Newspaper: Rendell manipulates media

From the editorial page of The Pottstown Mercury:

THORNS to Gov. Ed Rendell for waiting until late in the afternoon on a Friday to reveal that Pennsylvania's April revenue shortfall was higher than projected, sending the state's already massive budget deficit to historic levels. The state collected $3 billion in General Fund revenue in April, but that was $941.5 million, or 24.2 percent below what state officials projected, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Rendell had been predicting a $2.3 billion deficit by the end of the current fiscal year on June 30, but the April numbers will probably send the deficit past the $3 billion mark. The governor issued a written statement late Friday afternoon which was not picked up by The Associated Press or major media outlets. Whether intentional or not, the governor was successful in keeping bad news out of headlines by timing his announcement when no one was paying close attention.