I did not know that the Mayor’s Office of Ethnic & Community Media has an annual advertising spend of over $70 million. About half of that goes to 15 large media outlets, led by Meta and including Google, WABC and Univision. Greenpointers sees about $7,000 in advertising revenue from MOECM – a paltry sum compared to other non-local outlets, and it seems that comes with a quid pro quo attached (we wouldn’t expect anything less from this administration):
In a conversation with the former Executive Director José Bayona, [Greenpointers] received subtle pressure to publish weekly op-eds that MOECM sends to members of its directory. We expressed concern that not only do these not align with our hyperlocal ethos, but we feel that doing so would only make us a propaganda mouthpiece, damaging the credibility we have spent more than 15 years building in the community. Greenpointers‘ bottom line lies with the North Brooklyn area—not any specific politician or institution.