News Site Brooklyn Buzz Published Stories for Stefani Zinerman, Jaime Williams, Michelle DeSouza Campaigns While Parent Company Received Campaign Payments
The three candidates combined paid JIG Media just over $30K while having positive or sympathetic stories written about them.
The parent company of a seemingly innocuous news site and Instagram page that posts local events and stories, known as Brooklyn Buzz, received more than $30K in payments from three Brooklyn political campaigns during the 2026 Democratic Primary elections while publishing positive news stories about them. Brooklyn Buzz is owned by JIG Media as part of their NYC News Network. The payments were made by NYS Assemblymember Stefani Zinerman, NYS Assemblymember Jaime Williams, and Kings County Civil Court Judicial Candidate (6th Municipal District) Michelle DeSouza.
State of the Left first discovered Brooklyn Buzz after the site published an anti-DSA op-ed that was circulated in a local Bed-Stuy Facebook group. The op-ed was seemingly posted to the site by a reporter named Bill Harris, but there is no other biographical information of Harris as a reporter available anywhere on the site. The op-ed was posted with the following editor’s note: “The following Op-Ed was submitted by a concerned African American homeowner in Bedford-Stuyvesant. The views expressed are those of the author. Submitted by Jon S. Bed-Stuy Homeowner.” Given this context, the cover image of the op-ed showing a group of primarily young, white people gives an unspoken impression the location is in Bed-Stuy. In actuality, the cover image shows Radigast Hall & Biergarten in northern Williamsburg. The op-ed mostly lacks tangible specifics while citing a dubiously reported article about NY-10 Democratic Congressional Nominee Brad Lander, who is not an endorsed DSA candidate, from another JIG Media-owned site, East New York.Com.
Brooklyn Buzz lists 2-3 different reporters’ names for stories, but no other information is available about any of them. In one article, the author is listed as Sam Whitaker, but after scrolling to the bottom of the page, a graphic is included with Bill Harris’s name creating confusion as to who is responsible for the content.
The vast majority of the stories are written by someone only listed as “LU.” Stories written by LU contain a small graphic at the bottom of the articles reading “Lucille has 6 years as an editor, covering evertyhing from dining, community issues, politics and health. She writes for NYC News Network and its affiliates.” Otherwise, there is no other accessible information about the editor, reporters, or their backgrounds. Additionally, Brooklyn Buzz does not have time stamps for article publications on the articles themsleves, so readers cannot know exactly when a piece was published if they do not look at an article on the website’s home page. All that is shown is a generalized time stamp with one example reading “Edited 2 Weeks Ago.”
Throughout March, April, May, and June of the 2026 Democratic Primary elections, Brooklyn Buzz was running positive, promotional stories about all three of those candidates.
NYS District 59 Assemblymember Jaime Williams
NYS Assemblymember Jaime Williams paid $10,050.00 to JIG Media for “Online Ads” and “Text Messages.”
Brooklyn Buzz published four positive promotional articles about Jaime Williams and another article about Williams claiming she was under attack from “allegations and political attacks.” Williams was challenged for her seat by community organizer Jibreel Jilloh in the primary election, but the article never mentioned who William’s opponent was or what the specific statements were. Instead, the article linked to a “press release published via NYC Newswire” where Williams called out Jalloh by name and asked the public for support. NYC Newswire is a different website from both NYC News Network, Brooklyn Buzz and East New York.Com, but appears to be owned by JIG Media as well. After Williams submitted the press release to NYC Newswire, Brooklyn Buzz proceeded to run the article with the press release as the source document. After reciting the press release’s claims and portraying Williams as a victim of smears, the article pivots to a “What Happens Next” section in which election day is listed as June 23 and says Williams is “encouraging supporters and residents” to vote. However, by not writing out who Williams’s opponent is or what the details of the claims against are, readers have no way of deciding anything for themselves without taking the hyperlink to the Williams press release. The article does not claim to have reached out to Jibreel Jalloh for comment.
Jaime Williams did not respond for comment to State of the Left on what specific services her campaign received from JIG Media. She went on to win her primary against Jalloh by a double digit margin.
Jibreel Jalloh declined to comment on this story.
NYS District 56 Assemblymember Stefani Zinerman
According to New York State campaign finance records, NYS Assemblymember Stefani Zinerman paid $6K to JIG Media for “Campaign Workers’ Salaries.”
Brooklyn Buzz published eleven positive promotional pieces about Stefani Zinerman during the election cycle. The most noteworthy article recaps an April eviction arrest where NYC Councilmember Chi Osse was arrested by NYPD officers while protesting the eviction of a constituent, Carmella Charrington, in Bed-Stuy. Despite the episode revolving around Carmella Charrington and Chi Osse as a result of their presence at the scene, neither Charrington nor Osse are mentioned in the Brooklyn Buzz article. Instead, the article links to a Stefani Zinerman press release published via NYC Newswire (the same JIG Media-owned site that published the previously referenced Jaime Williams press release) where she “Demands Answers on Eviction Incident.” In summing up the press release, Zinerman is portrayed as the only figure in the article taking action on the issue of eviction cases and housing enforcement, calling for “accountability and transparency regarding how the NYPD handled the situation.”
