Disir
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- Sep 30, 2011
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It’s a weekday afternoon when Dave de Felice, a member of the Dane County, Wisc., board of supervisors, answers his phone. No, he hadn’t yet seen my e-mail seeking clarification on a news release he’d recently sent. But, yes, oh yes, he’d like to talk about it.
A few days earlier, de Felice (pronounced full-LEE-chay) had dashed off a news release to perhaps 20 members of the local press corps about a new “award” he’d launched to highlight dubious public spending. The idea was inspired by the late US Sen. William Proxmire of Wisconsin, who was known for handing out “Golden Fleece Awards.”
De Felice’s award, however, would be named after himself: The Golden Felice.
And in addition to what he saw as questionable expenditures, there was something else de Felice was calling out with this new enterprise: a lack of local media coverage. The last reporters assigned to meetings of the board of supervisors disappeared years ago, he had said in the release—and this is in a county that is home to the state capital, and for a board that signs off on half a billion dollars in public money.
On the phone, I had a question for de Felice: Did his stunt trolling the local press corps lead to any coverage?
County official: Won't some reporters show up to 'keep us on our best behavior'?
I think I posted on this topic last year and that there were nation wide budget cuts going on.
We talk about a free press and how beneficial they are but the reality is that if they aren't minding the cash and these meetings then they don't really serve a purpose.
A few days earlier, de Felice (pronounced full-LEE-chay) had dashed off a news release to perhaps 20 members of the local press corps about a new “award” he’d launched to highlight dubious public spending. The idea was inspired by the late US Sen. William Proxmire of Wisconsin, who was known for handing out “Golden Fleece Awards.”
De Felice’s award, however, would be named after himself: The Golden Felice.
And in addition to what he saw as questionable expenditures, there was something else de Felice was calling out with this new enterprise: a lack of local media coverage. The last reporters assigned to meetings of the board of supervisors disappeared years ago, he had said in the release—and this is in a county that is home to the state capital, and for a board that signs off on half a billion dollars in public money.
On the phone, I had a question for de Felice: Did his stunt trolling the local press corps lead to any coverage?
County official: Won't some reporters show up to 'keep us on our best behavior'?
I think I posted on this topic last year and that there were nation wide budget cuts going on.
We talk about a free press and how beneficial they are but the reality is that if they aren't minding the cash and these meetings then they don't really serve a purpose.
