De Blasio Doubles Down On Scorn For Press Revealed In Emails

NEW YORK, NY — Bill de Blasio's long rocky relationship turned scornful again Friday as the mayor doubled down on his disdain for the news media revealed in City Hall emails.

In a radio interview and a rare impromptu press conference, de Blasio stood by his gruff criticism of essentially every news outlet closely covering his administration, decrying a "corporate media" and "tabloid culture" that he says have not given him enough credit for his achievements.

"A lot of the coverage is always of personalities and sensationalization and I think distortion of a lot of what’s really happening," de Blasio, a second-term Democrat, said during his weekly appearance on "The Brian Lehrer Show." "I’m comfortable saying I don’t think that’s the best we can be."

The mayor's office released thousands of emails on Thursday between de Blasio, his aides and advisers from BerlinRosen, a political firm that assisted de Blasio in his first term.

NY1 and the New York Post requested the emails through the Freedom of Information Law, but City Hall withheld the release of hundreds, claiming it did not have to disclose communications between the mayor and "agents of the city." The reporters sued for the emails and won.

The emails revealed de Blasio's candid and often contemptful comments on news stories about him and his initiatives.

The messages show him privately going after his old tabloid enemies, which he has frequently criticized in public. He expresses hope that the New York Post will go out of business and the New York Daily News would significantly cut back its operations.

One email shows de Blasio crafting a plan to punch back at negative coverage in 2015 after he was criticized for working out in Park Slope as a dangerous standoff unfolded on Staten Island. "Let's deal with these bastards," he wrote.

He also lambasted legacy publications like The New York Times and The Atlantic, calling their work "idiotic" and "horrible."

The revelations led the Daily News and the Post to compare de Blasio to President Donald Trump, who often complaints of negative stories, on their front pages Friday morning — even despite news of criminal charges against Harvey Weinstein.

"DON BLASIO," the Post's cover blared, next to a photo of the mayor edited with the president's signature hairdo. The Daily News cover showed the mayor looking in a hand mirror that reflected Trump's face covered with clown paint. The headline: "Through the lookin' ass!"

But the mayor didn't back down Friday. His problem, he said, was not with a robust press but with the "corporate media" that doesn't cover the issues everyday New Yorkers care about.

"It is based on a free enterprise model. It’s based on selling things. I don’t think that’s healthy," he said on WNYC. "I think that leads to a lot of distortions."

De Blasio said he likes public radio and TV and publications such as The Guardian, a British newspaper, and The Root, a news and culture website — neither of which regularly scrutinize his administration.

He launched another screed against the Post, accusing the paper of "dogwhistling" and calling it "harmful" to society. He said he wouldn't be upset if it shut down, as he and an aide contemplated in an email.

"I will not shed a tear if that newspaper’s no longer here because I think we need a better civic discourse," de Blasio said.

After his radio interview, de Blasio took to the City Hall press room for a rare unplanned news conference with reporters. During a terse exchange with Henry Goldman, a reporter for Bloomberg News, the mayor stood by his position that owners of media companies — such as Michael Bloomberg, his predecessor — sometimes have a nefarious influence on coverage.

As de Blasio left the room, Goldman shouted a retort: "Who owns you?"

(Lead image: Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks to reporters at a rare impromptu news conference in City Hall. Photo by Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)