11.19.10
Bullhorn calls out some bull$#!^
Paul J. Gessing (please read the previous 1 and 2 blog posts) refused to answer allegations that he deliberately misleads the public and local media organizations by claiming he has written articles for U.S. News and World Report.
US News and World Report answered queries about Gessing with this one line email response, “We have looked into this and we do not have any record of Paul J. Gessing writing any articles for us”.
Here’s a screen grab of Gessing’s Bio (third paragraph mentions USN&WR):
Gessing's Bio on Rio Grande Foundation website.
At this writing I have not heard from the Wall Street Journal’s or the Washington Post’s archivists regarding Gessing’s claims to have ‘written articles’ for those newspapers. But I have searched the archives and I suspect that, at best, Gessing has written Op-Ed pieces or Letters to the Editor, a far cry from ‘articles’.
Gessing has used these claims coupled with the stentorian sounding ‘Rio Grande Foundation’ name to secure prominent editorial spots on several local media outlets including the local public radio station, KUNM, the Albuquerque Journal and KRQE television news 13.
Dear Media and my fellow New Mexicans, you have been astroturfed!
He has in effect used claims of having been published nationally to gain publishing credits locally; deceptive yet self-fulfilling.
I gave Gessing several opportunities to provide proof of authorship of something, anything, in the national outlets he claims. He replied, “I simply don’t have the time or desire to go into all of my files,” to find clips, or dates of publication or titles of articles or any proof whatever to avoid charges of deceptive practices by the Rio Grande Foundation and Paul J. Gessing.
More information than you want to know:
Gessing’s 990-EZ for the Rio Grande Foundation’s 501(c)(3) non-profit status (broken down in earlier posts) shows that they receive Zero, zip, nada dollars from membership dues. This despite the fact that they have an open call for dues paying members on their website. Here’s the screen grab for The 9 Club, one of the funding regimes for RGF:
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If you look on the last graph shown you’ll see the key to the prevarication. Gessing is calling for people to become member’s of the9club, which is somehow purported by Gessing to be something other than membership in the Rio Grande Foundation. Yet the9club’s website is just a page on the Rio Grande Foundation’s website.
Here’s the URL:
http://www.riograndefoundation.org/content/the9club
Considering the weight Gessing and his ideas are given on New Mexico media outlets one would expect that the Rio Grande Foundation had a large base of organized, local members. However, after repeatedly begging (in rather unrecoited fashion) for Gessing to publish the number of New Mexico members in the RGF, I am forced to say that only eight New Mexicans can be said to belong to the Rio Grande Foundation.
Eight members. Eight. Not 24 or even 16 members. But eight.
Eight is hardly a quorum or indicative of the broad base of support one would hope media outlets would demand from a commentator to whom they give precious airtime.
In gross terms, Gessing’s organizational membership is .0004 percent of the population of New Mexico. Just think, you and seven pals can start a foundation and get on tv based on 3.98208064 × 10-6 community support.
Of course you’ll need money. So, start spouting bumper sticker right-wing doggerel and watch that corporate lucre roll into your coffers (next week I’ll compare Rio Grande Foundation’s revenues versus, oh, let’s do Save New Mexico Seed’s revenues).
I suspect fighting Monsanto is much less lucrative than fighting FOR Monsanto.
Astroturfing is when huge corporate interests start up local sounding fake ‘grass-roots’ organizations that use the massive amounts of money (Rio Grand Foundation spent almost a half million dollars last year) to sway public opinion in favor of corporate dominance of our public institutions.
As best as I can figure the Rio Grande Foundation derives less than ten percent of it’s income from local sources (basically two donors), with the rest mostly coming from prominent right wing corporate and corporate backed non-profits and foundations like The Donor’s Capital Fund, Wal-Mart, and etc…
Here’s the email exchange, for you inside baseballers:
On Wed, Nov 17, 2010 at 9:41 PM, Chris Dudley wrote:
President Gessing and Rio Grande Federation Board Members,
It appears there are some mistakes on the RGF website or on the websites of
national news organizations. on the RGF website Mr. Gessing is listed as having
published an article in the Wall Street Journal (I can only find a Letter to the
Editor) and articles in U.S. News and World Report and the Washington Post. I
could find none. No articles in major national papers or journals. In fact,
outside of local papers no articles at all. Please correct me if I’m wrong so I
can correct my blog!
What were the dates of service for Mr. Gessing at the National Taxpayer’s Union?
How many of those years was it that he (quote from your website), “headed up the
lobbying efforts of the National Taxpayers Union (NTU)”.
I’m also writing seeking information about your membership rolls at the Rio
Grande Foundation. It appears to be a rather small affair considering the weight
you’re ideas are given in local media. Should I assume that your membership
list, especially of New Mexico residents, has not been updated recently?
How many people are paying members of the Rio Grande Foundation?
How many of the paying members are residents of the state of New Mexico?
Do you derive funding from sources from out of the State of New Mexico? If so,
what is the percentage of your funding that is not provided by New Mexico
residents?
I believe RGF is a 501(c)? As such your records would be open to public
scrutiny? I’m not really familiar with RGF so please correct me if I’m wrong.
