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Mullings by Rich Galen�
A Political Cyber-Column By Rich Galen
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Start Spreadin' the News

Rich Galen

Monday April 25, 2005

From New York City

  • I have made this point before: The act of reading an electronic version of a newspaper on the Web and having the paper containing the news actually in your hands are two entirely different experiences.

  • Yesterday morning I had the opportunity to purchase both the Sunday New York Times (406 total pages of news, opinion, ads, book reviews, the Magazine, and sports) and the New York Post (116 pages of � of � New York Post) from their natural habitat: A newsstand at Lexington Avenue and E 39th Street.

  • The front page of the NY Times covered:
  • The cessation (see how you write when you start your day reading the New York Times? Cessation? Puh-leeze.) of high-speed rail travel between Washington and New York because Amtrak's trains broke;
  • A required Pope Benedict story;
  • A Medicare piece;
  • A piece pointing out that the expiration of the assault weapons ban has not caused "the streets to be awash in military-style guns;" and,
  • An odd placement for a piece about group of high school musicians in Southern California who play in a mariachi band.

  • The NY Times sports section (12 pages including two full-page ads) contained the following:
  • Sunday's NFL Draft.
  • Two pages of stories about the Dodgers (who have not played regularly in the NY City area since cork was invented), the Orioles (who live in Baltimore), and a 5' 3" college baseball player at � the University of San Francisco.
  • A half-page piece about a Canadian sprinter trying to get ready for the next Olympics (which will not occur until 2008 and, even then, will not be in Canada).
  • Another half-page piece, this one about a group of football players from the NFL's Carolina Panthers building a for-profit day-care center in Harrisburg, NC.
  • One page of Major League Baseball stats, one page of NBA basketball playoff results, and a combo page covering golf, tennis, and � equestrian.

  • In modest contrast, the New York Post has on its front page, only one story: Martha Stewart (described as a "former jailbird" and "the domestic diva" in the same - and only - paragraph) being investigated ("probed") by Federal officials as to whether she violated her home confinement parole by attending Time Magazine's party honoring those they consider to be the "100 Most Influential People."

  • The headline? "House Broken"

  • How can you not love it?

  • Speaking of love, the NY Post is also known for the best celebrity gossip column in the Western World, "Page Six."

  • "Page Six" actually appears on page 12 which is modestly confusing to an out-of-towner. On the actual page six is a full-page ad for Citibank which, ironically, carries the tag line, "Live richly."

  • The Post's sports section is 38 pages long with full detailed coverage of the NFL draft, the Yankees, the Mets, seven pages of the NBA playoffs, but nary a word about Canadian sprinters or � equestrian.

  • On a much more serious note, both the Post and the Times (via the AP) covered the resignation of a senior investigator in the United Nations Oil-for-Food program. When Robert Parton quit a couple of weeks ago one of the remaining lackey's on the investigation said it was because "his work was complete."

  • Au Contraire. It turns out that Mr. Parton quit because he thought the commission, led by Paul Volker, had whitewashed UN Secretary-Generar Kofi Annan's role in granting at least one Oil-for-Food contract.

  • Parton, a lawyer and former FBI agent, said, "I resigned my position as Senior Investigative Counsel for the IIC not because my work was complete but on principle."

  • Memo to the United States Senate: Given the state of affairs at the UN, especially the fact that Kofi Annan now appears to have unduly influenced TWO investigations into his own conduct, and given the fact that President Bush has nominated a guy who is not likely to become a member of the UN club anytime soon, you might think pretty seriously about confirming John Bolton. Today.

  • On the Secret Decoder Ring page today: A foto of the NY Post front page; links to the Oil-for-Food business; a Mullfoto from the Big Apple and a pretty good Catchy Caption of the Day.

    --END --
    Copyright © 2005 Richard A. Galen

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