Mayor's emails show frustration with journalists

NEW YORK (FOX5NY.COM) - More than 4,000 emails dating back to the mayor's first year in office are now public. Mayor Bill de Blasio's disgust with the New York press is there from the start. On Friday, he offered no apologies. The mayor made a rare appearance in Room 9 of City Hall, where reporters work and newspapers hang on the walls.

De Blasio said that the so-called tabloid culture has been bad for New York for a "long, long time." He said coverage doesn't reflect certain realities about the city, such as historically low crime rates.

The messages often show a disdain for critical reports. De Blasio wrote, "First of all, the news media is pitiful and it's sad for our city and nation."

On Friday, de Blasio blamed corporate media ownership for some of his bad headlines, saying that bias comes with a "corporate media." His frustration even extended to the New York Times after it refused to publish one of his op-eds.

The mayor said he feels that "the truth is not being told" and some publications have an "elitist world view."

The sentiment drew immediate rebuke from journalists in the room.

But the comparison to President Trump's media rage seemed to irk the mayor the most.

"I think it's ridiculous," he said.

The administration was forced to release the thousands of messages after losing a legal battle with the New York Post and New York 1, which filed a request to access communications between the de Blasio administration and outside lobbyists and consultants. The mayor's office fought for two years to keep them secret. But a court ruled the messages should be released.