Newsday Deliberately Snubs Weinstock's Congressional Bid

Great Neck, NY (May 5, 2020) Last summer, I held a press conference at the Nassau County Supreme Court and I announced to the world, that a powerful Long Island politician had pressured me for sex on many occasions. It was one of the most difficult days of my entire life. I told the assembled media that I was not only filing criminal charges, but I had also decided to run for Congress against Tom Suozzi, in large part, because Congressman Suozzi helped this sexual predator get released from prison early.

Articles about my campaign for Congress have now appeared in more than twenty different newspapers across Queens and Long Island. There was even an article published in the Jerusalem Post. The only newspaper that adamantly refuses to publish anything about my campaign for Congress is Newsday.

If I am elected to Congress, I will become the first openly gay person to represent New York City in Congress. I will also become the first 9/11 firefighter elected to Congress. Nonetheless, the editors at Newsday are refusing to allow their reporters to publish a story about my campaign.

At first, I believed that Newsday was afraid to publish a story about a closeted gay politician accused of sex crimes. That all changed when Newsday published an article about a completely anonymous man who filed a lawsuit accusing a former Queens Congressman of a sex crime, that allegedly occurred more than fifty years ago.

What I didn’t know, is that Newsday has already been lambasted by good government groups for showing exceptional favoritism to Tom Suozzi and showering him with campaign contributions while keeping those contributions secret. Cablevision Systems Corp., which owns Long Island’s lone daily newspaper, has donated through its PAC and owners, more than $430,000 to Tom Suozzi’s various political campaigns. Ruth Hochberger, a professor at New York University, who teaches media ethics, has been highly critical. She told the Long Island Press “It just looks creepy and it smells bad not to disclose. It raises suspicions unnecessarily about the purity of their endorsement and their coverage. I’m not saying it’s impure. It just doesn’t look good.”

Before I learned that the owners of Newsday and Tom Suozzi have an unusually close relationship, I hounded Newsday reporters with inquiries via email. “Please tell me why Newsday steadfastly refuses to publish an article about Gerard Terry's history of sexual harassment. I'm not hiding behind a cloak of anonymity. I deliberately filed the criminal complaint with the Attorney Generals' office and - I didn't wait forty-five years to come forward.” The reporters were unfailingly polite and almost apologetic. “We are in the process of reporting” was their most common reply. Back in August, one reporter sent me a message that read “Hi Michael. Thanks for your email. I am in the process of reaching Mr. Terry via the federal prisons bureau for comment.” That was the last time I heard from the man.

I never imagined that the Newsday editors would prohibit their staff from publishing the story. Not only did the newspaper send a reporter to the press conference, but two different Newsday reporters peppered me with questions about the sex crimes and demanded corroboration from other sources. I gave them the names of two elected officials on Long Island who knew of other young men who were victimized. I also sent them a copy of the criminal complaint and supporting materials. Having spent many years as a sex crimes prosecutor, I know that the evidence I passed along was reliable.

On the anniversary of 9/11, I flew to New Zealand; and I put on my old firefighting gear. I joined hundreds of local firefighters and we clamored to the top of the Auckland Sky Tower, the tallest free-standing structure on the Southern Hemisphere. The event was organized by the United States Embassy and it received world-wide media attention. I was certain that Newsday would finally publish an article about my campaign for Congress. Newsday failed to publish a single word.

Newsday commanded a hugely important voice for many years, and it saddens me, that it’s been hobbled. When I was growing up, the Sunday edition weighed almost three pounds, the newspaper’s reputation was second to none; and the publication unapologetically controlled the political discussion in Queens and Long Island. Newsday won Pulitzer Prizes on a regular basis. Today, the owners of the newspaper don’t even bother to hide their personal bias.

I knew that running for Congress against Tom Suozzi would be a serious challenge. He has more than 1.9 million dollars in the bank while I’m relying on the help of volunteer firefighters and my high school friends. One thing I didn’t expect, was having to take on Tom Suozzi and Newsday simultaneously. Nonetheless, I’m completely down for this fight.

Michael Weinstock is a former firefighter and former Brooklyn Assistant District Attorney . He is a candidate for Congress in New York’s Third Congressional District.