Rumor has it that Matt Pinzur (the County reporter with Chuck Rabin) has quit and is off to work for County Manager George Burgess. All you county people that spilled your guts to him about county shenanigans: Use us next time! We would never spill the beans or sell you out and we would never write for the Miami Herald nor work for the County.
Vile Natacha is now your boss Matt and she hates the newspaper. I hope you never have to step in front of her. Good luck with that. I originally thought it was the wrong Matt: "Haggman" but I was corrected.
19 comments:
Wonder how much he will be making. I thought the county was "tightening their belt" (like the rest of us, not hiring reporters. Maybe his salary could have gone to bus routes, to shore up team metro, or to prevent the layoff of hard working staff. Maybe Burgess wants him to do the spin work on the Marlin's stadium.
I thought he might be hired as a spin doctor, to counteract the bad press that Burgess has been getting. I would suppose he would be putting out press releases for the Herald, and since the Herald is short of reporters, I would suppose they would print them verbatim.
This reeks. I wonder how many stories Pinzur sat on knowing he had to stay on Burgess' good graces.
No one at the county will trust him though, as they know he will be a hotline to the Herald.
What ever hapened to journalistic integrity. The relationship between herald reporters and those who they cover is getting a bit too chummy.
There is a strong rumor goin' round that Burgess is leaving soon. Nothing yet on who will replace him though.
I have heard for some time that once the Stadium Deal is done, GB will be heading off the MLB with a nice executive position. As for the Pinzur announcement, not a surprise when you read the coverage on the budget specifically.
Apparently, little Matty is going to be placed in the newly created Mayor's Economic Development Department on the 29th Floor. This new department was the point of much contention between the administration and its detractors. Pinzur had this position in his pocket since June, and yet, he continued writing stories that were supposed to be objective in connection with his future bosses. Sorry, that does not pass the smell test, at all.
I wonder if the Herald will do the right thing, and review all of the articles and investigations this opportunist was working on. They better go back into this budget that unfairly saddels City residents with the costs for a substantial amount of unincorporated area services. This smells, it is rotten, and someone better get to the bottom of it! AND NOW!!!!
It's not just a rumor - here is text from the memo from Burgess announcing his arrival. Enjoy!
"I am pleased to announce a new addition to my immediate staff and a resource for each of you. Matt Pinzur, formerly of The Miami Herald is joining the County Executive Office as a Special Assistant.
Many of you know Marr from his work at the Miami Herald. Matt has more than 11 years of journalistic experience and is an award-winning newspaper reporter with a solid understanding of government and politics and strong ties to the South Florida civic community.
Matt's background and experience will complement the talent on our County Executive team. He will focus primarily on external affairs including local intergovernmental relations and fostering positive working relationships with decision makers in our community. Marr will also work with all of us on the strategic packaging of County initiatives and programs.
Please join me in welcoming Matt to the County family and consider him a resource for you as well.
Oy.
GO EMORY!!! PINZUR is a PINHEAD
No wonder the Herald never got into the substance of the 2008-09 budget ...that would have been Pinzur's beat. Thanks Matt for helping to clear the way for higher property taxes. Probably paid for your 1st year's salary too.
from an affair scandal to a payoff scandal... does the herald have cred issues or what??? can't wait till the newtimes fires at little pinzur... finally minnie man will see what the big leagues are all about... welcome to miami politics matty boy
burgess and pinzur conversation:
pinzur: you know george the herald will be cutting jobs soon, what do you think i should do?
george: well matt i think if you can get us some clients, then just maybe funds may be available? (wink and a nod)
pinzur: hmmm... client? oh right taxpayers.... by the way george i think i have a plan...
george: interesting... i guess your hired....
Hummmmm.
How many stories are there that Matt did not write that were about his future bosses?
How do we know that this job, which probably doubles his income, is not hush money?
How many times did unfair shake-ups in the county (ie: people moved or jobs trashed) because Matt whispered in someone's ear and the 29th floor needed to protect their own. He has been hanging about with Burgess and the 29th floor gadfly's for months.
