Thursday, March 25, 2004
Who Edits the Editors?
Think back to 1980.
George F. Will, the longtime conservative columnist for the Washington Post , was part of a team of journalists and consultants that helped Ronald Reagan prepare for his presidential debate with Jimmy Carter.
Will later praised Reagan's "thoroughbred performance" on a post-debate appearance on Nightline, but did not disclose his role as a member of Reagan's coaching staff.
Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting is still raking him over the coals for that ethical lapse. And justly so.
Sure, Will was, and is, an editorial columnist. An opinion writer.
It's not like he's the managing editor of the premier news weekly in the country, right?
Right?
Fast forward to the 2004 presidential campaign.
It turns out that according to Truthout.org, Jim Kelly, the managing editor for Time, was among an august list of journalists and editors invited to a dry-fire session with John Kerry at...
...wait for it...
...Al Franken's New York City apartment.
In an effort to galvanize the message Kerry wants to deliver in the time remaining, he convened a powerful roster of journalists and columnists in the New York City apartment of Al Franken last Thursday. The gathering could not properly be called a meeting or a luncheon. It was a trial. The journalists served as prosecuting attorneys, jury and judge, writes Truthout managing editor William Rivers Pitt.
My question is, is Time going to disclose Kelly's participation in its own pages, in every Kerry profile or general election debate article it runs?
Why not?
Kelly isn't alone, though. The list also includes Newsweek senior political correspondent Howard Fineman and senior editor Jonathan Alter.
Hey, isn't Newsweek owned by the Washington Post Company?
You'd think they would have learned something from l'affaire George Will.
No?
Then there's Jeff Greenfield from CNN and David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker, and Jacob Weisberg, editor of Slate.
(I'm leaving out the guys who are just columnists, for now).
Now that all these guys are part of the campaign process for Kerry, how are they going to disclose that when their publications cover the general debates? Or will they even bother?
Did they bother writing up this little soiree themselves at all? And was everything that was said, said "on the record?"
After all, if it was just an informal news conference, then why hold it in a private apartment?
If the purpose was to inform the electorate, then why nobody from the New York Post, FOX News, or the Wall Street Journal?
Space considerations?
Then why was Art Spiegelman there?
Journalists get face time all the time. And they'll cancel their mother's day dinner plans to get an in-depth sit-down with John Kerry. And they should.
But the editors have reporters on staff that would kill for the chance. They should send them.
After all, if the reporter gets a bit too enamored with a political personality--if the reporter begins to lose his or her sceptical edge or objectivity, the editor can still ask the tough questions of the reporter, and insist on fair, dispassionate coverage.
But who edits the editors?
Splash, out
Jason
(hat tip: Ohthatliberalmedia.com for finding the Truthout document)
George F. Will, the longtime conservative columnist for the Washington Post , was part of a team of journalists and consultants that helped Ronald Reagan prepare for his presidential debate with Jimmy Carter.
Will later praised Reagan's "thoroughbred performance" on a post-debate appearance on Nightline, but did not disclose his role as a member of Reagan's coaching staff.
Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting is still raking him over the coals for that ethical lapse. And justly so.
Sure, Will was, and is, an editorial columnist. An opinion writer.
It's not like he's the managing editor of the premier news weekly in the country, right?
Right?
Fast forward to the 2004 presidential campaign.
It turns out that according to Truthout.org, Jim Kelly, the managing editor for Time, was among an august list of journalists and editors invited to a dry-fire session with John Kerry at...
...wait for it...
...Al Franken's New York City apartment.
In an effort to galvanize the message Kerry wants to deliver in the time remaining, he convened a powerful roster of journalists and columnists in the New York City apartment of Al Franken last Thursday. The gathering could not properly be called a meeting or a luncheon. It was a trial. The journalists served as prosecuting attorneys, jury and judge, writes Truthout managing editor William Rivers Pitt.
My question is, is Time going to disclose Kelly's participation in its own pages, in every Kerry profile or general election debate article it runs?
Why not?
Kelly isn't alone, though. The list also includes Newsweek senior political correspondent Howard Fineman and senior editor Jonathan Alter.
Hey, isn't Newsweek owned by the Washington Post Company?
You'd think they would have learned something from l'affaire George Will.
No?
Then there's Jeff Greenfield from CNN and David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker, and Jacob Weisberg, editor of Slate.
(I'm leaving out the guys who are just columnists, for now).
Now that all these guys are part of the campaign process for Kerry, how are they going to disclose that when their publications cover the general debates? Or will they even bother?
Did they bother writing up this little soiree themselves at all? And was everything that was said, said "on the record?"
After all, if it was just an informal news conference, then why hold it in a private apartment?
If the purpose was to inform the electorate, then why nobody from the New York Post, FOX News, or the Wall Street Journal?
Space considerations?
Then why was Art Spiegelman there?
Journalists get face time all the time. And they'll cancel their mother's day dinner plans to get an in-depth sit-down with John Kerry. And they should.
But the editors have reporters on staff that would kill for the chance. They should send them.
After all, if the reporter gets a bit too enamored with a political personality--if the reporter begins to lose his or her sceptical edge or objectivity, the editor can still ask the tough questions of the reporter, and insist on fair, dispassionate coverage.
But who edits the editors?
Splash, out
Jason
(hat tip: Ohthatliberalmedia.com for finding the Truthout document)
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