August is the silly season in the American news business. This is because many of the of the people who work in the news business and their bosses go on vacation in August. Those still in the office have to make less fill the same column inches or minutes of air time. So they go for the cheap story; the press conference and the press release. Controversies are useful for many stories as public figures line up to make public statements.
A case in point the controversy over the plans to build an Islamic Cultural Center in downtown Manhattan. Conservatives are condemning the plans as being insensitive to the feelings of survivors of the attack on the World Trade Center almost 9 years ago.
My guess is that this controversy is going nowhere. Any decisions on this project will be made according to zoning laws of the City and the State of New York. While there are many reasons for denying the application, I doubt that they include “insensitivity”.
