| We have seen bad journalism, which seems to be common from the Politico these days. But reporters like Bob Clark from the Hornell Evening Tribune give us hope that journalism isn't something that is, well, dead.
Clark authored an excellent piece on a day in the life of Congressman Eric Massa. It is a must-read and you get a real idea of what life as a congressman is like. It's not all about trips to the golf course, rubbing elbows with elitists and other common misconceptions of what members of Congress do.
In fact, members of Congress actually do work. And in Massa's case, there is a lot of work to be done.
It's usually around 5 a.m. when Eric Massa sits down at his desk.
Occasionally, that's after he rolls out of bed at a small, two-story rowhouse on Washington's E Street - a townhouse shared with five of his staff members.
"I won't pay anyone more than the median salary of a college graduate in the district," Massa said, which allows him to fund 22 staff members, compared with some congressional staffs of seven or eight at much higher pay rates.
The downside, Massa said, is that the deal forces concessions in living arrangements, namely sharing the rowhouse with five staffers.
From there it's a brisk walk a few blocks away to Longworth Office Building, the center of the three huge office buildings on the south side of Capitol Hill.
Some days, Massa said, he doesn't make it back to the apartment. After a late night of meetings or signing paperwork, Massa often just dozes on a well-appointed leather couch in his office until it's time to start the next day.
"'At 4:30 a.m., I'll head down to the gym, work out and shower, throw on a clean shirt and go again," Massa said as he walked at a brisk pace past security officers who obviously know him well.
That's right, folks. Your congressman in the 29th congressional district sleeps on a couch (sometimes). Talk about never leaving your job.
Here's more from the article:
Massa skips out of the hearing at around 11 a.m. to head back to the office, getting ready for a press conference call and to get some constituent services work done.
On his desk sit more than 300 letters to be signed by the end of the day, many involving the health care debate raging nationally.
"It was more at the height of the health care debate," Massa said, but added many letters to his office are on other topics. "It's predictable based on what's been talked about in the news cycle."
Staffers come and go constantly as Massa tries to sign papers and hold telephone conversations.
There are a lot of details in the article, which is a great account of what Massa's average day looks like. You will notice at the end of the piece that his particular day when this piece was written ended at 11 p.m. and that was early for him. I suspect that is early for most representatives.
Massa is a Navy man and I have a future brother-in-law in the Navy. They seem to be of the same make when you are in the Navy or used to be in the Navy. You work your tail off and not only do you work to get the job done, but you work to get a start on the next day's work.
Great profile of Massa. This is great work from what amounts to a smaller newspaper. If only some of these reporters could move up to, say, Politico. |
