,” said Kelly, referencing the longtime CNN talk show host who is about to retire.
Ah, America.
* Meanwhile, speaking of our nation’s highest journalistic standards, Robert Feder swings at the Tribune editorial board…
Overshadowed by the frat house hijinks detailed in David Carr’s New York Times opus on Tribune Co. last week was a potentially more damaging allegation — that owner Sam Zell tried to use the Chicago Tribune to benefit his other business interests.
Former editor Ann Marie Lipinski recalled a June 2008 meeting at which the billionaire mogul told her the newspaper should be harder on then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich. (“Don’t be a p*ssy,” she quoted Zell saying. “You can always be harder on him.”) Later that day, she learned that Zell was negotiating to sell Wrigley Field to the state sports authority. Lipinski quit the following month.
Up until just a few short weeks ago, anything that even looked like a Blagojevich-related story was big news in this state. But now, we’ve got a potential barn-burner and there’s almost total silence. Strange, that. Apparently, “Rahm” is the new “Rod” for our press corps.
- Wensicia - Thursday, Oct 14, 10 @ 7:17 am:
It’s interesting how silent the Tribune has been on the NYT article and the recent Abrams e-mail and suspension, only person commentting on the latter has been Phil Rosenthal.
- Bill - Thursday, Oct 14, 10 @ 7:59 am:
==“Rahm” is the new “Rod”==
Truer words were never spoken!
- The Fox - Thursday, Oct 14, 10 @ 8:11 am:
I am still at a loss to who sez they like Rahm or would like to have a beer with him unless he was buying.
- wordslinger - Thursday, Oct 14, 10 @ 8:12 am:
Rosenthal has been walking the razor’s edge for a while covering his employer’s bankruptcy, and the curious financial razzle-dazzle of his boss.
Given all the whackings of veteran reporters and editors at the Trib, and all we’re learning about the culture and ethics in the Tower’s executive offices, he’s probably doing the best he can.
- Bill - Thursday, Oct 14, 10 @ 8:29 am:
Something tells me that Phil will soon be working for some “news cooperative” or blog.
- Amalia - Thursday, Oct 14, 10 @ 8:49 am:
meet the new Rahm, same as the old Rod…..
- soccermom - Thursday, Oct 14, 10 @ 9:31 am:
So that means you’re now a big Rahm fan, Bill?
- Good Government Guy - Thursday, Oct 14, 10 @ 9:54 am:
So, Kelly isn’t a reporter with WIND. I guess he’s a reporter for whatever show he does on WIND. Wow! We have him now.
Next, I’m sure you’ll reveal that George Snuffalofagous on ABC isn’t a real reporter. Shocking!
Journalism is in the toilet so it shouldn’t be a big surprise that Kelly is part of that waste. I can’t think of one reporter that I trust in the print, radio or television news rooms in Chicago.
It has been entertainment for a while for most and real reporting (TV, radio, newspapers, blogs) has gone out the window with the viewers and subscribers.
- The Captain - Thursday, Oct 14, 10 @ 10:10 am:
Does Andy Martin know that this Kelly character is out-gadflying him? I miss you Andy, come back.
- Skeeter - Thursday, Oct 14, 10 @ 10:14 am:
Bill Kelly needs to BUY air time? That’s hilarious! The guy can’t get any station to hire him, so he just buys it. I’m sure he would claim it is part of some conspiracy though.
Great to see Channel 2 back up Levine and Channel 7 back Thomas. Local media has not been that great in backing their reporters.
- Conservative Veteran - Thursday, Oct 14, 10 @ 10:15 am:
It shouldn’t matter whether William Kelly is a reporter. Any Chicago voter, including Kelly, should be able to ask questions of Emanuel, since Emanuel will probably run for mayor.
- Good Government Guy - Thursday, Oct 14, 10 @ 10:23 am:
When has local media not backed their reporters?
