What do you think of this Kerry news?

[AlphaGamDiva]

i remember another politician claiming being falsely accused as well, though: "i did not have sexual relations with that woman..." blah blah

not that i am saying b/c he's denying it it's the truth.....i don't really think i have an opinion right now since the only time i've heard about it is on here....but just b/c a reporter tells the story doesn't mean it's true. and just b/c the accused say it isn't so doesn't mean it's a lie.

[DeltAlum]

AGD,

Absolutely right. Kerry may be "guilty."

Or he may be the victim of "dirty tricks," lies and inuendo, someone's political agenda, or just plain shabby reporting.

In any event, (broken record time) taking as truth something said by someone who is considered a "gosip columnist" is just silly.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I haven't finished the National Enquirer yet this week...

[justamom]

You're too funny!

I was listening to some talk radio lady this a.m. What they said was-Drudge was saying that there are newspapers investigating RUMORS of blah, blah blah.

A selfish moment please-
I don't care if it's true or false. It wouldn't affect me one way or another because I'm voting for Bush if Kerry is the nominee.
If there's more to it...............it would be nice to get to the truth.
Just like we got to the truth about Bush and the National guard
BOTH times. He served.

[Munchkin03]

The fact that the NY Daily News was the only newspaper to broadcast this is very telling.

Since I'm not a Dem and I don't like Kerry, it's not political interest--I'm just waiting for a reputable news source to break this.

[DeltAlum]

Originally posted by Munchkin03
The fact that the NY Daily News was the only newspaper to broadcast this is very telling.

Here's what the Daily News called Drudge:

"Polier came forward three days after Kerry denied hazy reports of an affair, first reported by Internet muckraker Matt Drudge."

Which is the pot and which is the kettle?

[moe.ron]

It seems that photo of Jane Fonda and John Kerry is fake. I read it in Guardian, but was a little suspicious because of the slant Guardian usually have. So I looked around and found a few other articles. It seems to be new and hasn't gone to the APs yet. Here are the articles:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uselection...150509,00.html
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationwo...news-headlines
http://www.berkeleydaily.org/text/ar...&storyID=18291
http://www.femail.co.uk/pages/standa...3&in_page_id=2
http://www.shortnews.com/start.cfm?i...sort=1&start=1

ETA: This is about the photo where you have Jane Fonda and John Kerry sharing the podium during a speech. Gotta love Photoshop.

[DeltAlum]

As a general fence sitter until much later in any campaign, I would hate to hear that the Republican Party or Bush Campaign had anything to do with this.

If so, it will definitely cement a Democratic vote for me this time around.

In my mind, this kind of thing, because of it's huge distribution, makes old dirty tricks like Watergate pale in comparison.

[DeltAlum]

Three Minneapolis TV News Directors speak of being wary of Drudge...

Media Wary Of Drudge Sex 'Report'
BY BRIAN LAMBERT
St. Paul Pioneer Press

The word most frequently used by journalists to describe their response to the latest sex scandal being fomented by the Drudge Report is "circumspect." That's a synonym for "wary."

As most news consumers know by now, Matt Drudge, attempting to capture lightning in a bottle again, "reported" last week that "several news organizations" were looking into reports of yet another intern and yet another Democratic presidential candidate. At first glance, it looked like d?j? vu all over again.

The difference this time is that major news organizations - some of whom were named by Drudge as among those investigating the story- didn't use the "it's out there" excuse to short-circuit the usual journalistic checks and balances. Like where you make sure something is true before you commit it to print or air.

Locally, rumors of an alleged relationship by Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry were instant fodder for talk radio. Some of the discussions, like Chad Hartman's and Dan Barreiro's on KFAN, were heavily tempered with skepticism of Drudge's political agenda. But in the grander scheme of things, they served to amplify Drudge's story.

In local TV newsrooms, only KSTP-TV, Channel 5, gave the story any significant play, and then via political analyst Steve Smith's piece on how dirty-trick rumors are spread. But it, too, amplified a story still lacking in one critical element: facts.

"The problem today that we didn't face 10 or 15 years ago is the explosion of talk radio and the Internet," says KSTP news director Chris Berg. "When you get both the Internet and talk radio going on a story, it creates a situation where our viewer is asking us, 'Is there anything to this?' And, frankly, they're wondering if you have a political agenda if you don't report it. In many ways, it's a lose-lose proposition for us. It creates a very difficult situation."

Tom Lindner, Berg's counterpart at KARE-TV, Channel 11, found this situation less difficult. "We're a little more circumspect - no question about it. We looked at this one, and someone over here said, 'If we try to live under the standard of two sources for every story, the Drudge Report is a quarter of a source,' " he said. "Just because something is 'out there' doesn't mean we report it - that's not our standard."

Jeff Kiernan, news director at WCCO-TV, Channel 4, likewise laid off the story. "I think you always evaluate stories based on where they come from, their sourcing and background," he said.

As for the "it's out there" excuse, Kiernan concedes it's a tricky situation.

"That is kind of the quagmire," he says, referring to the Internet/talk radio/cable TV axis' ability to create instant awareness in the minds of millions of people of a story that may or may not be true, that may or may not be a piece of political guerrilla warfare.

"The real problem is that viewers' threshold for this kind of thing shifts because of talk radio, the Internet and the rest," he said. "As a reporter, you have to be very careful how your judgments shift over time to satisfy the viewer."

"I don't think there's any question the media has been more circumspect about this one," says Steve Schier, political science professor at Carleton College and a frequent TV political analyst. "Drudge, I think, is regarded by most journalists as kind of an unguided missile, and there is also, I believe, a wariness born of experience among reporters, at being used as someone's hatchet man. You can really damage your reputation as a news purveyor if you play
into this stuff."

Schier sees nine months of dirt-peddling, smears, attacks and distortions ahead. "It's going to be a pretty grim year," he says.

[Rudey]

Originally posted by DeltAlum
AGD,

Absolutely right. Kerry may be "guilty."

Or he may be the victim of "dirty tricks," lies and inuendo, someone's political agenda, or just plain shabby reporting.

In any event, (broken record time) taking as truth something said by someone who is considered a "gosip columnist" is just silly.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I haven't finished the National Enquirer yet this week...

The thing is it's not just about Democrats vs Republicans. We heard it from card carrying Democrats who probably read it off of Drudge.

-Rudey
--I'm so tired.

[DeltAlum]

Originally posted by Rudey
The thing is it's not just about Democrats vs Republicans. We heard it from card carrying Democrats who probably read it off of Drudge.

-Rudey
--I'm so tired.

You're right. It's about journalism vs. rumor. Truth vs. fabrication, perhaps.

In the end, it's about checking the facts before publishing.

[justamom]

Well, at this point I'd just like to say-

THEY ALL STINK!

I am prepared for a very nasty, mud-slinging campaign. The only difference I see is when the media prints their coverage, MOST will wrap their "scoops" around fluff for the liberals and rocks for the conservatives.

Scary Kerry or brash Bush...

Gotta go with the Bushwack man.

[The1calledTKE]