By Steve Rhodes
In this corner, Chicago Newsroom host Ken Davis, with guests Rick Kogan, Richard Steele, Ray Salazar and Bill Ruthhart.
In that corner, Mark Konkol, Marc Levin and Chicagoland.
Not even close.
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Among the highlights:
- Among the redactions in the e-mails that Ruthhart obtained through a Freedom of Information Act: The “characters” that the mayor’s office suggested for the show.
- Deep suspicion about the amazing coincidence that the only two schools out of more than 50 that were saved from closure were the two schools that CNN’s cameras were following.
- Rahm’s contention that he hasn’t watched the show belied by the fact that the mayor’s office – as Ruthhart has reported – asked for a private screening before it was aired. Ruthhart also notes that Rahm is briefed by his staff on every piece of media about him; at the very least he was briefed on each episode and it defies reason to think he never watched for himself.
Is it safe, then, to call Rahm a liar? Let me tell you something: Rahm earned a reputation as a liar long ago from people inside the political system who have watched him stretch, twist, distort and mangle the truth repeatedly, often to accrue undue credit onto himself. - A peace march organized by Liz Dozier in Roseland was conflated with a shooting in Englewood to make it appear as if they were related; they were not. They are, um, not the same neighborhood.
- Salazar, a CPS English teacher who blogs at The White Rhino, tweeted Billy Dec during one show to make a point I’ve also made: Fundraising for Fenger High School may help alleviate budget problems, sparingly, one year, but what about the next and the next? Juanita Jordan isn’t going to be there every year parsing out enough to barely save one job, especially when the cameras are gone. If Dec really cares, he can immerse himself in the issues and get involved. After all, he as an infamous nightlife impresario has the mayor’s ear in a way that the world’s education experts don’t!
Alternately, Kogan says that if Dec really wants to help, he can put a nightclub in Roseland or open some other business there. - Kogan really hands it to Rahm. “[The series] shows a guy who doesn’t seem to have a real clue about what Chicago is . . . a playful guy peeking in school rooms . . . a guy out of control . . . the mayor comes off kind of like nuts in this thing.”
- Kogan also hands it to producer, writer and narrator Mark Konkol, saying that he first thought the script must have been written by Rahm press secretary Tarrah Cooper and her aides, but then thought, “No, they’re way better than that.” Zing.
- Kogan also reveals that Konkol asked him to participate and he refused.
- Steele notes that Konkol told WBEZ that he considered Chicagoland to be “reality journalism” and “a new way of storytelling.”
- Responded Ruthhart: “Telling them how great they’re gonna look, that’s not journalism.”
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Previously:
* Tweeting Chicagoland | Episode 1: Oh My Lord, I Hate It Already.
* Cracking The Chicagoland Code 1: Docu-Series Or Docu-Wank?
* Tweeting Chicagoland | Episode 2: Brought To You By Allstate, Billy Dec & The Central Office.
* Cracking The Chicagoland Code 2: Fixing The Facts.
* Tweeting Chicagoland | Episode 3: Get Me Rewrite.
* Cracking The Chicagoland Code 3: Our Fact-Challenged Heroes.
* Tweeting Chicagoland | Episode 4: Did We Mention That Rahm Loves (Black) Kids?
* Cracking The Chicagoland Code 4: LollapaRahmza.
* Tweeting Chicagoland | Episode 5: Back To Black.
* Cracking The Chicagoland Code 5: Yada Yada Yada.
* Tweeting Chicagoland | Episode 6: Building A New Rahm.
* Cracking The Chicagoland Code 6: Unwired.
* Tweeting Chicagoland | Episode 7: Tripling Down.
* Cracking The Chicagoland Code | Epsiode 7: We Don’t Care How They Do It In New York.
* Exposing Chicagoland.
* Cracking The Chicagoland Code 8: Ending The Way It Started – In Deceit.
* Rahm’s Chicagoland Response Requires Suspension Of Disbelief.
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Comments welcome.
Posted on May 2, 2014