Hoboken Revolt

The Hoboken Tax Reform Coalition

BoE videographer released by Interim Sup't. Carter over meeting tape edits

http://thehobokenjournal.blogspot.com/2009/12/boe-meeting-tape-edit...

The Channel 78 broadcast of the Nov. 17th BoE meeting has been airing with critical portions missing: : the 2009 audit presentation (which was rife with irregularities) and the test score presentation, which showed some decline in 3rd and 4th grade progress.

The videographer, who had described technical difficulties as the cause of the problem was released by Interim Sup't. Peter E. Carter today via email.

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Permalink Reply by David on December 3, 2009 at 7:02pm
Was the video-grapher released because of the equipment failure? Or was he released for not being direct about the equipment failure and subsequent edits?
Permalink Reply by InfotainMe on December 4, 2009 at 8:20am
People don't get fired for equipment failures. There seems to be a page missing from my magazine..
Permalink Reply by npincus on December 4, 2009 at 9:55am
David,

All I can say is, the person with the authority to judge whether the actions were intentional or not ("technical difficulty" vs. "oops!") is holding the videographer accountable.

"Missing" portions of televised BoE meetings are nothing new; I remember yelling some choice epithets at my tv last year when the portion of the meeting I was waiting for was "missing". And that happened more than once. What's new that is more people are paying attention, we have a reform majority who WANTS all of this out in the open, we have a highly competent Sup't who seems to care about doing the right thing, who is a 'fixer'. I only wish Mr. Carter could stay on past the expiration of his contract (end of June). I'm personally outraged that I can't see the audit and test score presentations, as I was unable to make the meeting.

BTW, the BoE videographer is also the CC videographer; the same who has managed to record those meetings without "gaps" in excess of 7 hours in length. I've heard through sources that Carter has contacted the mayor to discuss this. Good. Do taxpayers want to continue to pay the salary of a City (part-time) employee who "disappeared" the 2009 school audit report, which was as stated above, rife with irregularities?

Info, not only is there a page missing from your magazine, it's the page that had the news on it, and all that's left are the ads.

David said:
Was the video-grapher released because of the equipment failure? Or was he released for not being direct about the equipment failure and subsequent edits?
Permalink Reply by npincus on December 5, 2009 at 10:03am
*UPDATE*

A little birdie with a mane and a tail told me that the original (whole) video has been obtained and will air in 'as-is' condition on Channel 78, possibly this weekend. By 'as-is' condition, I mean all the audio is intact, but no moving images for the portions that were edited out (audit, test scores) so the screen will display a still while that audio plays.

This is what I have heard. MAJOR PROPS to the birdie... and a bushel of carrots.

Please do check in to 'hear' it for yourselves when it airs.
Permalink Reply by InfotainMe on December 5, 2009 at 12:25pm
Damned if you do, damned if you don't, np. First gets fired for an 'equipment malfunction'. Now will be in trouble for not having a thorough enough malfunction.

Carrots to the big bird comin' around the back stretch.
Permalink Reply by Administrator on December 7, 2009 at 2:15pm
AFTER REVOLT DID OUR FIRST RALLY AGAINST THE %47 TAX INCREASE LAST YEAR AND THE VIDEO OF THE COUNCIL MEETING AFTERWARDS WAS AIRED ON 78, THE AUDIO HAD BEEN EDITED DOWN SO LOW, THAT EVEN IF YOU TURNED UP YOUR VOLUME TO THE HIGHEST SETTING, YOU COULD BARELY HEAR IT. I ALWAYS SUSPECTED THAT THIS WAS DONE ON PURPOSE, NOW I KNOW IT WAS.
Permalink Reply by npincus on December 7, 2009 at 3:46pm
What a coincidence.

I can say I am highly skeptical of the so-called 'technical difficulties' during the BoE audit and test score presentations, since the audio recorded perfectly but not the image... as though the camera operator just pushed a button to stop recording during the taping... then, instead of airing the whole thing, he chose to edit out these very critical audio portions entirely. The Kids First Board members knew nothing about this editing-- when they found out about it they brought it to Mr. Carter's attention-- I believe that's how it went down. You would think that they would have been apprised of any such 'problem' as the airing of the meeting events minus the events.

Richard Pasquarelli said:
AFTER REVOLT DID OUR FIRST RALLY AGAINST THE %47 TAX INCREASE LAST YEAR AND THE VIDEO OF THE COUNCIL MEETING AFTERWARDS WAS AIRED ON 78, THE AUDIO HAD BEEN EDITED DOWN SO LOW, THAT EVEN IF YOU TURNED UP YOUR VOLUME TO THE HIGHEST SETTING, YOU COULD BARELY HEAR IT. I ALWAYS SUSPECTED THAT THIS WAS DONE ON PURPOSE, NOW I KNOW IT WAS.
Permalink Reply by InfotainMe on December 7, 2009 at 4:40pm
I don't get the quid pro quo, but that may be more of a comment on my ignorance than anything else. The videographer isn't a player. Why do it, why risk a job, in exchange for what?
Permalink Reply by Jack Dawkins on December 7, 2009 at 6:17pm
I agree with you, Info - I'm all for conspiracy theories, but I don't see anything here to question, other than, perhaps the videographer should have told someone about the problem with the equipment immediately - I also watched the cc meeting after the first ralley and had no trouble hearing the audio at all. strange....

InfotainMe said:
I don't get the quid pro quo, but that may be more of a comment on my ignorance than anything else. The videographer isn't a player. Why do it, why risk a job, in exchange for what?
Permalink Reply by npincus on December 8, 2009 at 4:56pm
Jack / Info,

Here's what I've been told by a reliable source who has been following this thread: the videographer has been editing meeting videos since he first started taping around 2 years ago, and he/she complained for those 2 years about this to Jack Raslowsky and Joe Morano, the BoE counsel. They did nothing. He/she also doesn't know how he got hired- it wasn't with Board approval, he doesn't have a contract, and he/she doesn't know how much he gets paid. And I was told by someone else who had spoken with the guy that he (videographer) claims to have been filling another person's job who is paid to take the video.

Awfully murky, no? The guy has no contract, he's filling in for someone, making an unspecified salary... This kind of arrangement was business as usual at the BoE until the KF majority took over. Mr. Carter's no dummy. He 'released' him (or whatever the terminology is for getting rid of someone with that kind of arrangement) immediately.

I'm guessing he's a 'player' on the behalf of those who've arranged for his employment and in whose interest it serves to suffer 'technical difficulties' during potentially embarrassing disclosures.
Permalink Reply by SmartyJones on December 8, 2009 at 10:00pm
After looking into this there's insufficient information to make a conclusion on the problem with the recording. It is confirmed there were problems and came by way of REQUESTS previously but the evidence is not sufficient to draw such a conclusion in instance. At least the audio is preserved.

Understand that Adam, Beth Mason's videographer has the raw data with the video problem now in the hope to use software tools to repair/recover. There's no follow up story planned at the moment at Mile Square View. If additional information comes to light we'll update.

Will investigate for organic carrots. Giddyup.

InfotainMe said:
Damned if you do, damned if you don't, np. First gets fired for an 'equipment malfunction'. Now will be in trouble for not having a thorough enough malfunction.
Carrots to the big bird comin' around the back stretch.
Permalink Reply by InfotainMe on December 9, 2009 at 5:08am
Thanks Señor Horse & NP. Perhaps we'll never know. We don't want our SI terminating people for circumstances beyond their control, and nothing we know about him suggests that he would. By the same token, MMO doesn't quite add up for the alleged perp. The path leads into the woods. But I still suspect at some point it leads back out.

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