Newspapers: The Reluctant Crusaders

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Direct Action. From then on, whenever the papers printed stories critical of the city government, staffers were sure to be called before the grand jury. Emboldened rather than intimidated, the papers lashed out in editorials against the machine. Last fall, Times-Union Executive Editor Dan Button, who had been Robb's right-hand man, took more direct action by running against an O'Connell man for Congress. While his opponent did not even bother to campaign, Republican Button ran hard on the issues his own paper had raised. He won an upset victory by 17,000 votes and gave the machine one of the worst scares of its career.

Though their man won, the papers did not let up. After the election, they ran stories citing widespread vote buying by the machine. Following its custom, the grand jury summoned reporters but failed to hear key witnesses. Last week it adjourned without returning an indictment. The papers shot right back at the jury's inaction. "We didn't set out to start a crusade," says Robb. "But when public criticism was made, we weren't afraid to carry it. We are finally opening windows in Albany."