Post Editor on ANSWER Coverage

Another quick greeting from PostWatch. My travels took me to Clarion, Pa., where I submitted the following questions to Robert McCartney, the assistant managing editor for the Metro section in a live chat today:

Clarion, Pa.: On Metro coverage of the antiwar protest:

1. Why didn't The Post report on the status of protest organizer ANSWER as a front group for the Stalinist Workers World Party?

2. Has The Post run a correction setting the record straight on longtime activist Patrice Cuddy, identified in a Petula Dvorak story as a novice protester?

3. Why was Dvorak's live chat cancelled last week? (I have been out of town; apologies in advance if it has been rescheduled).

Thank you.

Robert McCartney: 1. I think we did a fine job overall of covering the antiwar protest, and our package was significantly more complete than that of some competing newspapers. However, I think we may have missed some angles, and this may be one of them. I do not know for a fact that the organizers included a "front group" for a "Stalinist" party -- but I have seen that reported elsewhere, and I can't rule it out. I do think we should have included in our coverage some examples from the speeches of some of the pretty far-left rhetoric that was heard. That would have made the coverage more thorough. However, it's also true that there's a lot of far-out rhetoric at such events -- whether they're left- or right-wing. In my experience, a lot of participants, probably most of them, pay little or no attention to the speeches, and especially to the more extreme ones. I spent an hour observing the march, and hardly anybody was listening to the speeches when I was there. Also, our reporting indicated strongly that the protesters were largely mainstream liberal, and certainly not "Stalinist."

2. We are considering a correction regarding the activist you mention.

3. Petula Dvorak's online chat was cancelled because she was busy working at the time that the chat was scheduled. She was at the White House, covering the arrest of 370 people until about 5 p.m. that day. The chat had been scheduled for 3:00.

Glad to see McCartney take a stab at these.  My boldface on question number two. A quick on-the-road response:

1. If you don't know about ANSWER being a front group for the Stalinist Workers World Party, I suggest you look into it. I was sorry to see the scare quotes around "Stalinist," which is merely an accurate if justifiably chilling description. You can start with Howard Kurtz, who paid attention after Christopher Hitchens weighed in.

2. Covering more of the far-out rhetoric would have made your coverage more truthful.

3. When I submitted these questions, beforehand, I didn't think to ask what I thought was an unnecessary follow-up: Why wasn't Dvorak's live chat re-scheduled? Sheesh.

That's all for now. I'm not inclined to be thrilled with all the answers, but at least McCartney responded and I appreciate it. It's interesting that they're considering running a Patrice Cuddy correction, though mysterious why it's taking so long to decide. Either she's been protesting for a long time, or she hasn't.

Update: Linked to Wizbang's Carnival of Trackbacks

Comments

[planetmoron]

McCartney must have been at the march over lunch because in the three hours I spent there the majority of people were gathered about the various stages listening to the speakers. To their credit they seemed a bit uncomfortable since they had meant to attend an anti-war demonstration not a rally to bring down the capitalist system (T-shirts available for purchase).

[Christopher Fotos]

So I hear!