Howard Kurtz Live Chat

Under way. Nothing too exciting yet. Lovely en passant slap at the Swifties:

Pownal, Maine: NARAL made a mistake. But were there any conservative columnists equivalent to EJ Dionne (for example) denouncing the Swift Boat commercials?

I do think it fair to say when you accept a political appointment, the assumption is that you agree with your employer's goals, even if you are an attorney. It is not the same as agreeing to represent a client in trouble seeking a lawyer.

Howard Kurtz: If there were a number of conservative commentators denouncing the Swift Boat ads, I missed them. They would say, of course, that the NARAL ad contained greater distortions. It's certainly true that a number of liberals, not just in the media, criticized the NARAL spot against John Roberts for twisting the facts. I found it interesting that the group never admitted or apologized for the commercial's flaws, just retreated to "we're taking it off the air because we don't want to be a distraction."

It's a commonplace on the left that the Swift Boat Veterans just made things up.  That's because very few of them have honestly examined their claims.

UPDATE: Have to say I'm surprised that almost a half hour into this chat, there are no questions posted about Air America. I've sent one in. A couple of objections to the Post co-sponsoring the Freedom Walk, with Kurtz not being opposed to the event itself as much as the Post taking part in it.

UPDATE: A couple of objections to relatively small coverage of John Johnson, pioneering black publisher of Jet and Ebony magazines (there was an "Appreciaton" in the Style section but Johnson had the bad timing of passing away when Peter Jennings did.) And this Cindy Sheehan exchange:

Arlington, Va.: Why does The Post devote so much coverage to Cindy Sheehan's crusade against Bush? The Post certainly didn't provide the same front page coverage to the parents of soldiers killed during the Clinton adminstration. For example, searching The Post archive, there is not a single mention of Herbert Shughart, who told President Clinton during the ceremony awarding his deceased son a Congressional Medal of Honor, that Clinton that "You are not fit to be president." Is it only because Sheehan is a publicity hound, and if so, should this crass behavior be reqarded? Or is it because The Post prefers her anti-Bush sentiment over Shughart's anti-Clinton statement?

Howard Kurtz: The Post is certainly not alone here -- Cindy Sheehan has been all over television and in other publications like the New York Times. What she has accomplished, whether you agree with her or not, is a classic bit of media manipulation. The complaints of one mother would hardly merit plenty of coverage, but one who is dogged enough to show up at Crawford, where lots of reporters are camped out in the heat with little news to cover, enbaled Sheehan to fill a void. From there the coverage seemed to build on itself--small stories beget larger stories as more protestors showed up to support her and the media decided they had a symbol of those opposed to the war. Of course, the more Sheehan allies herself with groups like MoveOn, the more she risks being dismissed as a partisan rather than a mother with a heartfelt grievance.

UPDATE: Four or five questions and comments about Sheehan, nothing about Air America. And the following commenter has simply done his homework:

New York, N.Y.: Howard, thanks for taking our questions. Regarding the Cindy Sheehan coverage, you write: "What she has accomplished, whether you agree with her or not, is a classic bit of media manipulation."

In short - bull. The MSM is covering her because it WANTS to cover her, since she makes an attractive anti-war story. Anything to further their anti-war agenda. A couple of weeks ago, a Damien Cave wrote in the New York Times "Week in Review" section an piece wondering where all the "war heros" are. Well, guess what, the MSM has found ITS war hero - Cindy Sheehan - and they are given her a hero's welcome.

Meanwhile, I search the Washington Post's archives for stories about Medal of Honor winner Paul Ray Smith, and find 3. There are 28 articles about Sheehan. My contempt for the MSM just continues to grow.

Howard Kurtz:   Since you firmly believe the media have an antiwar agenda, anything I say will not dissuade you.

From the home of Chrenkoff Today and Iraq's Untold Story, I guess you know how I feel about this.

UPDATE: zzzzzzzz. More Sheehan though. An here's an earlier exchange:

Fairfax, Va.: Yesterday's Post article, "U.S. Lowers Sights on What Can Be Achieved in Iraq," reported that numerous serious Iraq policy failures are now being acknowledged. Although the article's headline claims the "U.S." has downgraded prospects in Iraq, there are no statements from Bush, Cheney or Rumsfeld either admitting these policy failures or agreeing with the newly pessimistic expectations. Instead, the article equates the "U.S." with anonymous officials who apparently are now free to speak for the Administration as they spill the beans about policy failures our top leaders have long been denying. The headline says there's been a policy change without directly attributing it to our top leaders themselves( no attribution, no accountability). Why the shadow puppets? Why can't The Post, an "Independent Newspaper", simply print a headline that says, "Bush Iraq Policy Fails"?

Howard Kurtz:   Because that is commentary, not reporting....

Fairfax Va. points to a story that shows how much you have to trust the reporter's ability to make judgments about anonymous sources. In short, you have the trust the good reputation of the paper if the story is to be worth anything. I scanned that story quickly and don't believe it said anything about why the sources were leaking to the Post. In the next week or so I'll start blogging about why that's important. In the meantime, Kurtz is right that this looks like the story is some kind of trial ballon. The alternative is that it comes from some kind of warring faction--and that's what you're often left in the dark about in anonymously sourced stories.

UPDATE: Chat's over. Nothing on Air America. I am truly surprised.