Bloomberg speaks out in defense of religious freedom; defends Ground Zero mosque

In a rare personal moment for the Mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg gave a teary-eyed defense of religious freedom in the form of plans to build an Islamic center near the former site of the World Trade Center - known as 'Ground Zero'.

Bloomberg praised the decision to allow the building of the mosque to go ahead - despite widespread criticism.

The billionaire mayor choked up during his delivery, which spoke of the religious freedoms desired by the earliest settlers of the United States.

"We may not always agree with every one of our neighbors. That's life and it's part of living in such a diverse and dense city. But we also recognize that part of being a New Yorker is living with your neighbors in mutual respect and tolerance. It was exactly that spirit of openness and acceptance that was attacked on 9/11," he said.

Bloomberg was a prominent businessman before entering politics, and grew up in a disadvantaged family north of New York. He founded the multi-billion dollar financial data company Bloomberg LP before resigning to pursue the mayoralty. 

"Let us not forget that Muslims were among those murdered on 9/11 and that our Muslim neighbors grieved with us as New Yorkers and as Americans. We would betray our values - and play into our enemies' hands - if we were to treat Muslims differently than anyone else. In fact, to cave to popular sentiment would be to hand a victory to the terrorists - and we should not stand for that."

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Mike Bloomberg has had 1,963 invitations in just two months

Talk about having a busy schedule! Mayor Michael Bloomberg - or perhaps the more accurate name, Mayor Popularity - has received almost two thousand invitations to events all around the country in just two months.

From the exhaustive list of invites, which included the Dalai Lama's birthday, he only chose 45 - and this small list didn't include His Holiness' birthday.

According to the New York Post article which reported on his popularity with regard to New York City events, Mr Bloomberg, who made billions in the financial data industry before entering politics, has a thing for accepting invites from kids.

Last month, the article read, Councilman Dominic Recchia's three daughters wrote the mayor asking if he would pose for a picture with them and a cardboard cutout of Flat Stanley, a children's character. He agreed to do it. [NYP]

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Winklerizing Bloomberg Television this time?

The bow-tie wearing head honcho of Bloomberg's news and content department has had his claws out at members of the company again - this time at an entire department and the products they create.

Matthew Winker, who works for the financial data company Bloomberg LP, founded by New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, has reportedly been having a go at the company's television station, calling its content uninformative, puerile, obscure and cliched.

Every week, Winker, who serves as Bloomberg's editor, sends out emails detailing changes that need to occur in the overall editorial style of the organization, which includes the graphics that roll on the company's TV station.

Winker issued these recommendations in a number of emails to the company's elite and expansive editorial workforce.

June 11

2. FACTS NOT LABELS

Readers, listeners and viewers rely on Bloomberg News to
give them facts, not glib labels, cliches or gossip.

A Bloomberg Television graphic labeled "Kan The Man" in
reference to Naoto Kan's bid to become Japan's prime minister
was puerile, obscure and uninformative.

May 28

1. ALIGNMENT & CONSISTENCY

Coordination, communication and consistency among our media
platforms are essential.

When Bloomberg Television produced "Million-Dollar Home
Market Rebounds in U.S. Northeast," there wasn't a corresponding
Bloomberg News story. That's because the real estate team wasn't
informed.

The BTV report said, "These bidding wars are between some
buyers who are upsizing to million-dollar homes, others that are
downsizing from mansions in the $8 million to $10 million
range." There was no attribution, data or evidence to support
this assertion.

The single source for the BTV production was a real estate
broker, who said there is a bidding "frenzy" between his
clients. The comment was self-serving, making its authority
questionable. The BTV production conflicted with a March 1
Bloomberg News story, "Greenwich ‘Move-Up' Homes Idle as NYC
Buyers Stay Put."

Bloomberg.com, without consulting real estate team editors,
rewrote Bloomberg News headline "Toll Brothers Chief Robert Toll
Replaced by Yearley" as "Homebuilder Toll Brothers Ousts CEO
After 10 Quarterly Losses." The company understandably and
correctly complained that "Ousts" is inaccurate.

Bloomberg News stories about Kenneth Feinberg, the U.S.
Treasury Department's special master on executive compensation,
linked to an incomplete and old biography because no one
involved in the reporting or editing ensured that his profile
was complete.

A TV graphic, "Senate Dems Take a Mulligan," was
inappropriate because Dems is slang and the sports metaphor is
obscure.

May 14

4. CONSISTENT ATTRIBUTION

Bloomberg News is credible to the extent it's precise and
transparent. The attribution "has learned" is imprecise and
opaque.

What we said on television:

Dubai World will not pay interest on its outstanding loans
starting next month. Bloomberg HAS LEARNED the state-owned
holding company is waiting for lenders to agree to the $14
million restructuring proposal.

What we wrote in the story:

Dubai World won't pay interest on outstanding loans
starting this month as the state-owned holding company waits for lenders to agree to the $14.2 billion debt restructuring
proposal, two bankers familiar with the plan said.

What we said on television:

Bloomberg News HAS LEARNED that U.S. antitrust enforcers
might investigate Apple regarding Adobe's complaints.

What we wrote in the story:

Adobe has complained about Apple to U.S. antitrust
authorities and they may investigate the company's actions,
people familiar with the matter said this month.

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Mike Bloomberg, NYC Mayor: Leave BP Alone!

Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire Mayor of New York City and the overlord of the highly praised (and highly profitable) financial data and news company Bloomberg L.P., thinks that people are being too harsh on BP, the oil company responsible for the huge oil spill that is currently polluting the Gulf of Mexico.

He is reported to say that the CEO of BP didn't 'exactly go down there and blow up the well'. Really? That's something I never considered; I could've sworn he personally made sure of it. Oh well, we can't be right all the time!

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