About that “accountability journalism”?

On Monday, May 9th, I received the email pictured at the right from Annie McCain Madonia, Chief Advancement Officer for the Lenfest Institute for Journalism, the non-profit owner of The Philadelphia Inquirer, saying:

As an Inquirer reader, you know the importance of quality, in-depth local news. Inquirer journalists are dedicated to keeping you informed and connected to the latest news in the Philadelphia area.

The Inquirer is owned by The Lenfest Institute for Journalism, which makes it the largest American newspaper owned by a nonprofit organization. This innovative ownership structure helps support investigative news and accountability journalism, new technology, and a newsroom of growing diversity and community impact.

Thanks to the support of individuals like you, The Inquirer has the resources to report on stories that impact and improve our communities. Will you join me in making a gift to support The Inquirer’s journalism, and double your impact with this match?

“Investigative news”? “Accountability journalism”?

Why, then, is there not a single mention on the Inquirer’s website, of a story which appeared an entire day ago concerning Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s failure to pay his taxes?

From Fox News:

Far-left Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner’s company owes $86,000 in unpaid taxes

Krasner’s company has tax problems dating back years

Thursday, May 12, 2022 | 10:27 AM EDT

A company co-owned by progressive Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner has racked up an $86,000 unpaid tax bill, public records show.

Krasner has a 40% stake in a company called Tiger Building LP, his 2021 statement of financial interests shows. The disclosure says the company owns a pair of buildings in Philadelphia, including 1221 Locust St., which houses a restaurant.

Tiger Building’s corporate records list Little Street of Clubs LLC as its officer, and Little Street of Clubs’ own corporate filings list Krasner as its president.

Tiger Building, meanwhile, holds the massive tax bill. Public records currently show $86,043.57 in outstanding taxes for its property located at 1221 Locust St., including $79,776.79 in principal, $2,762.60 in interest, $1,215.19 in penalties and $2,288.99 in other fees. The records indicate there is a payment plan in effect.

The company’s tax problems date back several years. Tiger Building was hit with a $130,000 judgment in 2016 for unpaid Use & Occupancy taxes, which are imposed on Philadelphia businesses to help fund public schools. In April 2017, the company negotiated its debt to $89,000 and established a payment plan, according to City & State PA.

Krasner pockets a hefty $180,000 salary as DA, payroll data shows.

An Inquirer site search for Larry Krasner, done at 10:35 AM EDT on Friday, May 13th, could no mention of the Fox News story or Mr Krasner’s tax problems.

Decades ago, the Inquirer’s masthead declared the nation’s third oldest continuously published daily newspaper as a “Public Ledger” and “An Independent Newspaper for All the People.” Today, a major story noting that Philadelphia’s now twice-elected District Attorney is out, but not in the Inquirer!

1221 Locust Street, via Google Maps, November 2020. The building on the left is 1221. Click to enlarge.

Just two weeks ago, the Inquirer published a news story, complete with her booking photo, about Kathleen Kane, the former Pennsylvania Attorney General, who was forced to resign in disgrace following a perjury conviction, being rearrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. Mrs Kane, however, has been out of public office for six years now, and lives in Scranton, 125 miles north of Philly up the Northeast Extension, while Mr Krasner is a current city officeholder.

Most journalism professors would hold that the story about Mr Krasner would be far more important than the one concerning Mrs Kane, but the city’s newspaper practices journolism[1]The spelling ‘journolist’ or ‘journolism’ comes from JournoList, an email list of 400 influential and politically liberal journalists, the exposure of which called into question their … Continue reading rather than journalism.

I will admit it: I love newspapers! I delivered the Lexington Herald and the Lexington Leader when I was in junior high and high schools, and, being hearing impaired, I find it much easier to read the news than to watch and listen to it on television. But the Inky has become more of a propaganda sheet than an actual newspaper these days. Under publisher Elizabeth ‘Lisa’ Hughes and her #woke[2]From Wikipedia: Woke (/ˈwoʊk/) as a political term of African-American origin refers to a perceived awareness of issues concerning social justice and racial justice. It is derived from … Continue reading and “anti-racist” agenda, censors the news rather than publishing it. What Mrs Madonia called “accountability journalism” does not exist in the Inquirer, not if the accountability infringes on the newspaper’s political mission.

No, Mrs Madonia, I won’t be sending you any money. My subscription alone is more than the newspaper is worth.

References

References
1 The spelling ‘journolist’ or ‘journolism’ comes from JournoList, an email list of 400 influential and politically liberal journalists, the exposure of which called into question their objectivity. I use the term ‘journolism’ frequently when writing about media bias.
2 From Wikipedia:

Woke (/ˈwk/) as a political term of African-American origin refers to a perceived awareness of issues concerning social justice and racial justice. It is derived from the African-American Vernacular English expression “stay woke“, whose grammatical aspect refers to a continuing awareness of these issues.
By the late 2010s, woke had been adopted as a more generic slang term broadly associated with left-wing politics and cultural issues (with the terms woke culture and woke politics also being used). It has been the subject of memes and ironic usage. Its widespread use since 2014 is a result of the Black Lives Matter movement.

I shall confess to sometimes “ironic usage” of the term. To put it bluntly, I think that the ‘woke’ are just boneheadedly stupid.

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