Publisher and Editor-in-Chief
Over the past few weeks, the New York City tabloids have been focusing on the private life of a city employee, even though there has been no wrongdoing by the individual. The tabloids would like to make you think that because a city staffer has a boyfriend who has written some statements on social media, and has a teenage son who also uses social media, she should be condemned for their actions.
Rachel Noerdlinger is the chief of staff to first lady Chirlane McCray. She is one of the highest-ranking Blacks in the city administration. So why is she being targeted by the media when she hasn’t done anything wrong?
Since when do we delve into the personal backgrounds, tweets and Facebook posts of the spouses, significant others and children of city employees? Are we going to do this kind of investigation into every city employee’s family and friends and acquaintances? How about we do the same for all reporters? Or is it only those who have affiliations with folks like the Rev. Al Sharpton who get targeted? Or anyone, for that matter, who is Black and wields any kind of power?
Noerdlinger did nothing wrong; her personal life has no relevance to her performance as a governmental official. And the fact that the media has made so much of it tells us that these so-called news outlets are much less interested in getting important and relevant information out to the public than they are in trying to create a scandal where one does not exist. Aren’t there real issues in New York City that need to be addressed? Aren’t there real people who need to be covered for the wonderful things that they do for this city and state? Isn’t there concern over the lack of jobs and health care and quality education? Or are all of these issues relegated to the back burner, set aside to create scandals that are not real?
What do we want for the future of this city? Do we want a climate in which good people will not run for office or take positions in the government because they are not sure about the people they’ve dated, or don’t want their children’s Twitter feeds to be held under a microscope? We should be welcoming people with significant experience and success outside of government. But if we keep scaring them away with these invasions, all we will be left with are government hacks.
In the non-case of Noerdlinger, the mayor and the first lady should be commended for standing strong by her. They understand what it means to be a parent and a human.
The tabloids need to realize that there are better things to do than plaster tweets on their pages. In other words, they need to figure out what their actual purpose is. Is it to make a mockery of the journalism profession, or to actually report on issues and news that can really affect our communities?
