The Trib, The News, And The Scaife Money

In light of yesterday's blog post about how in the news division at the Scaife-owned Tribune-Review there's little (well, NO) mention any of the Scaife foundation money that supports some of the think tanks the news division uses for information, I wanted to look at how they use The Allegheny Institute for Public Policy in their news or business reporting.

The Institute, by the way, is described by Media Matters like this:

Founded in 1995, the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy is closely connected to conservative billionaire Richard Melon Scaife. The Institute is guided by the principles of free enterprise, property rights, civil society and individual freedom that are the bedrock upon which this nation was founded.

And we've noted before how closely related - of all the foundation support given to the Allegheny Institute about 85% came from foundations directly controlled by Trib owner, Richard Mellon Scaife.

And even in its news reporting (as defined as having the word "business" or "news" in its URL), none of that is ever mentioned.

For example, there's this from today:

Pittsburgh could spend millions if every eligible homeowner applies for property appraisal assistance under legislation scheduled for a final vote from City Council this morning, but officials believe $150,000 will be enough to cover all costs.

...

"It could be a real mess," said Jake Haulk, president of the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy in Castle Shannon. "If there are 3,000 people who want to file an appeal, and you only have money for 1,500, then what are you going to do?

"The other thing is it benefits some people, but it doesn't others -- people who are paying their fair share of taxes. Why should they pay for somebody else's property to be appraised?"

And this from late January:

Home sales in the Pittsburgh region dropped again last year and were at the lowest level in at least a decade as potential buyers stayed out of the market as they continued to feel battered by the economy, experts said.

...

While some economic indicators are pointing up -- a slowly declining unemployment rate and rising stock markets -- many people still don't feel stable enough to invest in a house, said Frank Gamrat, an economist with the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy.

Or this from late January as well:

Negotiations on a crucial long-term contract between the cash-strapped Port Authority and its largest labor union are expected to begin this week, with Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald taking on the role of unofficial mediator.

...

State law doesn't allow Port Authority to change benefits for current retirees. Union concessions in the last round of contract talks in 2008 included increasing the normal retirement age to 60 with 30 years of service, from age 55 with 25 years of service — but it will be years before that change has a noticeable impact on the budget.

...

State law should be amended to allow Port Authority to reorganize under bankruptcy protection — which could enable the agency to change terms of retiree benefits, among other things, said Eric Monarti, senior policy analyst with the Allegheny Institute on Public Policy, based in Castle Shannon.

Huh.  Interesting, isn't it?  I could go on, but you get the picture.

If about 85% of the foundation support for the Allegheny Institute comes from Scaife foundations, we can safely assume that the Institute itself would not exist in its present form without that support.

It's nice to see the Scaife-owned paper giving the Scaife-supported local think tank free access into the public discourse for their free-market policies, huh?  Imagine - without all that money flowing from one to the other, the news would look very very different.

Another lesson in how the vast right wing conspiracy works.