So, that shoe finally dropped that everyone in Hallandale Beach and environs as well as the larger South Florida civic activist community had been hoping for and waiting for since... what seems like forever.
(Yes, election results have consequences. Even in Hallandale Beach. Perhaps you've heard.)
That would be the shoe literally dripping with ethical and journalism conflicts of interest, rife with egregious examples of crony capitalism, plus, one of the frequent secondary issues in South Florida,
the South Florida's news media's own longstanding disinterest (and condescension) in covering certain kinds of public policy/scandal stories unless they happened in cities or places that had more cachet and pop than Hallandale Beach does.
I was at the Hallandale Beach City Commission last month when this matter of keeping campaign promises came up, and more than a few people in the crowd -including me- were quick to ask themselves, "So where's someone from the faux newspaper in the room to actually write this down?'
The irony of this thought course was that because they DON'T cover the city accurately or fairly, because that would upset the apple cart and their deal with Mayor Joy Cooper, there was no one there from the South Florida Sun-Times to hear the news in-person.
And now it's too late for them.
That city advertising money is gone for good!
Gone With The Wind!
I "reported" on this within 90 minutes of it happening via an email to about 150 people in South Florida, including many of you readers of the blog, but haven't written about it since because I've been waiting to add some facts and photos to what I was going to post here.
Today's Florida Bulldog story, though very welcome, caught me by surprise, hence there's not as much original content for you here as I hoped to have the first time I mentioned it on the blog this year.
But trust me, more is coming!
People in the city who follow what goes on here are eager -even giddy- to talk about this matter, and what it represents in getting this city turned around and finally moving in the right direction -towards some semblance of normalcy and general competency and accountability.
Any journey begins with the first step.
And this is clearly a step in the right direction.
Florida Bulldog
Hallandale Beach halts advertising in local newspaper where mayor is a columnist
By William Gjebre, FloridaBulldog.org
JANUARY 25, 2017 AT 4:59 AM
http://www.floridabulldog.org/2017/01/hallandale-beach-halts-advertising-local-newspaper-tied-mayor-cooper/
Having written about this subject dozens of times the past ten years, I will be updating this blog post throughout the day.
Below, a nugget reflecting the reality of life in Hallandale Beach in 2008, as reflected in one of my emails:
Do you recall what I wrote/joked about last year on my blog, after the city purchased space in the vanity sheet rag, the South Florida Sun-Times, and ran a completely preposterous ad masquerading as news about Pastor Anthony Sanders and the funny appraisal numbers for his property?
![[001.JPG]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUsooN7MsVnv4YwZtPBwQ_oJyyojwJrfnJyh6DkeL4wOcABEGcvOL6SLy5_zJq8qSnxiuURcsRAHG6Ju7FdkSRo1EhJT5q3YrenJDr1aan4h3Dpn6CY8P443DucRk7TFAToyOGcJ1YyKbh/s1600/001.JPG)
I
(Yes, election results have consequences. Even in Hallandale Beach. Perhaps you've heard.)
That would be the shoe literally dripping with ethical and journalism conflicts of interest, rife with egregious examples of crony capitalism, plus, one of the frequent secondary issues in South Florida,
the South Florida's news media's own longstanding disinterest (and condescension) in covering certain kinds of public policy/scandal stories unless they happened in cities or places that had more cachet and pop than Hallandale Beach does.
I was at the Hallandale Beach City Commission last month when this matter of keeping campaign promises came up, and more than a few people in the crowd -including me- were quick to ask themselves, "So where's someone from the faux newspaper in the room to actually write this down?'
The irony of this thought course was that because they DON'T cover the city accurately or fairly, because that would upset the apple cart and their deal with Mayor Joy Cooper, there was no one there from the South Florida Sun-Times to hear the news in-person.
And now it's too late for them.
That city advertising money is gone for good!
Gone With The Wind!
I "reported" on this within 90 minutes of it happening via an email to about 150 people in South Florida, including many of you readers of the blog, but haven't written about it since because I've been waiting to add some facts and photos to what I was going to post here.
Today's Florida Bulldog story, though very welcome, caught me by surprise, hence there's not as much original content for you here as I hoped to have the first time I mentioned it on the blog this year.
But trust me, more is coming!
People in the city who follow what goes on here are eager -even giddy- to talk about this matter, and what it represents in getting this city turned around and finally moving in the right direction -towards some semblance of normalcy and general competency and accountability.
Any journey begins with the first step.
And this is clearly a step in the right direction.
1/ #propaganda MT @Florida_Bulldog #HallandaleBeach halts #advertising in faux 'newspaper' where mayor is columnist. https://t.co/BB4lzva7ov— HallandaleBeachBlog (@hbbtruth) January 25, 2017
Florida Bulldog
Hallandale Beach halts advertising in local newspaper where mayor is a columnist
By William Gjebre, FloridaBulldog.org
JANUARY 25, 2017 AT 4:59 AM
Hallandale Beach city commissioners have pulled the plug on city advertising in the local Sun Times newspaper featuring articles by Mayor Joy Cooper that drew fire from commission colleagues as “propaganda” for the mayor.
Cooper used the platform regularly before and after the weekly newspaper received a favorable — and controversial — $50,000 loan from the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA). The Sun Times, according to city documents, has been paid nearly $400,000 in city advertising to publicize events since 2003, most of the money coming after the loan was made during the 2008-2009 budget year.Read the rest of the article at:
http://www.floridabulldog.org/2017/01/hallandale-beach-halts-advertising-local-newspaper-tied-mayor-cooper/
Having written about this subject dozens of times the past ten years, I will be updating this blog post throughout the day.
2/ #propaganda - For yrs #HallandaleBeach taxpayers & #SmallBiz owners wondered why 'faux' newspaper NEVER showed up 4 imp. public mtgs,— HallandaleBeachBlog (@hbbtruth) January 25, 2017
3/ #propaganda - 'Faux' newspaper's deal/dependence on #HallandaleBeach mayor made covering HB accurately a no-no! https://t.co/ADnOpzasuq pic.twitter.com/4BAX9831Im— HallandaleBeachBlog (@hbbtruth) January 25, 2017
4/ #propaganda - .@MiamiHerald's @grimm_fred in 2012 on faux newspaper in #HallandaleBeach's sweetheart #CRA deal. https://t.co/QlJjUxfE97— HallandaleBeachBlog (@hbbtruth) January 25, 2017
5/ #propaganda - For yrs, 99% of #SoFL media refused to show ANY interest in #HallandaleBeach story re #ethics #journalism #CronyCapitalism.— HallandaleBeachBlog (@hbbtruth) January 25, 2017
Below, a nugget reflecting the reality of life in Hallandale Beach in 2008, as reflected in one of my emails:
Do you recall what I wrote/joked about last year on my blog, after the city purchased space in the vanity sheet rag, the South Florida Sun-Times, and ran a completely preposterous ad masquerading as news about Pastor Anthony Sanders and the funny appraisal numbers for his property?
I
I joked that with a little more advanced warning and time, the city hall employee dispatched to write that condescending tripe on taxpayer time might've even written that Sanders was born in a log cabin -that he built himself. (A la the jokes about Chuck Norris.)
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