- Siriusly - Thursday, Oct 14, 10 @ 10:29 am:
Rosenthal is a major reason to even bother picking up the Tribune. They’d be foolish to unload him.
I think the problem over Kelly’s use of the word “reporter” is that he probably doesn’t know what it means.
- Bill - Thursday, Oct 14, 10 @ 10:39 am:
Mom,
No!
- too obvious - Thursday, Oct 14, 10 @ 10:50 am:
Remember when Bill Kelly tried to steal the ACLU’s counter-Nativity display from the State Capitol last December? The guy is like a moth to a flame when there is a camera around. He’s his own worst enemy.
- Logical Thinker - Thursday, Oct 14, 10 @ 10:57 am:
I find the irony here to be THICK! The editor of this blog has chastised the Chicago media no fewer than 5 times for A) not asking the tough questions of specific candidate (i.e. Scott Lee Cohen) and B) for paying too much attention and giving too much fluff coverage to Rahm Emanuel.
Then, someone with, albeit shaky credentials who is pushing an agenda, actually goes out and A) asks tough questions and B) of Rahm Emanuel and what is the spin here? That the guy who did it was wrong and the actual “reporters” who acted like children were correct in what they did.
Please.
Then in the very next paragraph the story of the Tribune and their embarrassing conflict of interest comes up and how the press corp has gone silent on the election directly ahead. Look, the entire media has been exposed as being corrupt, self-serving, and shallow. They push agendas in a very dangerous way–making it appear they aren’t when in fact they are. I really don’t care for the “old” rules of journalism that was the “you pat my back, I’ll pat yours” culture. At this point, just go get us the truth and do so in a noble and honest way. Sure, Kelly’s antics were over the line, but at least he tried. I’ll give him credit for that.
- Ghost - Thursday, Oct 14, 10 @ 10:58 am:
This is an interesting aspect of our new media.
How o you classify, Colbert, Stewart, Beck etc.
They cover, at times, news and news worthy events. But the style and methodology of covering the issues does not fit the aechtypal image we have of a typical reporter. So are they reporters, entertainers, Enternaier-reporters?
Kelly’s style is unimpressive and ineffective to me, but his method is not that far afield from some of the work done by Colbert, Stewart, Beck et. al.
It is different, but blogs and bloggers are also a different way of handling news. Different from main stream is not always bad, and change is not always good. Saying kelly isnot a “reporter” should begin with what is a reporter? and what do we consider other types of news shows.
- Skeeter - Thursday, Oct 14, 10 @ 11:02 am:
Logical Thinker, where are the tough questions? I didn’t hear any. Basically, all the questions were of the “Your adminitration has failed, hasn’t it?” variety. No thought, no research, no facts. Just spouting opinions. The only thing remotely substantive was the question about residency. The rest was just Kelly phrasing his own opinion as a question.
And no, he didn’t “try.” Have him spend a while doing some research so he can ask REAL questions that are tough, and then you can say he tried. The only thing he “tried” was to get a reaction so that he can get national press.
- Deep South - Thursday, Oct 14, 10 @ 11:17 am:
===Sure, Kelly’s antics were over the line, but at least he tried.===
No he didn’t really “try.” If he really wanted answers to his questions, he wouldn’t have been rude to the other reporters. He would have waited his turn and then politily asked his questions. Like all other reporters do. Logical Thinker says the entire media push agendas in a dangerous way. Well, this WIND “reporter” certainly had an agenda and to say otherwise is to be dishonest. He had to know that his antics were over the top and that he really wouldn’t get the “truth.” I mean, look who posted the video on YouTube. Some guy named Brietbart.
- Honest Abe - Thursday, Oct 14, 10 @ 11:25 am:
Bill Kelly is a gadfly and a kook, but the videotape did make it look like the mainstream media was running interference for Rahm Emanuel and pitching him softball questions.
