Tuesday, December 24, 2024

Rep. Stefanik touts Chronicle 40th on House floor; Facebook pro & con ensues

Chronicle editor Mark Frost writes: Last week, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik honored The Chronicle’s 40th anniversary with remarks on the floor of the House of Representatives.

As might be expected, it prompted many comments — pro and con — on Facebook.

Here’s an extended excerpt from one of the comment threads.

Rollie Surprenant: This is community recognition at the national level, well done Elise, Mark and the whole Chronicle family!

Sharon T. Heide: Awesome 👏

Charles Ide: We know which side of the aisle Mark is on

Tim Reed: Well now there’s a brilliant little bit (LOT) of free district wide campaign advertising if I’ve ever seen it. I guess there’s not much else happening on Capital Hill these days.

Rollie Surprenant: Yeah, this sucks. A local entrepreneur and Glens Falls gets some national recognition in these turbulent times. C’mon…..

Tim Reed: you KNOW that’s not my point. I’ll leave it there.

Rollie Surprenant: Tim Reed, I thought so but just double checking, lol

David Covey: Focusing on the content, Congratulations to you, Mark, and your staff!

Matt Funiciello: You can be a blue team supporter AND a fervent enemy of Elise Stefanik and the red team AND you can even disagree with all or many of Mark’s editorial stances…and STILL respect his achievement and his commitment to Hometown USA.

I have always said that we are all free to disagree publicly with Mark in the pages of his own paper at pretty much any time. He prints our letters to the editor and doesn’t censor or limit what we say as his corporate competition does. That’s what free speech and respect for others is all about!

Congratulations, Mark and Cathy and The Chronicle family on forty wonderful years! Here’s to forty more!

Tim Reed: Matt Funiciello, if you actually understood my comment then you would know it had NOTHING to do with Mark or The Chronicle.

Will Doolittle: Um … he has no editorial stances.

Janet DiManno: Congratulations Mark Frost and The Chronicle team!

Mike Farenell: I’ll bet dollars to donuts she gets The Chronicle’s endorsement.

Matt Funiciello: Mike, The Chronicle may well endorse the obvious winner in a race. Many newspapers do this so as to maintain access when a district is clearly owned by one war party or the other.

But I won’t forget that, while many Democrats were running all over town slandering and badmouthing me and running rich conservative tourists in a race they can’t mathematically win, Mark Frost endorsed me as someone he didn’t always agree with but that he knew and respected. The feeling is very mutual.

Tim Reed: Matt Funiciello you’ve got me scratch’n my head on this one Matt. You are usually the first one to cry foul when a situation reeks this badly (and blatantly) Hm…

Bernard Buckley: Very cool. Great to see a good old-fashioned home town newspaper survive and be recognized on the House floor. I bet the Congresswoman doesn’t believe the press is inherently evil.

Tim Reed: I believe that in this case she just sees the press as “inherently useful.”

Bernard Buckley: Tim Reed, I understand and share your cynicism, but it’s still a nice callout.

Tim Reed: Bernard Buckley, I would agree but just can’t on moral grounds. Absolutely no offence meant toward The Chronicle. SUCH a manipulation of her constituency (not to mention a horrific waste of taxpayer money and her time on the floor).

NOW… not only will fb be all abuzz with her “wonderfulness”… but The Chronicle will, exactly one week from today, probably dedicate an entire issue to their new-found national fame. Considering that that issue(s) will be distributed for free to tens of thousands of readers in her district, that is some pretty solid, unethical (but not illegal) manipulation of the press.

It’s also using her position as a taxpayer funded national spokesperson to advertise a small private for-profit business within her district. Will she be doing this for every small family business that has survived for 40 yr or more? Will everyone in her position be doing the same? The quick answer is obviously “NO”… every other business that has been here that long is NOT a media outlet… no free press to be had there.

And this is not to mention the tv airtime she will get from ALL of the local networks. Truly a page out of the trump playbook… and it has already worked miracles for her… sickens me.\

Stefanik honors Chronicle on House floor

“Today, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik spoke on the House floor to recognize the 40th anniversary of the founding of The Chronicle Weekly newspaper,” said a press release from her office on Sept. 23.

Rep. Stefanik said:

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the 40th anniversary of the founding of The Chronicle weekly newspaper, in my district.

“The Chronicle was established by Mark Frost in 1980 in Glens Falls, New York. Through hard work and determination, Mark turned an initial investment of $1,700 into a successful newspaper and small business.

“He remains the publisher and editor today, alongside their team who have been with the Chronicle for decades. In that time, The Chronicle has established a loyal base of readers and advertisers, becoming truly a cornerstone of the community.

“The Chronicle has long hosted events to provide a forum for discussion and to bring Glens Falls residents together, especially through The Chronicle Book Fair. The fair is an opportunity to highlight and connect local authors and publishers and discover books of all genres.

“Annual events like this are important to strengthen and grow the fabric of our communities and I know many who are looking forward to safely resuming them as soon as possible.

“On behalf of New York’s 21st district and the United States Congress, I would like to thank Mark Frost, his family, and the entire Chronicle staff for their contributions to the community and congratulate them on reaching this important 40-year milestone.”

The video of Rep. Stefanik’s remarks can be seen at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulvLcTlHZvE

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