In the Blogosphere, Lightning Strikes Thrice

Washington Post ^ | 02/13/05 | Howard Kurtz

[Pikamax]

In the Blogosphere, Lightning Strikes Thrice

By Howard Kurtz Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, February 13, 2005; Page D01

The blogosphere, with its lightning speed and rough-edged sense of justice, seems to be claiming more victims more quickly.

Three dramatic departures in recent days have highlighted the one-strike-and-you're-out nature of trial by Internet. Eason Jordan quit under pressure as CNN's chief news executive Friday night over his remarks on U.S. soldiers killing journalists in Iraq, following a relentless campaign by online critics but scant coverage in the mainstream press. In past episodes, journalists have been forced to resign, or news organizations to admit error, after Web commentators helped push a controversy into newspaper and television reports. In Jordan's case, the middle step was all but skipped.

Critics blamed the halting nature of Jordan's and CNN's defense. "Blogs are unforgiving of that lack of speedy responsiveness," says veteran magazine editor Jeff Jarvis, who blogs at buzzmachine.com. "We used to be the gatekeepers," and would grapple with criticism "in our own sweet time. You'd think we would understand the speed of news better than anybody, and we don't. We used to control that speed."

[GeronL]

It could have been a Dem operative but its more likely to have been a reporter

[Judith Anne]

Thanks. I just wondered if I got the basic gist of the thing.

[Brad’s Gramma]

That you did. AND...no one's going to laugh at you.

[Gabz]

He may be out of job soon.

Not soon enough for Howie baby, as far as I'm concerned.

[Mad Dawgg]

"If journalists actually REPORTED news, instead of fabricating it, then they wouldn't have to worry about the blogosphere..."

Many years ago the Printing press broke the strangle hold on information that the church and governments had. And because of the printing press the church split and religious persecutions became more rampant. Eventually people got so sick of the lack of freedom to worship they got in tiny boats and headed across the ocean to a new land.

Eventually that land became the most powerful nation on the face of the earth. Because of the freedoms built into the founding documents of this new land, the standard of living here is even that the poorest among us live in luxury compared to most people in the rest of the world.

Now many years late we are hell bent on removing any and all mention of religion from public places.

If irony could be turned into liquid form we would all be swimming in the USA for the next 100 years.

Now we have the Internet and the strangle hold that the MSM has had for the last 100 years is fading quickly. I hope I live to see how this New Media all turns out!

[dk/coro]

I have a suggestion relative to where Kurtz can go.

But, I am an old man, with a sweet bride of well over 50 years; and I don't want to be locked up for the rest of my poker-playing life!!!

So, I will leave it to my fellow Freepers to bury this bum in his own discredited mire -- one blog at a time! With heartfelt thanks, I might add. *S*

Happy weekend, all.

[Howlin]

LOL.. the news media has been all over the 'blogs' lately

In the words of Bruce Willis in Die Hard, "Welcome to the party, pal."

[Judith Anne]

Thanks...I've been really careful here because of a terrible experience 5-6 years ago on *another forum*

[Lijahsbubbe]

The blogosphere, with its lightning speed and rough-edged sense of justice, seems to be claiming more victims more quickly.

Three dramatic departures in recent days have highlighted the >one-strike-and-you're-out nature of trial by Internet

No, it's just the facts Howie, just THE FACTS.

[Brad’s Gramma]

Well, THAT'LL teach ya! Stay home where you belong! :)

[GeronL]

Someday people might hop into small ships and settle a new world, literally, in search of freedom.

[Mo1]

All they have to do is report the truth accurately

If not .. We on the Internet will be their worse nightmare

Oh and as for Eason Jordon??

If he's soooooo dang innocent??

PLAY THE TAPE AND PROVE IT!!

[Lijahsbubbe]

They'll never understand how we all long for the truth. Just the truth.

Exactly. I wrote my post #29 before I read this!

[Judith Anne]

Well I have, since I got here. ;-D

Learned MY lesson!

[RegT]

Great post!

[jellybean]

But, I am an old man, with a sweet bride of well over 50 years...

Your wife is a lucky woman.

[blam]

"I'm so confused...:-("

Thanks for asking the question. I was too but, that cleared it up.

[conservative in nyc]

All we know for a fact is that someone under the screen name MD4Bush baited NCPAC, who worked for Maryland Governor Ehrlich (R), into a FReepmail conversation, excerpts of which were later partially reprinted in the Washington Post and Baltimore Sun. The underlying rumors were posted on Free Republic on 7/19/04, but also appeared in dcrtv.com's Mailbag in June and Early July, and in USENET postings in early July BEFORE they were posted here. MD4Bush posted NCPAC's FReepmails to him three times on two long dormant Free Republic threads shortly before the Washington Post story was posted here (on 2/8, IIRC), and (likely) at the same time as the Washington Post published its story on the Internet. The first post was of just the FReepmails; he or she underlined what I'd characterize as the portions of the FReepmails most damaging to NCPAC in the other 2 posts.

Am I missing any relevant facts? If I haven't, everything else you see posted here are probably educated guesses on the part of FReepers (some of whom know more than me) as to who MD4Bush is and how the Washington Post and Baltimore Sun got their hands on the FReepmails.

The Washington Post and Baltimore Sun don't seem to care to get to the bottom of showing who was actually spreading the rumors first. They're content in hanging the rumor-mongering on Governor Ehrlich to tarnish his nice guy reputation. The Baltimore Sun has a particular axe to grind with the Governor and is actually suing him because he refuses to let anyone in his administration speak with one of their reporters and one of their very liberal political columnists. I'm not sure why we haven't seen more out of the Washington Post (even a statement that they've tried to ascertain the original source of the rumors, but can't).

Hint to Lurking MSM: Try Googling "O'Malley Baderinwa". It's not rocket science.

[Mo1]

it was NCPAC ... he made a comment in one of his posts that he worked in politics .. I'm not sure if he mentioned that he worked in the Gov office

Well .. there apparently has been a rumor about the Mayor of Baltimore floating around.

We aren't sure who exactly MD4Bush is .. but s/he's first post was to NCPAC regarding this rumor. MD4Bushthen proceeded to freepmail NCPAC and talk about this rumor

From what we can tell MD4Bush started this .. not NCPAC

Some time later .. up pops this WP article about the Private Freepmails and they printed them .. also shortly before the article came out .. MD4Bush posted these private freepmails on an old thread .. which then makes them not private anymore since they are on an public board

NCPAC resigned from his job because of it

Jim traced the IP and says it's from a dirty tricksters but he's not giving any other info out about who it is

So either this was a set up by the 2 authors from the WP .. or it's a set up from a Dem trickster .. or both

We haven't figured that part out yet

[Gabz]

I've been really careful here because of a terrible experience 5-6 years ago on *another forum*

I've been toast for years with the wackos from other forums - I don't even bother worrying about it anymore. They mine this site for anything I say and post it on other message boards in an effort to make me look less than credible - in fact they take what I say out of context in such a manner as to make it look like I am saying things I have never said in their effort to make me look as if I am other than an intelligent, well read, rational person.

The funniest thing is, they hit my typos on a regular basis - obviously they can't attack my arguments.

My words in this post have been carefully chosen, for above mentioned reasons.