A Place to Discuss Mayor Adams and Governor Murphy
By Brian Lehrer, Host of The Brian Lehrer Show
On The Brian Lehrer Show, we’ve begun having regularly scheduled segments to discuss how Mayor Eric Adams and Governor Phil Murphy are serving the people of New York City and New Jersey.
This fall, Mayor Adams began restricting reporters’ questions, on topics of their choosing, to one weekly news conference, which takes place on Tuesdays. The rest of the week, they can only ask about topics the mayor designates. In the past, mayors tended to take a few any-topic questions many days a week, at various public appearances. As one unhappy listener to my show wrote in this week, “Real time reporting and good journalism demand a much more organic and timely engagement with officials.”
Upon taking office, Mayor Adams also discontinued the two weekly appearances for wide-ranging interviews that Mayor de Blasio used to sit for — on my show, including listener calls, and on Inside City Hall with Errol Louis on Spectrum News NY1.
This is not to say the mayor’s policies are good or bad — just to let you know about his media practices.
WNYC and Gothamist’s lead Eric Adams reporter, Elizabeth Kim, is usually our person at the Tuesday news conferences. So, in the name of as much access as possible for our listeners, we’ve begun to have Liz on the show every Wednesday, bringing newsworthy clips of the mayor for the morning after, plus her insightful analysis, and taking your questions and comments, as we discuss city policy news.
On the New Jersey side, our Nancy Solomon hosts the monthly call-in show “Ask Governor Murphy,” on which the governor does take listener calls. That’s typically on the second Tuesday or Wednesday of each month at 7pm, though the schedule can vary a bit. Nancy also comes on our show with clips and analysis, and we invite New Jersey callers to discuss.
Here is the link to Liz’s appearance this week if you’re interested. And join us any day as a listener, caller, or text message commenter, as we all compare notes on the issues of the day and assess how our elected leaders are serving us.
Source: WNYC