None of the pieces about Stefani Zinerman ever mentioned that she had a DSA-backed Democratic primary opponent named Eon Huntley. Huntley was endorsed by both Chi Osse and ran on the New Kings Democrats slate alongside Charrington. Osse is a city councilmember “Socialist in Office” which means he works directly with the NYC-DSA. Charrington ran as part of the New Kings Democrats reform slate of District Leader challengers. Carmella Charrington and Omar Hardy unseated both incumbent AD-56 District Leaders, Henry Butler and Kenesha Traynham-Cooper, while Eon Huntley defeated Stefani Zinerman in a blowout victory for Assemblymember. This context, combined with Chi Osse having been the person arressted and Carmella Charrington being the actual evictee herself, makes the omission of Osse and Charrington from the Brooklyn Buzz news article especially glaring.
Zinerman went on to lose to Huntley in a blowout, double digit defeat. Stefani Zinerman did not respond for comment to State of the Left on what specific services her campaign received from JIG Media.
Kings County Civil Court Judicial Candidate (6th Municipal District) Michelle DeSouza
Kings County Civil Court Judicial Candidate (6th Municipal District) Michelle DeSouza paid JIG $13,806.26 for “Campaign Literature” and “Campaign Consultant.”
Brooklyn Buzz published four positive promotional pieces about Michelle DeSouza. One article touts endorsements from Brooklyn Democratic Party Chair Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn and a slate of centrist Democratic District Leaders and Assemblymembers. DeSouza went on to lose her primary race for Kings County Civil Court to Janice Purvis by around twelve points. Purvis was backed by a number of Progressive figures and entities such as the New York Working Families Party and Democratic Socialist in Office Shahana Hanif.
JIG Media
Most recently, JIG Media launched Canarsie News on June 15, 2026 and Voices of NYC around the same time, but an exact date cannot be confirmed due to lack of a date stamp. According to a press release, that means JIG Media’s digital publications include BrooklynBuzz.com, EastNewYork.com, ClintonHill.com, HealthyNYC.com, NYCPolitics.com, EATandDrinkNYC.com, HerPowerNetwork.com, NYCEducationNews.com, and NYCSportsNetwork.com.
JIG Media advertises itself as “a New York City-based media and communications company that helps organizations reach the people who matter most through a unique combination of digital publishing, strategic communications, and targeted audience engagement. Unlike traditional marketing agencies that rely primarily on advertising and social media, JIG Media built its own digital media ecosystem to help businesses, nonprofit organizations, healthcare providers, educational institutions, community organizations, government agencies, and political campaigns communicate directly with New Yorkers. At the center of that ecosystem are NYC Newswire® and NYC News Network®.”
The leadership of JIG Media is listed under an “About” section on the NYC News Network site. The CEO is listed as Vernon Jones, Senior Vice-President as Wayne Jordan, Political Director and Managing Partner as Eric Blackwell, Managing Partner- NYC College Sports as Micheal Bellamy, and Cal Jones as Managing Partner - EATandDrink.NYC.
CEO Vernon Jones’s Comments on State of the Left’s Press Inquiries
When asked directly by State of the Left if political campaigns can pay for editorial placement in Brooklyn Buzz, CEO Vernon Jones said no “Campaigns cannot pay for editorial placement in Brooklyn Buzz. Paid political clients purchase guaranteed publication on NYC Newswire, which includes the required “Paid for by” disclaimer, as stated on the JIG Media About page, and Campaign Policy page.”
When asked why there were no other stories ever run that covered, or even mentioned, the opponents of JIG Media clients Stefani Zinerman, Jaime Williams, and Michelle DeSouza, Jones answered that he did not know definitively “I can’t speculate as to why there were no stories about other candidates, one way or the other. It’s also possible those campaigns never submitted announcements or press releases to NYC Newswire, which is one of the main sources from which writers may identify story ideas. I simply don’t know what information was or was not submitted regarding those campaigns.
When asked if he could confirm who the editor of Brooklyn Buzz is and if they oversee publication decisions, Jones declined to discuss “I’m not involved in the day-to-day editorial operations, and I don’t discuss our internal staffing structure or editorial workflow.”
When asked to clarify exactly what services were provided to Zinerman, Williams, and DeSouza, Jones declined to discuss client engagements “As a matter of company policy, we do not comment on the details of client engagements, internal staffing, or internal business operations beyond the information we make publicly available through our website and required public disclosures.” However, Jones went on to clarify some of what paying campaign clients can receive “As outlined in those policies, NYC Newswire provides publication services on a non-exclusive basis to qualifying political campaigns regardless of political party or affiliation. Announcements and press releases published on behalf of paying campaign clients include a clear "Paid for by" disclosure in accordance with our transparency policies. As explained on our About page, publication through NYC Newswire does not guarantee editorial coverage by NYC News Network publications.”
When asked if JIG Media does the physical printing of campaign literature and campaign mailers, or support paid canvassing operations, Jones said they only provide graphics work “We provide graphics work for palm cards and posters for clients, including campaign clients. I believe our About page has information in regards to the services we offer. We have nothing to do with campaign canvassing, field work or anything of that nature. We do not provide any services pertaining to mailers. I assume they might use some of our graphics work for their campaign mailers but we do not involve ourselves in mailing services or what they send out.”
When compared to the expenses reported by Zinerman, Williams, and DeSouza, Jones’s answers are not able to provide definitive clarity on the campaign services those campaigns received. Additionally, without comment from the campaigns, participants in the political process are left to guess exactly which expenses went for which services.
State of the Left will update this article if responses are received.