We were flipping through some archives here at The Messenger and found something interesting: Newsday dedicated nearly their entire front cover to John Avlon (D-Gramercy Park) in their June 26, 2024 edition after his primary win on Tuesday, but relegated now-Congressman Nick LaLota (R, NY-01) to just a tiny part of the spine on their August 24, 2022 cover after his own primary win.
(Above) Newsday’s Wednesday, June 26 front cover
Wouldn’t a paper that finds a particularly large chunk of their base in Suffolk County be interested in at least giving LaLota part of the front cover, or a picture at least? We find it odd that Avlon is celebrated with so much fanfare, as so much Manhattan money and deep Democratic pockets carpetbagged their way into Suffolk to avoid another primary nightmare with chronic underperformer Nancy Goroff (D-Stony Brook) assuming the Democratic ticket a second time.
Avlon’s Manhattan residency and ties also seem to have gone undetected – or unentertained – by Newsday, a part of the weekly news cycle that The Messenger is proud to have exclusively picked up.
(Above) Newsday’s Wednesday, August 24, 2022 front cover
But this isn’t partisan. LaLota easily dispatched Maryland carpetbagger and cryptocurrency queen Michelle Bond (R) in 2022 – FOILs and exclusive coverage also brought to you by The Messenger. Wouldn’t Newsday have been interested in that? Wouldn’t that have been a cover-worthy story? It certainly was for us. In fact, LaLota had the entire cover of our papers for our August 25 edition that year.
Furthermore, NY-01 is a Republican-leaning district, and with the anticipated GOP-friendly year of 2022 – although it left much to be desired outside of New York and Florida – LaLota had the edge all along, according to all political pundits, Suffolk County’s geopolitical landscape, and conventional wisdom. Why not put someone who’s likely to be the next Congressman on the cover of your publication?
This is where we feel Newsday has fallen off, and as this campaign takes off, we can be sure of two things: Newsday will continue to drop the ball this year and The Messenger seems to have a knack for exclusively exposing off-Island carpetbaggers who seek to cash in on the political influence that comes with NY-01.
