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The President's Message
by Andy Hilt
This has been a hard message to sit down and write . Part of it is that it issummer and I have been having a great time with my family. I though about taking my laptop on vacation; but I decided to stay married and I left it at home. Frankly, even if I had taken it I would not have worked on this message. I was having too much fun swimming, sightseeing and kayaking. I’d show you pictures, but I lost the camera kayaking .

I was trying to figure out what to write about and then The Harrisburg Patriot-News handed me a gift. The weekend after the indoor smoking bar went into effect they ran a piece I can only assume they felt was journalism. The premise of the story was they sent reporters out to mid-state establishments and had them light up and see how the staff and patrons reacted. The story said most places instructed the reporter to put out the cigarette out. As I read the story my blood boiled. Not because I oppose the indoor smoking ban; I don’t. (If I am going out to eat I don’t want to smell cigarette). The problem for me was that the Patriot and their reporters were breaking the law.

Questions began to swirl in my mind. "Who do they think that they are?" "Where do they draw the line?" "Would they let me get away with this?"

Okay, let me put my cards on the table, I’m not a fan of the press. For the most part I think the press has an inflated view of themselves. There was a time that my wife hated when I read certain reporters. For instance, back in early 2001 an reporter for the Patriot, we will call him "Pete", wrote a story about the Legislative Reapportionment Commission. "Pete" said that the commission would be meeting to redraw the Congressional Districts in Pennsylvania. Anyone familiar with the process knows that the Commission draws the Legislative Districts; the General Assembly draws Congressional Districts.

Ok, "Pete" wasn’t lying to lie- he was just lazy and sloppy, but if you or I, as lobbyists said something publicly that was that inaccurate "Pete" would have skewered us. And I can only imagine what he would do to an elected official who made a statement that was that wrong . The editorial page of the Patriot used to claim the press is "..the armor of a free state." Sure the press can and should play an important role in our society but what they seem to forget or ignore is that the First Amendment, which "creates" their job, "creates" our job. The first amendment protects the freedom of the press and it also protects the right of assembly and the right to petition the government for the redress of grievances. But somehow the press views what they do as an important public service and what we do as somehow suspect.

So back to my question. Where do they draw the line? Clearly it is not at breaking the law. I am going to assume that they would not condone murder for the sake of a story. But would they assault some one to see what the police response time is? Maybe not, but would it be ok to call 911 an make a (false) report to check the response time? Now the press might tell us that lighting up for the story serves the public good and therefore a minor infraction of the law is ok. Which begs the question, if the legislation is in the public interest can its advocates break the law too?

Save the Date

78th Annual GRIDIRON DINNER
to support

PA Legislative Correspondents Assn
78th Annual GRIDIRON DINNER

Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Hilton Harrisburg
6:00 PM Cash bar
7:00 PM Dinner and Program
$80.00 per plate $800 per table

FOR TICKETS:
Call 717.540.0296
or email pagridiron@christinecorrigan.com

2008 Board of Directors
Officers
President...................................Andrew Hilt
Vice President........................Peter Calcara
Secretary.....................................Deb Kisela
Treasurer.................................Gregg Taylor

Board of Directors
Association................Brinda Carroll Penyak
Corporate...................................Kris Snader
Lawyer...............................Judy Eschberger
Independent...............................Ted Mowatt
At Large......................................Tony Crisci
At Large.................................Mark Richards

Immediate Past President
Brian Barno

Executive Director
Christine Corrigan

Save the Date

Election Results Party

Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Firehouse Restaurant

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