Stuart Scott Tributes Go Broad and Deep

New York Post Goes After "Shakedown Al"

The New York Post devoted its front page Sunday to the Rev. Al Sharpton. "Want to influence a casino bid? Polish your corporate image? Not be labeled a racist? Then you need to pay Al Sharpton," the story by Isabel Vincent and Melissa Klein said.

"For more than a decade, corporations have shelled out thousands of dollars in donations and consulting fees to Sharpton's National Action Network. What they get in return is the reverend' supposed sway in the black community or, more often, his silence. . . "

Sharpton replied on the National Action Network website: "What is interesting is that the exact same story was done by the exact same New York Post writer on June 15, 2008 and was widely discredited. . . ."

Meanwhile, a story by Luke Mullins in the January issue of Washingtonian magazine suggests that creating Sharpton's MSNBC show "PoliticsNation" was part of an effort to win federal approval for Comcast's takeover of NBC. "In 2009 and 2010, Comcast gave $155,000 to an organization founded by the Reverend Al Sharpton, who ended up endorsing the merger," Mullins wrote. "The campaign paid off. In January 2011, Washington approved the deal. . . ."

• Joe Concha, Mediaite: Al Sharpton Arguably Now the Most Powerful Person in America (Dec. 24)