UN Tells Press to Pay $23,000 For Space to Cover It, Sources Say, Scant UN Media Coverage to Further Decrease?

By Matthew Russell Lee 
May 29, 2009
The Inner City Press 
Original Source: http://www.innercitypress.com/un23k1press053009.html http://www.innercitypress.com/un23k1press053009.html
UNITED NATIONS, May 29 -- The press would for the first time in UN history be charged for space in UN headquarters under a plan announced in a closed door meeting on May 28 by officials of Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Since Mr. Ban assumed the position 29 months ago, CNN has stopped covering the UN on a daily basis, and the http://www.innercitypress.com/unhrc1wapo051209.html Washington Post is mulling closing its UN bureau.
    Nevertheless the chief of the UN's Capital Master Plan renovation Michael Adlerstein told press corps members that in the swing space for media for the next three to four years, work spaces like the ones they have now for free will require them to pay $23,000, or even $70,000 in the case of broadcast media.
    The same amounts or more will be charged again once the UN Headquarters building is renovated, multiple sources in the meeting told Inner City Press. Despite multiple requests by Inner City Press, neither Adlerstein or his spokesman have commented for this story.
    Already, Mr. Ban's administration receives less press coverage than his predecessor Kofi Annan, who never charged the media. What is not known is if the move to charge the media tens of thousands of dollars comes from and is approved by Mr. Ban, or is a unilateral project of Adlerstein and his boss, Under Secretary for Management Angela Kane.
    Last summer, Inner City Press was provided by a whistleblower with a copy of a Department of Management internal memo reflected that Ms. Kane wanted a review of public institutions similar to the UN to see if they charge the media for space. 
  As http://www.innercitypress.com/dm1press071708.html Inner City Press reported on July 17, 2008 , in a July 15 memo, Principal Officer Lena Dissin said that Angela Kane, the then-new Under Secretary General for Management, has asked us to quickly get some benchmarks from other organizations to see what facilities if any they may make available to the press, and on what basis. 
   But neither the U.S. State Department nor City Hall in New York charge money. While Kane has refused to answer emailed questions, Adlerstein in the hallway of the UN months ago told Inner City Press that the rationale for trying to charge, if they did, would be that for the first time the UN is having to rent a lot of outside space, and so is looking at costs more closely. 
  Apparently, though, the UN is not looking at precedents, neither of the fact that no previous UN Secretary General charged money to the press, nor that the State Department, White House and City Hall do not. In fact, the UN is directed by General Assembly resolutions that are now sure to be cited to make it easier, and not harder, for the press to cover it.
On May 29, Inner City Press telephoned Adlerstein's spokesman Werner Schmidt, whose voice mail message said his line was busy. Inner City Press left a detailed message about the media charges and asked for confirmation or denial and comment, on deadline, before noon. 
  No response was received then or even by 3 p.m., so Inner City Press telephoned Adlerstein's line. His secretary said he was in a meeting for the next hour. Inner City Press again explained the question, and that a response was requested. He will call you back in an hour, Adlerstein's receptionist said. Twenty four hours later there has been no response. 
  Ms. Kane has previously told Inner City Press, in writing, that she had no time to answer such questions, and to ask everything at the UN's noon briefing. But on May 29, Deputy Spokesperson Marie Okabe said from the outset that she would take only two questions from the entire press corp, including on charges that the UN covered up 20,000 civilian deaths in Sri Lanka. According, we publish this story now.
    The explanation above is apparently necessary, because within the embattled Department of Management Inner City Press is informed of a strategy to lash out at the Press for not obtaining comments in advance. But when high officials say they have no time to answer questions and to ask at the noon briefing, at which it is said that only two questions will be taken, it is not the Press' fault. 
   In fact, related to the anti-press strategy reported on above, simply in the past four day week, the UN has neglected to provide follow-up answers promised on at least two (mis) management issues.
On May 26, fresh back from traveling with and covering Mr. Ban's trip to Sri Lanka and Copenhagen, http://www.un.org/News/briefings/docs/2009/db090526.doc.htm Inner City Press asked
Inner City Press: the Secretary-General went to UNOPS in Copenhagen. There, not long ago, there was a story in I guess, the Washington Post, talking about this UNOPS Director problem in Afghanistan and missing funds and the dispute between USAID and the UN about the return of funds that were improperly diverted to other uses. Is this something that either he raised in his speech at UNOPS or in speaking with Mr. Jan Mattsson? What’s the UN system done since that report came out about missing money?
Deputy Spokesperson Okabe: We’ll check with UNOPS
   But four days later, no answer has been provide, not even a cursory read-out of Mr. Ban's meeting with UNOPS director Mattsson. On http://www.un.org/News/briefings/docs/2009/db090527.doc.htm May 27, Inner City Press asked
Inner City Press: Marie, I want to ask a question about a contract that the UN is entering into for outside legal counsel to defend a claim by PCP International. They’re paying an outside legal firm, it appears, $500,000, and then Headquarters’ committee on contracts now shows there are significant irregularities in it. Can you explain on what basis? Doesn’t the UN have its own legal department? When does it hire outside firms and, in this case, if you can look into it, why were the safeguards of procurement overridden?
Deputy Spokesperson Okabe: This is the first I hear of this, so we’ll have to look into it for you. 
    But three days later, no answer has been received to this detailed question that is, like the attempt to charge the press money, in the purview of the Department of Management. The question is based on internal UN documents provided to Inner City Press by a whistleblower. 
   Currently, such documents whether about the UN's $250 million no-bid contract with Lockheed Martin or irregularities in the UN Medical Service, or even Inner City Press' http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jWiDtOO-M7FQqUWzFFuj9bsF6AFAD98G4LKO2 acknowledged exclusive this week of a http://www.innercitypress.com/unsc1may2dprk052809.htmlhttp:/www.innercitypress.com/unsc1may2dprk052809.html leaked copy of the draft Security Council resolution on North Korea can be given to the Press in a closed-door office without monitoring by the UN. Under the new plan of Adlerstein and Kane, absent $23,000, this would not be possible. 
   Even now, a – HYPERLINK http://www.innercitypress.com/un1retaliation051609.html person the UN has suspected of being the Medical Services whistleblower has had her e-mail broken into by the UN and checked, including to read any communications with the Press. Inner City Press asked at the noon briefing for the UN's comment on the legality of its treatment of the person, but no answer has been given. Welcome to the UN. We will report on any UN responses belatedly received.