Howard Kurtz does his usual fine, balanced job as the WaPost media critic today, taking the press to task for how they (did not) cover the John Edwards story.
Where I do take issue with him is his glossing over of the comparison made by Republicans over what the press response would have been if the philanderer were Mitt Romney. By pointing to Governor Patterson and Bill Clinton, Kurtz attempts to show balance in reporting sex scandals about Dems. But let's face facts; Patterson came to office in the wake of an already burning sex scandal surrounding the office's previous occupant, and Bill Clinton was the President of the US. Kurtz's blithe dismissal of media bias to favor Edwards just doesn't add up. Romney would have been pilloried, just like David Vitter was.
You forget and Kurtz forgets to mention that the only reason the Clinton story came to prominence was that Drudge posted how Newsweek was sitting on the story. Kurtz example of nonbias, is in fact an example of the media covering for a Dem until they were called on it.
ReplyDeleteGreat catch! I do remember that...seems so long ago...
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