How many city governments are going to be welcoming a former herald reporter into their ranks? Heck, how is the Mayor not going to suspect Matt of whispering to his herald buddies every time an investigative story breaks -- not that one will ever break again? If I were Matt, I would remember that there was a recent little herald story about computer programs that read other programs on county computers. In fact, wasn't there a police inquiry into that sort of thing? Be afraid, Matt. Loyalty to certain people on the 29th floor is more than important than any task you can ever undertake in the county.
Matt, you sold the most important thing a reporter could have. That is the ability to CHANGE million's of ordinary people's lives for the better with 750 words on the front page of a newspaper. How sad is that? You will never do that working for Miami-Dade County.
All the years of my involvement with the Herald and their staff, I have to say this is the most disappointing move by a reporter I have ever witnessed. Matt's credibility is in the shitcan far as I am concerned.
No one in a thousand years will ever convince me that he will not rat-out the brave souls who went to him with dirty county laundry and that his silence about something was not bought by the 29th floor.
Police Director Parker is rumoured to be the next one moved to the 29th floor.
I would be very concerned if I had called Matt with a story. It is obvious that his ego and money is more important than investigative reporting for the benefit of the community.
The Herald ought to be concerned about what this does to their credibility and trustworthiness of their investigative reporting team.
Wouldn't one expect that a reporter with investigative skills would be working in the Inspector General's office or at least, in the county's communications department?
This smells. What a disappointment Matt has turned out to be.
To the poster who said that Pinzur's coverage of the budget process probably secured himself his own salary, you are probably more on point than you think!!! That department he is joining was hottly contested early on in the process. Once the Herald did its best to silence the detractors, he secured his opening. This is just sick! The Herald should issue a statement on this immediately!!! Where is the mainstream press in this town?? Will Putney call the Herald and Pinzur out, or Elliot Rodriguez, or, Defede!!! Someone, please, get this out there!!!
So Harry Potter hired Peter Pan. Whose next? Yogi Bear!?!
Well, "the view from the ground floor said..."
Sounds Like Chuckie.
Well, Chuck, I bet you wished you got the job. Now you'll have to find some one else to do your homework for you.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see what the score is. There have been stories sat on for 5 years now between the herald and county. No one has touched the 29th floor. Why is that? And now the one reporter who is bound to have an abundance of poop is in the inner center staff, and out of investigative business. Correction: out of the private sector investigative business.
Did they hire Matt so he can blog propaganda on here? Or so he can infiltrate other blogs where county employees blog? I tell you what, county employees, watch the sites you visit while on the miamidade.gov domain, they are tracked. Every email is scanned looking for key words too.
You are not being paranoid; you are being scanned. I bet you are not being scanned for porno, you are being scanned for political leanings.
Ask the people in IT. Ask what they found and what was done.
Elliot won't out Pinzur; he's up the butt cheeks of the big boys. Putney or Defede? If anybody will, they will. Too bad New Times seems scared of tough political stories these days. They could do a good job. Alvarado might love it, if his boss will let him.
now I know why burgess always seemed to escape accountability in herald articles for the zillions of scandals that have occurred on his watch. the reporter matt pinzur was angling for a job. pinzur couldnt afford to write anything negative about burgess, the guy who he wanted to work for.
the whole situation makes me sick. i have no doubt that pinzur will be burgess's loyal lap dog (he has been doing that all along as a reporter anyway). i just worry about pinzur revealing the identity of county whistleblowers who leaked negative info to him, most of it great stuff that never made it to press.
the whole situation is disgusting. the county forbids ex-employees from lobbying for 2 years after they leave. the herald should insitute a similar rule for reporters. otherwise future herald reporters will expect the same future job opportunity and will go lightly on the administration the same way pinzur did.
shame on you, matt pinzur!
http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2008-09-25/news/conflict-of-interest-at-the-miami-herald/
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