- wordslinger - Thursday, Oct 14, 10 @ 11:33 am:
–How o you classify, Colbert, Stewart, Beck etc.–
Ghost, really? Colbert and Stewart are on Comedy Central. They have opinions and do some interviews, like Letterman or Leno, but they’re comedians. Colbert is straight satire of Bill O’Reilly.
Beck, Hannity, O’Reilly, work for Fox News, part of News America. They’re Rupert’s attack dogs. If some find that entertaining or funny, to each his own. But they’re playing it straight — you know, fair and balanced.
- Small Town Liberal - Thursday, Oct 14, 10 @ 11:39 am:
wordslinger - You beat me to it, well said.
- Logical Thinker - Thursday, Oct 14, 10 @ 11:46 am:
Skeeter,
The question about whether the stimulus was a failure or not is interesting. I think Kelly crossed the line a few times by injecting his opinion into the mix, but the way he bombarded Rahm was no different than “reporters” trying to get answers to their questions in a press conference. The Sam Adams Sr/Jr spectacle after the Blago trail is a perfect example. All the so-called reporters yelled questions out at all times, even interferring with answers so they could be heard/answered. I think the issue with the stimulus question is it isn’t relevant to the mayoral race. I think that a “good reporter” would want to ask Rahm about the impact of the President’s policies long-term on our city, but that wasn’t what Kelly was doing.
As for Deep South, who was being “rude?” Did you see Charles Thomas push Kelly aside? I sure did. Did you see Levine blow his top? I sure did. And let’s stop pretending that “politeness” gets questions answered, especially from our politicians these days. As I’ve said here before, regardless of party, it’s time to put all of their feet to the fire and really start grilling them. They don’t deserve protection, especially when it comes to the problems THEY have created.
- Honest Abe - Thursday, Oct 14, 10 @ 11:48 am:
How does Bill Kelly actually fund his activities?
With the late night program and the paid radio time slot on WIND, who has been underwriting this oddball?
- Logical Thinker - Thursday, Oct 14, 10 @ 11:52 am:
Wordslinger:
“Ghost, really? Colbert and Stewart are on Comedy Central. They have opinions and do some interviews, like Letterman or Leno, but they’re comedians. Colbert is straight satire of Bill O’Reilly.”
First of all, Jon Stewart (love him or hate him) has melded his show into a quasi-news show. He is the source that most 20-30 year olds get their news. So he can approach it as a comedian, but his role now has grown and even he knows it. He might be funny in the way he reports, but the role of pure comedian cannot be attached to his show.
For if it were, then so many media types would not be taking his rally seriously on the 30th. It’s obviously important enough that even Obama endorsed it. Did he do so because it was a joke?
Look, Beck on the right, Stewart on the left are good comparisons. Both of them are moving the political dial and conversation by addressing the news with opinion. Their tactics are over the top some times and they leave themselves open for criticism, but I actually trust Stewart more than some of the other “respected” news organizations. At least I know where he stands and he admits to a bias.
- Skeeter - Thursday, Oct 14, 10 @ 11:59 am:
The idea that these were just “tough questions” is ridiculous. The questions asked by Kelly:
How is it like to be back in Chicago?
There are a lof of people that speculate that the stimulus was just a payback to your Wall Street friends that made you a multi-millionaire [ignoring, of course, that TARP, which bailed out WS, was passed under Bush]. What you say to those people?
Have you been able to straighten out the residency issues [so much for 42nd Ward’s comment yesterday that this question was the only one that mattered to Kelly, since it came AFTER the TARP question]?
Do the laws apply to you as well?
Do you have your residency situation sorted out?
[Angry dialogue with Thomas]
Does Rahm Emmanuel have to play by the rules that everybody else has to play by?
Was the stimulus a failure?
It is too bad that the stimulus didn’t work?
How are you a fresh beginning if you are President Obama’s Chief of Staff?
[Angry dialogue with Levin]
Ends with Kelly saying media is biased.