As a side note, I really appreciate your attempts at opening the NM government
records (I’m referring to your fight against the cost quoted by the Santa Fe
School District to provide their records to your organization). So that makes me
quite happy that you’ll provide the financial information requested in the
spirit of openness that should be shown by a non-profit.
I have suspicions RGF is an astroturf organization. I’d sure like to be proven
wrong,
Sincerely,
Chris Dudley
From: Paul Gessing
To: Chris Dudley
Sent: Thu, November 18, 2010 8:28:12 AM
Subject: Re: Rio Grand Foundation information
Chris,
It seems you’ve already posted your story. I would have been happy to provide information on our work, but your piece is nothing but an ill-informed attack on me and my organization.
A link to a blog posting about my Wall Street Journal article can be found here: http://www.qando.net/details.aspx?entry=6435
As you know, the WSJ charges or has charged for much of its content, so it may not be online.
Also, I have attached our most recent 990 form which is a disclosure form for 501c3 non-profits of which we are one. These are public documents and can be found at the website Guidestar.com
Sincerely,
Paul J. Gessing
–
Paul J. Gessing
President
Rio Grande Foundation
P.O. Box 40336
Albuquerque, N.M., 87196
www.riograndefoundation.org
505-264-6090
From: Chris Dudley
Date: Thu, 18 Nov 2010 21:56:54 -0800 (PST)
To: Paul Gessing
Subject: Re: Rio Grand Foundation information
Mr. Gessing,
Am I reading the return incorrectly? Because it looks like your organization did not attract one single dues paying member in 2009 (Part 1, line 3). How many dues paying members do you have? Am I reading the return incorrectly?
Also, the total revenue for 2009 is about 53,300 more than the 205,040 you took in from donors individually giving 5000 or more (Schedule B). Yet no monies from membership dues? It would seem unlikely that a number of residents of the State of New Mexico would contribute, gift or grant your foundation monies without at least one of them also ponying up membership dues. In the spirit of sunshine and public service, where did the 53,300 come from?
How many dues paying New Mexican members does RGF have?
Thank you for providing the link to the blog post that comments on your writings in the WSJ. I’ll contact them, the Washington Post and US News and World Report tomorrow for copies of your work.
Sincerely,
Chris Dudley
From: “pgessing@riograndefoundation.org”
To: Chris Dudley
Sent: Fri, November 19, 2010 6:29:23 AM
Subject: Re: Rio Grand Foundation information
Mr. Dudley,
We are a 501c3, we are not a “membership” organization. We have a board of directors which is listed on our website and financial supporters (this is private and we are not supposed to release it).
Thanks for your interest.
Sent on the Now Network™ from my Sprint® BlackBerry
From: Chris Dudley
Date: Fri, 19 Nov 2010 10:53:18 -0800 (PST)
To:
Cc:
Subject: Re: Rio Grand Foundation information
Paul,
Thanks for clearing up the 53,300 number, at least in saying you are prevented from telling me about it. I still wonder how many members your organization has?
And, how does ‘We are a 501c3, we are not a “membership” organization,’ comport with the9club?
http://www.riograndefoundation.org/content/the9club
If my accusation that you’re an East Coast Corporate Money Astroturfer is false I’d like to be corrected. Unfortunately the only thing that will disprove my reasoning is a membership list of New Mexico Citizens with more than nine names on it.
US News and World Report says they’ve never heard of you. Do you have dates of publication and article titles for USN&WR so that I can correct them? WSJ and WP have yet to respond but if you have information on article titles and dates in those publications it would help the archivers and have the bonus of preventing me from making false accusations about your website biography.
Typically journalist have an electronic ‘clips’ file. Perhaps you could forward the salient portions (dates, titles) USN&WR, WSJ and WP portions of your journalism vitae? With those I can purchase the articles from the relevant sources.
I sure appreciate your help in this matter,
Chris Dudley
From: “pgessing@riograndefoundation.org”
To: Chris Dudley
Sent: Fri, November 19, 2010 12:06:20 PM
Subject: Re: Rio Grand Foundation information
The 9 Club is a group of supporters who donate regularly, that’s it. On the press clips issue, I simply don’t have the time or desire to go into all of my files.
Sent on the Now Network™ from my Sprint® BlackBerry
| From: |
Chris Dudley <editor@bullhornjournal.com>
|
|
| To: | pgessing@riograndefoundation.org | |
| Cc: | editor@bullhornjournal.com |
Paul,
Okay, I’ll report that your US News and World Report claims are specious, as per US News and World Report’s statement, “We have looked into this and we do not have any record of Paul J. Gessing writing any articles for us”. I’ll wait for a bit to follow the WSJ and WP question.
Also I’ll report that your call for “membership” in RGF per your page asking people to become members is not actually “membership” but “a group of supporters”, which has the convenient effect, according to you, of RGF not having to report any of the donations despite the spirit of a non-profit organizations being open to public scrutiny; and despite your organization’s repeated calls for more sunshine in public affairs.
Also, apparently you have fewer than ten members from New Mexico and a host of out of state, paid “staff” who weigh in on subjects dear to New Mexicans.
I see no reason to believe any of the above statements is not true and I’ve given you ample time and opportunity to provide evidence otherwise.
Sincerely,
Chris Dudley
