Schmidt Takes Down NY Times Coverage of Chicago Strike

UPDATE: Ravitch Slams NY Times Editorial attacking Chicago Teacher Union:

New York Times’ Editorial on Chicago: Still Clueless

George Schmidt smashed NY Times reporting.

Only The New York Times was unable to locate Karen Lewis, Jesse Sharkey, Kristine Mayle or Michael Brunson on September 10, 2012. An amazing feat of reporting.....As The New York Times finally recognized that something big is happening in Chicago's public schools with the Teachers Strike of 2012, their reporters managed to get most of the story wrong — beginning with the notion, in their lead paragraph, that this strike is some kind of surprise. (It is only a surprise for those who use people like Rahm Emanuel and his ten closest friends as sources).---- Substance

I love NY Times bashing, especially since they dumped Winerip and Anna Philips, people who actually had a clue as to what is going on. Now they are a total joke and there should be a law prohibiting the Times from covering the Chicago story -- or any education story, for that matter. Outsource the work to India. George goes to town  -- hit his link to read the Times story.

MEDIA WATCH: 'All the news that fits [the ruling class version of reality] we print'...New York Times gets it wrong on first try at reporting the Chicago Teachers Strike of 2012 as 'news'

George N. Schmidt - September 11, 2012
One of the problems intelligent people face is when they let themselves be brainwashed by ideological versions of reality posing as fact... Over the years, a disturbing trend has developed, as professors who don't do their own street work have been given a free hand to quote any story published in The New York Times as factual....
The New York Times made a great effort not to quote any of the officers of the Chicago Teachers Union for its first "news" coverage of the Chicago Teachers Strike of 2012. Above, CTU vice president Jesse Sharkey speaking to reporters at the union's strike operations headquarters on Saturday, two days before the strike. Contrary to the implications of the New York Times's version of news, the officers and communications staff of the union were not in hiding on September 9 and September 10, 2012. Substance photo by Sharon Schmidt. Before reading the following story, consider the facts: (a) The New York Times preens itself as America's newspaper of record and sports the motto "All the news that's fit to print." (b) for many people the world over, this is the first inkling they have of what is going on in Chicago.
Had the following story been submitted to Substance (or in one of my journalism classes before I was blacklisted by CPS 12 years ago), would have demanded that the reporters find one of the union's officers before putting up the story. Only The New York Times was unable to locate Karen Lewis, Jesse Sharkey, Kristine Mayle or Michael Brunson on September 10, 2012. An amazing feat of reporting, when you consider how important this story is.

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This came in from a CTU media contact:

Hello all,

You should all follow @DriXander on twitter. She is really in the loop when it comes to Chicago politics. Earlier today, she tweeted the list of 33 aldermen who signed the anti-strike letter. One was Aldermen Joe Moreno of the first ward. He paints himself a progressive and blogs for Huffington Post where his deal is that he reframes chicago machine behavior as being "progressive." He gives Rahm cover. When 2 dozen teachers were fired from Clemente HS after the IB announcement, he claimed it a victory. He refused to comment on the firings. He fashions himself a hipster and hangs out at indie bars. One of his major hipsterisms is that he's proud of his social media presence. Please leave a message to @alderman_moreno or "Alderman Joe Moreno" on FB.

Be creative, but here is a sample tweet --

@alderman_moreno Union busting is not a #ChicagoValue, please stand with @ctulocal1 #FairContractNow #CTUstrike

or

@alderman_moreno Our schools need strong teachers advocating for kids, not political games. Support teachers.  #FairContractNow #CTUstrike

Also, I've attached a pic of a guy who calls himself @rebelpundit. He's one of the Education Action Group Tea Party guys who harasses people at protests. If you see him, do not engage. He will goad you. Let people around know that he's Tea Party and he's working against us and with Rahm. Let him know that you do not want to be filmed. 

Feel free to warn people on social media about him. 

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