Josh Vlasto
Dicker, now a Cuomo enemy, bridles at the Josh Vlasto treatment
In his column today, New York Post state editor Fred Dicker referred to Josh Vlasto, a top aide to Governor Andrew Cuomo as an "increasingly notorious spokesman" who is "considered untrustworthy by many reporters." More
Russians versus Orthodox Jews on a Council redistricting; Vlasto's promotion
Andrew Cuomo's spokesman, Josh Vlasto, was promoted to chief of staff. [Nick Reisman]
Cuomo is pushing women's rights the way he pushed same-sex marriage. [Michael Gormley]
Cuomo is not worried about losing the race to congestion pricing. [Matt Chaban]
Cuomo promotes Josh Vlasto, an often intense adversary of the Albany press corps
The news today that Josh Vlasto, Andrew Cuomo's press secretary for the past several years, has been promoted to the chief of staff was big for reporters who cover the Governor. More
(1)Cuomo goes national, hiring NBC exec Allison Gollust to replace a local-press veteran
Governor Andrew Cuomo has hired as his new communications director the former top spokesperson at NBC Universal, Allison Gollust. More
Vlasto says the Liz Benjamin file was just a normal part of the process of complaining about coverage
Ben Smith reported that the Cuomo administration compiled an annotated "35-page dossier" of journalist Liz Benjamin's writings on the governor, something Smith said, "reflects the intense sensitivity of a governor on the brink of taking the national stage." This morning, the governor's press secretary, Josh Vlasto, said, "I think to have this characterized as it was is such a distortion." More
The campaign to help Cuomo avoid his promise to veto independently drawn district lines
Major news today in the messy story of the 2012 redistricting: the release of updated Senate and Assembly lines, and the outline of a new "independent" redistricting process, in a new bill from legislative leaders. The bill's language was released around midnight, so, it didn't get much (any?) play in the daily papers. More
Cuomo's spokesman scandalizes Capitol press with serial accusations; he says he's aggressive, just like them
The Cuomo administration's not infrequently hostile interactions with the people who cover it have been a topic of interest in recent weeks. The list of gripes Albany reporters have aired lately includes a lack of transparency, minimal access to the governor, unavailability of public records to reporters and what they say is the sanitization of the Governor's schedule.
But they have in particular objected to what they perceive as slurs on their ethics or professionalism, employed they believe to knock down stories ad hominem, often, they have felt, when Cuomo's office must have known the stories were substantially true.
Vlasto, contacted for this article, would only say: "I respect aggressive reporters and they should respect aggressive spokespeople." More
Cuomo's schedule doesn't indicate a lot of time spent on issues related to the MTA or Port Authority
According to the information about Andrew Cuomo's schedule available on his new website, CitizenConnects, the governor has had little to no facetime with either Port Authority executive director Chris Ward or outgoing MTA chairman and CEO Jay Walder, who is leaving his post, and the New York area, for the sunnier environs of Hong Kong, possibly because of the governor's lack of any obvious interest in him or his job. Ward's relationship with Cuomo is also said to be virtually nonexistent. More
Richard Bamberger: The man who has what it takes to be Andrew Cuomo's communications director
Richard Bamberger may be Governor Andrew Cuomo’s communications director, the titular nexus of a media-obsessed administration’s tentacular approach to the press, but that doesn’t necessarily mean much. In the classic model for press-shop management, the communications director oversees the dissemination of the principal's message, which entails at least some regular contact with the press. More
The New York-Huffington Post and a locked-room mystery
Each day, the New York tabloids vie to sell readers at the newsstands on outrageous headlines, dramatic photography, and, occasionally, great reporting. Who is today's winner? More
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