Document Actions
Wednesday: Over and Out
posted at 2007-08-15 22:40 | Last modified 2007-11-14 10:38
Beason: It's over
NC's top lobbyist Don Beason announced today he's leaving the business for good. That's HUGE news on Jones St., where for years Beason has ranked first or second as the state's most influential advocate.
Beason said today it isn't fair to put his clients through what he's going through with the Jim Black investigation. The full story is here. Beason's official statement to Charlotte's David Ingram is here. Missed something? Check out Dome's Beason-pedia.
Ross: Out is in
Sour grapes? Over at Exile, blogger/Dem columnist Kirk Ross is complaining (again) about the Capitol Press Corps, accusing the group of being too "cozy" with sources to break the story about corruption. (He conveniently fails to mention that the reporters who broke the story, i.e. the N&O's Andy Curliss and Dan Kane, are members of the slacker group he's dissing.)
Ross's rant might make more sense in context: his request for credentials was rejected by a full-corps vote, due to his longstanding relationship with BlueNC. For the record, the CPC doesn't credential reporters who have primary business relationships with partisan publications, whether it's BlueNC or Civitas -- no matter how much they yell about it.
Of course, the ironic part is that it's much ado about very little. The ONLY thing a "credential" does is let you sit in the church pews at the top of each chamber floor during session. (In terms of access, that means nothing - you can't talk to them while they're in session, anyway.) Noncredentialed press sit with the public in the other church pews upstairs in the gallery, where the view is better and the sergeants-at-arms don't hassle you as much.
So - did Ross's pew assignment keep him from breaking the story he blames credentialed press for not breaking? Um, no. As 2007 Capitol Press Corps Prez Mark Binker put it, "Too bad we don't have subpoena power." Greensboro uberblogger Ed Cone ain't buying it, either.
More on Beason
Ross's excoriations aside, I don't feel bad at all in saying I'm sorry about Don Beason - and not because I need him as a source, or because I'm afraid of him.
None of the heroes or villains we cover are two-dimensional -- a fact that seems to be lost on a lot of folks in those church pews, upstairs or down. It's always easy to pile on to the Black Hat of the Week, especially when it looks as if they've earned it.
But Beason is even more complex than most. He's a gentlemanly, savvy politico who's probably the most reliable market for the Legislative Cafeteria's chocolate cake. He's also a steely-eyed rainmaker you don't want to cross. Ever. He's often both in the same breath--in a word, complicated. So, while I don't condone what he did, I'm still sincerely sorry to see him go down like this.
"Sharp-Dressed Man"
You KNOW it's a slow news day when this one hits the AP wire: Charlotte mayor Pat McCrory scored a spread in Esquire. Who knew we had a sartorial superstar among us - especially when it's a guy who brags about buying cheap ties? The Char-O's Victoria Cherrie had the story on the photo shoot this morning.
Aiken hearts
The Great White Way hasn't been so great for NC's favorite American Idol, Clay Aiken. A OB show based (loosely) on Aiken's Idol experience closed on opening night this past Sunday. You can't blame lack of preparation, either - the cast put on 47 preview shows, but still couldn't sell enough tickets to make it work.
Don't worry about the Clayster, though. He told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel today he's okay with being hip-challenged. He's appearing this fall on "Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader?" to raise money for his camp for disabled kids. And hey, he can still rock Cary.
Comments? Drop me a line.