- Deep South - Thursday, Oct 14, 10 @ 12:05 pm:
Logical thinker, Yes I saw the other reporters get upset. They lost their cool, that’s fer sure. But only ’cause Kelly was being a jerk. Think shouters at the town hall meetings. It seemed like he felt his questions should be answered first and foremost, that the other reporters should take a backseat to whatever he wanted to ask. I mean, what makes HIM so special, what makes HIS questions so special. In the end Kelly’s over-the-top antics prevented his questions from being addressed. If you want your hardball questions addressed, if you want politicians’ feet held to the fire, this is not the way to go about it. I don’t care how YOU spin it.
- Ghost - Thursday, Oct 14, 10 @ 12:59 pm:
LT summed up my response.
I am not onvinced that the world is as black and white when it comes to news reporting as you cast it Word.
Colberts Satire presents current events and news and topics, including hot button topics like imiaration reform and gay rights.
The presenation is standard news print media style… but I would not write it off or exclude it as a genre of news reporting.
- Jake from Elwood - Thursday, Oct 14, 10 @ 1:15 pm:
Well said, Deep South.
My sentiments exactly.
- Ghost - Thursday, Oct 14, 10 @ 1:31 pm:
immigration*
site needs an edit button or a spello checker… if only we had some kind of new fangled capital fax blog…..
- wordslinger - Thursday, Oct 14, 10 @ 1:36 pm:
LT and Ghost, I’m still not with you, but I’ll give it a think.
I disagree on Beck, though. The guy is insane, or at least crazy like a Fox for money.
The dude’s whole premise is that the United States has been in a downward spiral since the advent of the Progressive Era, as embodied by Theodore Roosevelt.
He somehow ignores, of course, that in the last 100 years the United States has enjoyed the greatest expansion of freedom, liberty, security, opportunity and wealth for more people regardless of race, religion, age, social status or gender than at any time, anywhere in the history of the planet. And the Progressives have always been in the vanguard of that amazing transformation.
All this occurred at a time when the majority of humanity has been under the boot at one time or another of some dictator, warlord, imperialist, genocidal lunatic or religious fanatic.
People being imperfect, U.S. history is full of terrible mistakes, egregious injustices, criminal neglect and base hypocrisies. But the arc of progress is undeniable.
How can anyone swallow that guy’s garbage? How can any patriot not challenge it?
- Logical Thinker - Thursday, Oct 14, 10 @ 1:50 pm:
Word,
I appreciate your ability to consider other viewpoints.
As for Beck, that gets off into another tangent of which we can agree to disagree. Not because I don’t see your point; rather for some Beck is to the left what Olbermann/Schultz/etc are to the right. It comes from a matter of viewpoint I suppose.
Where this debate started was with the Kelly video and the reaction by mainstream “reporters” to him. I think we can agree that the lines have been blurred tremendously between what is considered “respected journalism” and “opinion.” Those, like Levine and Thomas, who cling to their associations with CBS/ABC as a means to silence other people and not allow them to ask questions, is simply wrong. The line “he’s not a reporter” should never be used to disqualify someone from asking a question. More people should do it and with greater frequency. That way, all the candidates can be vetted with greater accuracy and this benefits all of us.
That’s all.
- Phineas J. Whoopee - Thursday, Oct 14, 10 @ 2:24 pm:
If the nationwide trend collapses the Democratic control of the house, Rahm’s going to take the hit, which will mean lots of ammo for his opponents to use.
If it really starts to look bad for Rahmbo, the almighty powers that be might have to go to plan B. No way MJM lets Dart sneak in. I imagine it would take Lisa about a half a day to get the signatures.
- Phineas J. Whoopee - Thursday, Oct 14, 10 @ 2:26 pm:
Sorry, wrong post
- Ghost - Thursday, Oct 14, 10 @ 3:26 pm:
Word, thats why I consider Beck comedy