Chicago Reader picks up on Pera media conflict

The Chicago Reader has a more detailed story of the controversy involving Mark Pera's spokesman, Patrick Corcoran, who has been writing bylined news stories about Pera's campaign challenge to U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski in the "Trib Local," (http://www.triblocal.com/) the weekly community tabloid published every Thursday in some 21 suburban communities, many on the Southwest Side and suburbs.

Here's the link to Michael Miner's story:

http://www.chicagoreader.com/features/stories/hottype/080124/

The story coincidentally comes out the same week I wrote a similar column, appearing this week in the Southwest News-Herald on the same topic. Both of us have deadlines the previous week. And, at the same time, according to the Trib-Local web site, the "news stories" bylined by Patrick Corcoran have been rebranded to relfect what was not reflected in more than 12 past news stories byt he writer, that Pat Corcoran works for the Mark Pera campaign.

Here's the link to my column:

http://swnewsherald.com/news_inside/2008/01/012508cs_rh_shellgame.php

What was missed in the Chicago Reader story is the manipulation of the Corcoran bylined stories by the Pera campaign. Pera has repeatedly asserted that former Congressman Bill Lipinski has been "running" his son Dan's re-election campaign, arguing that is something wrong with that "fact." Pera cited "press accounts," placing the blame for the charge on the news media.

Of course, the only place that made that accusation was in the Trib Local, in a "news story" bylined by Patrick Corcoran.

The Chicago Reader goes into more details about the the Trib Local managing editor, Kyle Leonard, was an editor at the Pioneer Press, the same time Corcoran worked there.

You won't see the downtown mainstream media hammer away at that one!

Ray Hanania