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Bloomberg Went On A Diet Because Of Mean Old Press
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jun 12, 2010
Modified Jun 12, 2010
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Jun 12, 2010
Modified Jun 12, 2010
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The media has spent so much time analyzing and criticizing Mayor Bloomberg, perhaps we've forgotten about the complicated soul within the Bermuda trunks; although he generally seems unassailable, maybe we're finally getting to him. At a private meeting yesterday with college journalism students, the Mayor was quoted as revealing some details about his personal relationship with the press: “My life is fundamentally boring to the press. I live with a woman who is age appropriate. We don’t do drugs, we don’t do flashy stuff. The press fundamentally leaves my private life alone. At one point, one guy wrote a story that said I was gaining weight and so I went on a diet.” Perhaps this explains a few things...
The event was set up for the Mayor to meet with eight college students who were the recipients of the Hearst Journalism Awards from around the country; in a bit of irony, it was otherwise closed to the media. Each student was allowed to ask the Mayor one question during the 45 minute session. Nathan Rott, 23, a University of Montana graduate, compared the talk to a massive NYC sales-pitch: “Sort of like with LeBron James, it was a sale pitch...He was very good about hitting you with a lot of facts, bombarding us with facts and information.” Allison Gatlin, 22, who graduated from Arizona State University, asked if the Mayor had presidential aspirations, which he denied (she also was the one whose notes included the quote in the first graph). According to Gatlin, Bloomberg told the students he had no problem speaking with the media, but it annoyed him when reporters didn't get the facts straight and intruded into his personal life.
Besides his personal life, the Mayor also doesn't like (or isn't ready) to talk about the possible park smoking ban. At a press conference yesterday, the Mayor refused to comment when asked whether he supported the ban, and instead handed the reigns to city health commissioner Dr. Thomas A. Farley. We wonder if the Mayor is sad that nobody has stepped up to defend him in the same way that he defended BP and the Empire State Building.
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diet
mayor bloomberg
media
park smoking ban
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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