Beacon Hill Institute responds point-by-point to baseless attack by columnist Thomas Keane

Attempt to damage Beacon Hill Institutes reputation tells more about the low regard former city councilor and Boston Herald columnist Thomas Keane has for his own reputation in Boston public life.

(PRWEB) September 2, 2004 -- The Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk University today released a point-by-point rebuttal to vituperative attacks made recently by columnist Tom Keane.

The rebuttal entitled, Thomas Keane and the Renascence of Yellow Journalism," can be found on the institutes web site at http://www.beaconhill.org/RebuttaltoKeane0902HTML/Keane90204.htm

On July 23, 2004, columnist Keane wrote a wide-ranging attack on BHI (Beacon Hill Institute really is in the dark") in the Boston Herald. On August 11, 2004, Keane launched a second attack, this one focusing on the institutes coverage of the Democratic National Convention. The two columns constituted an attempt to damage the institutes reputation for honest and thorough scholarship.

Riddled as they were with false accusations and errors of fact, it would seem the columns reflect mainly on their author and on the newspaper in which they appeared. They are nothing but examples of yellow journalism retaliating for the institutes work assessing the economic costs and benefits of the DNC.

As the only research organization that has studied the economic claims of both the DNC and the RNC, BHI has been quoted extensively in numerous newspaper, magazine, television and radio outlets. This coverage, along with the economic losses borne by Boston businesses and low DNC delegate spending, was apparently too much for the DNCs cheerleaders in Bostons political and business community. Supporters claimed the convention would generate $154 million in economic benefits. BHI concluded that the DNC generated only $15 million in benefits. BHIs studies on this years major political conventions can be found at www.beaconhill.org.

"It seems that Mr. Keane has enlisted as one of Mayor Tom Meninos soldiers in rebuking us for exposing the mayors exaggerated claims about the conventions benefits to the Boston economy," writes BHI Executive Director David G. Tuerck. "Mr. Keane made no effort to contact BHI prior to publication. Nor, apparently, did he try in any other fashion to corroborate his allegations, each of which is either just wrong or a distortion of the truth. Keane betrays a shameless and reckless disregard for the truth, combined with the use of misrepresentation as a smear tactic."

If nothing else, Keane proves himself to be a Renaissance man of errors. In an attempt to discredit the institutes entire body of research, Keane shows that he knows and cares little of the facts about which he attempts to write.

The Beacon Hill Institute for Public Policy Research focuses on federal, state and local economic policies as they affect citizens and businesses, particularly in Massachusetts. The institute, which is part of Suffolk University, uses state-of-the-art statistical, mathematical and econometric methods to provide timely and readable analyses that help voters, policymakers and opinion leaders understand today's leading public policy issues.

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