LANSING, Mich. — Lansing’s 2022 State of the City address was prerecorded, released online.
No one took issue with that, but a few remarked on the fact that the speech dropped on Tuesday without any prior notice.
According to a press release from the mayor’s office, the State of the City Address was supposed to be held Tuesday at 3:30 p.m., but media outlets did not get the press release until after 4:30.
The lack of prior notice prompted journalists in the area to take to social media. One wrote on Twitter that it was an interesting choice for the event to be held without prior notice. Another reporter said she thinks this is the city’s way of shielding itself from accountability.
Kyle Melinn is political analyst in Lansing. He’s also the editor of the Michigan Information and Research Service.
Melinn said the Mayor’s Office probably did not make it a priority to notify the media or public ahead of time, because during the 33-minute address, Schor covered things that he's already been talking about for months, like developments in the city and gun violence.
“It wasn’t the most exciting speech. It was boring,” Melinn said. “These addresses are about agendas and if the address isn’t going to help push a new agenda, then these addresses are put on the back burner.”
We asked Schor himself why he and his team didn't tell anyone about the speech before it happened.
“We didn’t have an announcement date, because our video folks were working on It,” Schor said. “Congresswoman [Elilssa] Slotkin agreed to do an intro, so that came at last minute," he said.
"I can’t say it’s going to be out this Wednesday or this Thursday because as soon as we had it ready, we put it out.”
