According to the writers of this Times story about Mayor Bloomberg’s surprisingly narrow victory last night, “voters from Park Slope in Brooklyn to Morrisania in the Bronx seemed torn.” Dutifully, in their coverage, they talked to six regular New Yorkers:
• “Stav Brinbaum, 37, a Web producer from Prospect Heights.”
• “Paul Ranson, 56, a designer also from Prospect Heights.”
• “Ken Ficara, 40, a Web developer from the same neighborhood.”
• “Luke Geissbuhler, 39, a cinematographer in Prospect Heights.”
And, for diversity’s sake:
• “Katherine Krase, a 34-year-old professor, voting at her local school in Park Slope.”
• “At the same school, Gerni Oster, 34.”
It took six reporters to put together this story. This morning, NYTPicker noticed the same thing we did, and ventured that maybe these neighborhoods got so much attention because “Metro” editor Joe Sexton lives in Park Slope. That’s clearly not the case. We’ve been leg people on those kinds of stories, and we know how hard it is to get appropriate quotes sometimes. If only the low-income housing-filled Morrisania in the Bronx were as in tune with what the Times is thinking as is brownstone Brooklyn! Then the cub reporter who had to wander around up there all day probably would have gotten one of his quotes into the paper.
Bloomberg Wins 3rd Term as Mayor in Unexpectedly Close Race [NYT]
