A legendary reputation can shield corruption from press scrutiny.

Evidence

Mrs. Gabel feels that the draft relocation report she helped write—the draft that ended up as the Planning Commission’s minority report—was a significant document in the history of urban renewal in New York City because it was “the first major relocation exposé,” “the first public report, the first official report by any governmental agency, that even hinted obliquely that Moses wasn’t God.” But Mrs. Gabel was wrong. The facts presented in the minority report—and their implications for the future of the city—were as significant as she felt. But the report’s impact on the city was not. It was an exposé without exposure. … The fate of poor people had never been news in New York City; it still was not news. Housing had always been a field whose complications discouraged the press from delving beneath its surface; thanks to Moses’ strategy, moreover, the official report, the report the press was almost obligated to carry, now said that there was nothing wrong, or even worth discussing, with the relocation program—there seemed no reason to delve beneath the surface. The suspicions of the press, which would normally have been aroused by the rumors of “deals” and involvement by high-level politicians in a program calling for a vast write-down by the taxpayers, were lulled by the fact that this program was being run by apolitical Robert Moses; his legend draped over Title I a comforting, concealing cloak. — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 4036

Categorization

• recurring: this claim recurs 2 times within its source
• XREF: connects to: Presse editors suppressed scandal coverage out of faith in the Moses myth. — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the…, 4043; Secrecy of awards lets wrongdoers contain reputational damage from breach. — Lisa Bernestein, Opting out of the Legal System, 81; Image and style can override corruption and policy failure in public esteem — David Harvey, The Condition of Postmodernity: An…, 2055 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Image and style can override corruption and policy failure in public esteem #corroborates (0.80) — David Harvey, The Condition of Postmodernity, 2055
• Secrecy of awards lets wrongdoers contain reputational damage from breach. #expands (0.75) — Lisa Bernestein, Opting out of the Legal System, 81