By The Beachwood Angry Mayor Affairs Desk
Our mayor is obsessed with headlines. And, to be fair, Fran Spielman of the Sun-Times does seem to use a reporting strategy of trying to elicit comments at press conferences on angles she’s pursuing in order to crank out three mediocore stories a day. Still, Richard M. Daley is a lousy media critic and a perpetual crank. Let’s take a look.
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Headline: “Firefighters graduate as possible layoffs loom”
Date: August 20, 2008
Publication: Sun-Times
Quote: “Everybody’s jumping. I know you need a headline . . . We are in a recession in the country. There’s major problems in the economy. Let’s not jump to headlines and scare people . . . “I’m not gonna answer that question. You need a headline . . . I’m not gonna give you that. Simple as that.”
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Headline: “Daley insists layoffs will not be political”
Date: August 19, 2008
Publication: Sun-Times
Quote: “That’s just a phony headline. It’s done by union rules. I’m sorry. About 99 percent of the people are unionized in the city of Chicago. So don’t make up phony stories.”
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Headline: “Want that 7% property tax cap? You’ve got to apply by June 30”
Date: June 22, 2008
Publication: Sun-Times
Quote: “You’re not gonna get that headline from me. The Sun-Times will not get that headline. Simple as that. Now, print that.”
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Headline: “Daley: It’s ‘not my way’ to ‘ram through’ museum vote – ‘Perhaps they do not have the votes,’ critic says”
Date: May 21, 2008
Publication: Sun-Times
Quote: “If I rammed it through, you would say, ‘Daley rams it through’ . . . You would run that headline: ‘He ran it through’ . . . And you would run a big headline: ‘Daley rammed it through. He wants his way.’ This is not my way.”
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Headline: “Daley scoffs at relaxing Wrigley landmark status – Also not crazy about giving up tax growth”
Date: March 5, 2008
Publication: Sun-Times
Quote: “”I’m not going to be the mayor saying, ‘OK, we’re going to relax on the historic aspect of Wrigley Field. Mayor Daley says it’ll be torn down.’ That’ll be a great headline for the Sun-Times. I’m not going to do that. You’re not going to get that from me . . . I’m a White Sox fan. I’m not going to say, ‘We’re going to change Wrigley Field.’ That would be the end of me.”
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Headline: “‘Please don’t write that headline’ – Daley bristles at questions about son’s secret deal with city, asks Sun-Times not to play it up”
Date: December 21, 2007
Publication: Sun-Times
Quote: “Fran, please, you’ve done this. No other questions [on this topic]. Any other questions . . . And I’m not mad at her. So, don’t write a big headline: ‘Mayor Daley is mad. The mayor gets mad. He gets red, screams, yells.’ No, I’m not. Please don’t write that headline. I know you want to write it. They’re having challenging times there [at the Sun-Times]. But please don’t do it to me.”
Correction
Date: December 22, 2007
Publication: Sun-Times
Text: “A headline in Friday editions mistakenly quoted Mayor Daley asserting he had asked the Sun-Times not to write a headline about his son Patrick’s secret deal with the city. As the story said, the mayor merely cautioned the press not to write headlines about his being angry, when in fact he wasn’t.”
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Headline: “Ready for rumble? – Daley hypes event with an eye on 2016 Olympic bid”
Date: October 12, 2007
Publication: Sun-Times
Quote: “I caution the media not to relate any sporting event to the Olympics. You’re trying to relate everything to it. Pretty soon, you’ll blame the Olympic movement for the Cubs losing, for the Sox losing. I mean – you’ll go to extremes just to get a headline. I know you need headlines. Your papers need help. I understand that. But, please . . . You have a responsibility.”
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Headline: Daley revs up – Mayor blasts civil rights leader’s comments suggesting he’s ‘getting a pass’ on issue of police abuse”
Date: August 1, 2007
Publication: Sun-Times
Quote: “”All the headlines you ran against me for two years – I did nothing right in Chicago under your headlines. You know. You wrote the articles. Look at every headline. You wrote articles about everything [negative] about Mayor Daley . . . I didn’t take exception. I just said that you wrote every major headline against me. So, that’s your gig. We understand that. Police understand that, too. One minute you hit ’em. And the next day, you’re going to be nice to ’em.”
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Headline: “Mayor livid over ‘ridiculous’ headline”
Date: July 19, 2007
Sun-Times:
Quote: “”It’s ridiculous. Just another headline you provide . . . It’s ridiculous to basically place me in that position. That’s how you do it.”
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Headline: “City gives Navteq a lift – GPS mapping leader gets $5 mil. subsidy”
Date: June 13, 2007
Publication: Sun-Times
Quote: “If I just sat back and said, ‘This is the greatest city’ [and we don’t need incentives], you know what they’ll do? They just move. And then, you’ll have a big headline: ‘Why does Mayor Daley let all these companies move?'”
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Headline: “Daley suggests state tax hike, city casino – ‘Everything should be on the table'”
Date: May 17, 2007
Publication: Sun-Times
Quote: “If you don’t get the revenue for education, you’re going to be back in the same situation: ‘Dire Need. Crisis in September.’ I can read the headlines.”
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Headline: Under pressure: Personal, professional stresses weigh on mayor”
Date: February 19, 2007
Publication: Sun-Times
Quote: “If I take $1,500, you’d be screaming and yelling [and writing] headlines. So I did that. I go to people I know personally. They have a lot of businesses. A lot of interests in this city. They don’t have to give me money.”
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Headline: City releases 5-year capital program: 4 police stations – upgrades at airports new North Ave. bridge
Date: June 14, 2006
Publication: Sun-Times
Quote: “These projects seldom make big headlines.”
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Headline “Daley picks chiefs for aviation, human services: Appointees will lead 2 departments marked by controversy”
Date: March 28, 2006
Publication: Sun-Times
Quote: “If you think it’s too high and you accept it, there would be headlines. You’d love to see those headlines. We’re not in the business of providing headlines.”
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Headline: “Daley won’t commit to Hispanic for clerk”
Date: February 9, 2006
Publication: Sun-Times
Quote: “‘Mayor Daley Abolishes All the City Offices.’ You’d love to have a headline like that. I’m not giving you one.”
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Headline: “Daley dumps construction chief, taps Hispanic for post”
Date: February 7, 2006
Publication: Sun-Times
Quote: “If [a roof or porch or wall] collapsed, you would have a headline: ‘Why Did Mayor Daley OK That Permit in a Week?'”
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Headline: “Daley: No demolition for bigger, safer Midway”
Date: December 16, 2005
Publication: Sun-Times
Quote:“You’re mixing apples and oranges. You’re doing that intentionally to get a headline. Any other questions?”
Posted on August 21, 2008