Kerry rumor tests media's standards

USA Today ^ | February 19, 2004 | Mark Memmott

[NCjim]

Some conservatives are angry, but many media watchdogs are praising the way most American news outlets handled 2004's first titillating allegation about a presidential candidate's personal life.

The rumor was that Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., might have had an extramarital relationship with a woman. The allegation surfaced Feb. 12 on the Internet and quickly got picked up by some talk radio hosts and foreign news media.

[Defender2]

What "Standards"???? The Media with their complete left wing bias, has no standards!!!! The Mass Media = TASS & PRAVDA, Very Goebbels like for the Left!!!!

[hole_n_one]

Kerry rumor tests media's standards

To use the words media and standards in the same sentence is to stretch the limits of credulity to it's breaking point.

[Eala]

Kerry rumor tests media's standards

The media has standards? Who'd a thunk it?

Oh, yeah... "Thou shalt not speak evil of a liberal." Forgot...

[over3Owithabrain]

So they have no comment on their treatment of the Bush-AWOL unfounded allegation? F'n hypocrites!

[Cicero]

Mark Memmott is a liar.

[Brilliant]

Remember that the liberal media also swept the Jennifer Flowers allegations under the carpet. One thing to remember, though, is that if he did it once, he probably did it more than once. I'm betting that there will be more bimbos to come.

[GeronL]

AWOL anyone??

[speedy]

Memmott just proves our point with this Kerry ad.

[TankerKC]

Both Kerry and the woman, journalist Alexandra Polier, deny any relationship.

That settles it for me.

Wait...didn't Bill AND Monica deny at first?

As far as this "new" standard goes, I hope the press remembers it when the first allegation comes along about Bush.

Wait...that already came with the AWOL issue. Too late! And, so goes the double standard.

[NonValueAdded]

Is it possible that this is all a Kerry rope-a-dope exercise? There are numerous anecdotes out there about Kerry being a hound, with reporters writing down his corny pickup lines, networks doing years of research, etc.

Let's say there is some fire below all this smoke. Wesley gets to take one for the cause and leaks out a carefully crafted disinformation campaign pointing to the wrong woman. Someone like Drudge bites the bait but all of a sudden the mainstream media has a momentary flashback to days of discretion so the damage is mostly contained, at least domestically.

Now comes the switcheroo. A name is leaked of someone with past ties to Kerry but who did not have an affair. Denials ensue and those that bit are made to look like fools. Meanwhile Kerry is inoculated against the real scandal and he takes down the credibility of the right-wing media types who were sure to jump.

Brilliant.

[Defender2]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1079247/posts

here's for your number 8. Yeah the TRASHY media sure did run that AWOL CR*P right into the ground!!!! The link above, show's a little bit of the President's Service Record. Completely contrary to the garbage the media and the trashy left claims. Very Best FReegards, Defender2

[David]

What the media has done here is convert a story about Kerry having done something "much nastier" than an affair to Ms. Polier into a story about his having had an affair with her (which he probably did not). What did he really do to her? We don't know but and lot of people do know and some of them have an interest in seeing the story out which it will at some point in the next several months.

[eeriegeno]

And when the media SAT on the Lisa Myers interview of Juanita Broaderick accusing the then President of rape, that was good journalism? Never mind that the majority of the populace believed Juanita... IMHO, the media would be all over this Polier story if Kerry was a republican.

[hole_n_one]

I've seen various versions of that same scenario floated about on FR, but none were even close to being as colorful, articulate or thought provoking as yours.

A wonderful read.

[gooleyman]

Porn King Larry Flynt plans to release a rumor near the election about Dubya driving a girlfriend to a clinic years ago to get an abortion. I'll bet the media will forget this "standard" by then. They'll be all over it and blasting it at the top and bottom of every hour and on the headlines.

"Standards, we don't need no stinkin' standard!!!"

[ClearCase_guy]

Brilliant.

You lay it out beautifully. Normally, I'd consider the possibility -- because some folks would try, and possibly succeed, in pulling this off.

But we have no grounds to think that Kerry is brilliant. Nor his campaign staff. Some people could pull off what you describe. But I don't think Kerry could.

[Howlin]

An interesting article complementing the media about not reporting on an affair by John Kerry.

Is that his point? That the media did the right thing by not reporting an unsubstantiated rumor?

Then why did he have to throw in that old saw about George H. W. Bush?

[Fitzcarraldo]

The American media passed the silence test.

[edsheppa]

Standards? I think he means double standards.