Podcast: JCOPE's Fourth Estate Folly

The New York state Legislature’s Joint Commission on Public Ethics is a body nominally designed to police corruption in state government. Apparently that job description now includes scrutinizing editorial boards as part of a bizarre interpretation of what constitutes lobbying.

JCOPE’s controversial 10-3 vote last week requiring public-relations firms and media consultants to register as lobbyists if they communicate with the press or editorial boards was met with backlash from several major media outlets. Opponents of the JCOPE ruling called it a gross overreach of jurisdiction at best, and an infringement on First Amendment rights at worst.

Harry Siegel, a columnist for the Daily News, and Bill Hammond, a former Daily News columnist, joined Alexis Grenell and I on the latest episode of The Slant Podcast to break down the possible motives behind the JCOPE decision and what it means for how political journalists will do their jobs. Hammond’s latest column for Politico New York on the JCOPE ruling served as the impetus for the discussion. Harry and Bill also weighed in on the New York City Council’s proposal for a 32 percent pay hike.

Gerson Borrero also joined me in the podcast studio for our “Bochinche & Buzz” segment. Borrero delivered a big scoop on a major appointment looming in the Cuomo administration, and the subsequent repurposing of one of his top advisers.

To download and subscribe to The Slant Podcast on iTunes, click here. The podcast is also available on Stitcher.