From Etheridge To Sestak, What's Going On At WaPo?
What's going on at the Washington Post?
At National Review, Jim Geraghty criticizes the Washington Post for downplaying the bizarre spectacle of Representative Bob Etheridge assaulting two self-described "students" seeking to ask him questions. The Post, Geraghty notes, only spent three paragraphs on the story, in the gossip column. Geraghty concludes: "This is not even bias anymore; this is information management, designed to ensure those who pick up the print version of the Post never encounter what the blogosphere is buzzing about."
My basic view is that most media bias is unintentional. Slanted stories are more often the product of narrow thinking than a deliberate attempt to thumb the scales for left-wing ideas or Democratic partisans. But the willingness to dismiss the Etheridge attack -- which Etheridge himself described as "unacceptable" -- is odd. And it is the second recent example of the Washington Post seeming to go out of its way to avoid reporting something newsworthy.
On May 20, Washington Post reporter Lois Romano profiled Rep. Joe Sestak, who had won the Democratic Senate primary two days earlier. The theme of her piece was that Sestak had consistently been a pain for the Democratic establishment. Her lede: "Joe Sestak can be a difficult guy: notoriously demanding of his staff, stubbornly sure of his views, and roundly dismissive of playing ball with the Democratic Party establishment and Pennsylvania congressional delegation. A hail fellow well met he is not. And it has served him well."
And yet aside from a passing, vague reference to "the best efforts of his party" to keep him from running against Arlen Specter, Romano excluded the incident that best made her point: Sestak's public claim that the White House had offered him a job in order to keep him out of the race.
How could a reporter write about tensions between Sestak and the Democratic establishment without at least describing the dispute between the candidate and the White House? And doesn't the fact that a sitting member of Congress physically attacked two young men -- on camera -- deserve more than three paragraphs?
What's going on at the Washington Post?
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Re: From Etheridge To Sestak, What's Going On At WaPo?
It's a good question, Steve. What is going on? Dave Weigel is a friend of mine, and Geraghty is supercorrect when he says the Post should've let him write an actual print story. Instead, he had to blog it, in real time, while furiously researching the (still unknown) identity of the victim, and got thwacked by Matt Drudge for his trouble. Yes, Dave said "hug," but he also compared Etheridge to a Hollywood bouncer. Anyone who's interacted with Hollywood bouncers knows that's a diss. The brutal hate mail directed Dave's way sounds almost mindlessly ungenerous, and WaPo's decision to heighten the costs of making reporters write stories piecemeal while also researching them in real time should serve as a warning to all media.
May '10
Re: From Etheridge To Sestak, What's Going On At WaPo?
I bow to your perspective on bias. My feeling has been that it is basically attributable to a) a distinct world view/paradigm set/ reality - like when you and Charles are with Juan on the all star panel - the difference is like the understanding gap that exists between men & women b) an ideological narrative that must be promoted and/or defended, independent of those pesky facts. Romano can do sloppy reporting if his editor goes along, or worse, wants his story slanted that way.
May '10
Re: From Etheridge To Sestak, What's Going On At WaPo?
I like Dave Weigel a lot, but do believe there was a apologetic slant in his very first post. (Hug comment notwithstanding because it really was a hug, albeit a frighteningly bizarre and aggressive one.) That said, the hate mail is discouraging and demonstrates I think that it is not only the left that is overwrought at times. Ricochet seems to be a refuge from that. Even when I am having my hat handed to me in this forum, it is done with good humor and a generous spirit ;-)
Re: From Etheridge To Sestak, What's Going On At WaPo?
Thanks, Trace, for making possible my vote for Ricochet line of the week:
May '10
Re: From Etheridge To Sestak, What's Going On At WaPo?
I only wish that, just once, since they have a non-conservative (however wonderful he may be at happy hour) writing the "conservative blog", they would let someone like me write the "liberal blog" now and then (which, come to think of it, sort of consists of most of the paper except for the odd Fred Hiatt story).
Frankly, Weigel's whiny response was a bit too... whiny; he would have been far better served to react with self-deprecating humor rather than complaints. He has lost more by the response than as a result of the original post.
I don't care about the "hug", I do care that he didn't know what assault or battery are. I was aware of such things long before I ever took any criminal law courses.
Re: From Etheridge To Sestak, What's Going On At WaPo?
I'm pretty sure our troops would be be hauled into court if they gave such a "hug" to a terrorist. I can't climb into journalists' heads, so I can't plausibly counter Stephen's view that most media bias is unintentional, though it does cause me to wonder; if it is unintentional, how does Fox News manage to strike the right balance? Is that unintentional too?
I too am baffled why the Washington Post would want to practice what Geraghty accurately calls "information management." It hasn't exactly been a successful business strategy at the NYT, or MSNBC, etc.
Jun '10
Re: From Etheridge To Sestak, What's Going On At WaPo?
One thing that has interested me of late...and let me do a quick aside.
I run a simple boat company. Pretty simple and rather unimportant. But to me, my family, our employees and my honor I feel bound to pay attention to the various boat forums for times when people are discussing our boats.
On occasion someone is critical of our materials or workmanship and I immediately respond and reply. I will not let a negative word exist in the blogosphere about me or my company. Now...
I see more direct, named, exampled (to coin a phrase) criticism that either goes unanswered or badly rebutted.
A great examle is the Powerline vs. McLatchy series on the Tea Party protest on Capitol Hill that McLatchey reported went racist. McLatchy's Investigative Editor James Asher's replies were brief, empty, un-capitalized, used internet shortcuts like "U" for you and "wud" for would. It also had this gem:
"And we feel confident that the congress members would not concoct their stories."
My point is that if I were a reporter for a major news outlet and someone directly accused me of professional malpractice I would take the time to give a thorough, biting and irrefutable
Jun '10
Re: From Etheridge To Sestak, What's Going On At WaPo?
reply.
The fact that he has no respect for himself, his detrators or his profession is telling.
Re: From Etheridge To Sestak, What's Going On At WaPo?
Query, Steve: Do we still need to care what's going on at the Washington Post anymore? Norman Pearlstine, now helping Bloomberg to build its news organization, but formerly of Time, the Wall Street Journal, and Forbes, so he knows a thing or two about print journalism--Norman Pearlstine has lately taken to comparing the business model for newspapers with "an ice cube in a microwave." Does the Washington Post retain the position of dominance in the capital that it held as recently as five years ago? Isn't the Washington Post melting away before our very eyes?
May '10
Re: From Etheridge To Sestak, What's Going On At WaPo?
And why is everyone fixating on the "hug"? Early on, the congressman clamps his hand around the kid's wrist, and doesn't let go, even after being asked several times to do so. That's an aggressive move to make to a stranger who did nothing but ask him a question on camera.
I think the hug may have been a retroactive attempt to make the whole exchange seem more friendly. (If so, that explains its "frighteningly bizarre" nature.) It's the wrist grabbing that defines the congressman's contempt for the kid.
May '10
Re: From Etheridge To Sestak, What's Going On At WaPo?
Just as an aside re: WaPo. Got this piece of spam today: "Enhance Your Washington Post Experience: Like Us on Facebook." So amusing. So sad.