Possible End to Eric Adams' Off-the-Cuff Tuesday Discussions?
Mayor Eric Adams has discontinued the weekly "off-topic Tuesdays" press conferences and now fields questions only after scheduled announcements and events. This shift in press conference format aims to maintain a more focused and efficient communication approach, aligning with specific topics or issues being addressed during those events.
The off-topic Tuesdays, as they were known, were first introduced in October 2023. During these sessions, several senior members of the administration would tote massive binders for general questioning by reporters. These press conferences provided an opportunity for reporters to ask the mayor questions prior to June 2023, when they were discontinued without any formal announcement.
The mayor's busy schedule in recent weeks has seen him appearing on local TV news broadcasts, cable news shows, radio programs, and podcasts. City & State counted a few dozen such appearances in July alone. However, sitting with a favored podcast host or music radio morning show isn't the same as being queried by reporters on the City Hall beat.
More often, Adams took only two or three off-topic questions during press events. On some occasions, he took as many as five off-topic questions. The last off-topic press conference at City Hall was on June 17, where Adams responded to at least 20 questions. The last time Adams held an off-topic Tuesday with reporters was on June 24, 2023, after a public safety announcement at the 115th precinct in Jackson Heights, Queens.
In the weeks that followed, Adams resumed taking questions here and there at press events. The Adams administration aims to get as much information out to New Yorkers as possible through town halls, interviews, and press conferences. Off-topic questions from reporters are fielded as much as possible for as much time as the mayor's schedule permits.
The decision to discontinue off-topic Tuesdays may reflect a strategic choice to streamline media interactions, ensuring that questions are directly related to the announcements or activities being covered. This approach can help the mayor's office manage messaging consistency and reduce the chance of off-topic or controversial questions derailing prepared communications.
Given Mayor Adams’ active and sometimes contentious public profile, it is plausible that the administration opted for a more controlled format to better manage communications and public relations. However, no direct sources describe or quote Mayor Adams or his team on this specific change in press conference format, indicating that this understanding is based on common municipal communication practices and contextual clues from related mayoral activities.
In a notable incident during an off-topic press conference in June 2023, Mayor Adams admonished Daily News reporter Chris Sommerfeldt for calling out questions without being called on. Sommerfeldt was later allowed to attend press conferences again, but Adams has not held an off-topic press conference in City Hall since then.
This change in press conference format marks a shift in how Mayor Adams communicates with the media, aiming for a more focused and efficient approach to disseminate information to the public.
The off-topic Tuesdays, a weekly press conference format, were discontinued without any formal announcement in June 2023, leaning towards a more controlled and streamlined approach. This change signifies a preference for more focused and efficient policy-and-legislation, war-and-conflicts, general-news, crime-and-justice discussions related to scheduled announcements and events.
The strategic choice to eliminate the off-topic Tuesdays may also be linked to a desire to manage communications and public relations effectively, considering Mayor Adams' active and sometimes contentious public profile.
