OPEN LETTER TO CASEY SEILER:: CAPITOL BEREAU CHIEF, CAPITOL CONFIDENTIAL Dear Mr. Seiler; I am a reporter for Truthout.org and the Blackstar News. It is disappointing that Capitol Confidential censored my comment on your 10/10 article on the Moreland Commissions alleged lack of independence. My post was also critical of the Commission, but it specifically regarded the mendacious acts of Legislative Director John Amodeo, who was a friend of yours on Facebook until he shut down his account last week. My post included a video showing Mr. Amodeo refusing to tell me his position on the Commission or even his name, and ends with Mr. Amodeo giving a FALSE NAME. youtube/watch?v=AlK-KOzq538 This is newsworthy because mr. Amodeo is receiving a six figure salary to serve on the Moreland Commission to investigate public corruption, paid by taxpayers and he is clearly not accountable. At the time the video was made, Mr. Amodeo only knew me as a witness who testified before the Commission regarding crimes by the OCA Ethics Department, of which he had been the Chief Officer. Bizarrely, Mr. Amodeo tells me I know who you are- I looked you up on the internet a statement so wildly inappropriate that it can only be interpreted as a threat against my personal safety. In short, my comment was appropriate and germane to the subject of your article , undeniably authentic and unedited, yet you censored it. While it is technically your right to censor posts that criticize your friends and political allies, it is highly unethical by any standards of journalism and reflects very poorly on your professional ethics and those of Capitol Confidential. Perhaps it is time for you to brush up on the Code of Journalistic Ethics of the Society of Professional Journalists of which you are a member. Specifically: ACT INDEPENDENTLY Journalists should be free of obligation to any interest other than the public’s right to know. Journalists should: - AVOID CONFLICTS OF INTEREST REAL OR PERCEIVED - Remain free of associations and activities that may compromise integrity or damage credibility. - Refuse gifts, favors, fees, free travel and special treatment, and shun secondary employment, political involvement, public office and service in community organizations if they compromise journalistic integrity. - DISCLOSE UNAVOIDABLE CONFLICTS - Be vigilant and courageous about holding those with power accountable. - Deny favored treatment to advertisers and special interests and resist their pressure to influence news coverage. -Be wary of sources offering information for favors or money; avoid bidding for news. Sadly, I expect that you will delete this post from your FB page and block me from your account, but that will not really improve the publics perception of you and Capitol Confidential . What would behoove you and your paper would be an explanation of why you censored my post and why Capitol Confidential has not covered the issue of glaring conflicts of interest within the Commission. I await your response. Thanks, Wil Galison Interview with John Amodeo, Moreland Commission on Public Corruption & Deputy AG of NY State youtube John Amodeo is the Legislative Director of the Moreland Commission on Public Corruption judgejonathanlippman.blogspot
Posted on: Sat, 12 Oct 2013 19:53:03 +0000
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