Media forms circular firing squad after blowing the biggest 2008 scandal.
The New York Times today said they looked at the allegations but found nothing solid to report.
The New York Times reported:
For almost 10 months, the story of John Edwards’s affair remained the nearly exclusive province of the National Enquirer — through reports, denials, news of a pregnancy, questions about paternity and, finally, a slapstick chase through a hotel in Beverly Hills.
Political blogs, some cable networks and a few newspapers reported on it — or, more accurately, reported on The Enquirer reporting on it. Jay Leno and David Letterman made Mr. Edwards the butt of jokes on their late-night shows, but their own networks declined to report on the rumors surrounding him on the evening news. Why?
A number of news organizations with resources far greater than The Enquirer’s, like The New York Times, say they looked into the Edwards matter and found nothing solid enough to report, while others did not look at all.
Some of their comments point to a lack of interest in a story about the private conduct of an also-ran presidential candidate, and a distaste for following the lead of a publication they hold in low esteem. Only in Mr. Edwards’s home state, North Carolina, did newspapers aggressively chase the story in the last few weeks.
Of course… This didn’t stop The New York Times from reporting a bogus affair rumor on Republican John McCain back in February.
It even warranted its own Wiki page:
The February 21, 2008 The New York Times published an article on John McCain’s alleged relationship with lobbyist Vicki Iseman and other involvement with special interest groups. The article received a widespread criticism among both liberals and conservatives, McCain supporters and non-supporters as well as talk radio personalities. Former staffer to President Bill Clinton and current Hillary Clinton supporter Lanny Davis said the article “had no merit.” Tom Rosenstiel, the director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism, suggested that the article does not make clear the nature of McCain’s alleged “inappropriate” behavior: “The phrasing is just too vague.” The article was later criticized by the White House and by several news organizations including the San Francisco Chronicle editorial board.
There were no photos, no first hand accounts, no confessions, no baby… But, the NY Times reported the McCain affair rumor on the front page anyway.
John McCain may be a media darling, but he’s still a Republican.
