Posted on 09/12/2005 10:00:02 AM PDT by Fido969
Kurtz Backs Geraldo in 'NYT' Dispute
By E&P Staff
Published: September 12, 2005 12:07 PM ET
NEW YORK It seemed like a minor, one-day story at the time -- amid the tragedy of the hurricane catastrophe -- but is The New York Times, which is normally pretty quick to run a correction or clarification, making it much more than that by stonewalling?
On Monday, Howard Kurtz at the Washington Post defended Geraldo Rivera in his campaign to gain an apology from the Times for accusing him of showboating during his Katrina coverage last week. The Chicago Tribune also covered the dispute today.
The Times's TV critic Alessandra Stanley wrote last week that the flamboyant Fox correspondent had "nudged an Air Force rescue worker out of the way so his camera crew could tape him as he helped lift an older woman in a wheelchair to safety." Rivera has denied this from the start, claimed that a tape of the incident does not bear this out, accused Stanley of being, "Jayson Blair in a cocktail dress," and suggested that if a male reporter had made similar allegations, Rivera would be willing to settle the dispute with his fists. Meanwhile, the Times has not issued a correction, and Stanley has said her description was accurate.
In Monday's column (third item), Kurtz writes that "a review of the videotape shows no nudging or other physical contact by Rivera. At a nursing home, Rivera and a staffer are shown lifting the woman's wheelchair down an interior flight of stairs. Then one Air Force man takes the wheelchair and a second one comes into the picture, looking as though he is going to help carry the elderly woman down the outside stairs. The second Air Force man leaves the picture and Rivera reappears, helping the first airman carry the wheelchair outside as the camera rolled."
He then quotes New York Times Editor Bill Keller: "It was a semi-close call, in that the video does not literally show how Mr. Rivera insinuated himself between the wheelchair-bound storm victim and the Air Force rescuers who were waiting to carry her from the building. Whether Mr. Rivera gently edged the airman out of the way with an elbow (literally 'nudged'), or told him to step aside, or threw a body block, or just barged into an opening -- it's hard to tell, since it happened just off-camera. Frankly, given Mr. Rivera's behavior since Ms. Stanley's review appeared ... Ms. Stanley would have been justified in assuming brute force. ... Ms. Stanley's point was that Mr. Rivera was showboating."
But Kurtz concludes: "Still, the tape shows no nudging, so the refusal to even run a clarification gives Rivera free rein to call the paper 'arrogant.'"
E&P Staff (letters@editorandpublisher.com)
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The reporter was interviewing a young black lady (late 20s-ish) and she was crying because she was now on her third day without insulin and she didn't want to die under these conditions when suddenly she collapsed. The nurse ran over with somebody else's borrowed insulin and managed to stabilize the girl.
The next scene was the reporter and another reporter back at their base on dry land in fresh clothes discussing how horrible things were out there. What happened to the girl you may ask? Well, I can only assume that they left her there because they did not say that they took it upon themselves to take her back to safety and get her some treatment and a warm meal. Of course, we all know that these reporters have no access to warm food, showers a bed or any medical service while they are on assignment in New Orleans, right?...... RIGHT?!
I wonder if they feel like they are in some Animal Kingdom documentary or something, you know, like they can only film and that they can't interfere with the natural balance of life?
Animal Kingdom documentary
Im friggin chocking over here. that is funny.
shep always had a clean shirt on.
no worries.
saw your name/zip code. hope all was well in your area. should be uptown, near Tulane. Had the zip number at one time myself.
This incident is a figment of Alessandra Stanley's imagination.
Geraldo acted more like Jerry Springer than a reporter during the NO flood..It appeared to me he set up the show for BOR at the convention center with the NOPD Chief of Police, the copters coming in and the Chief yelling they needed water and food when other pics that day showed pallets of supplies had been delivered earlier..trying to rile up the crowd who were laughing at him, they saw through him....IMO that was showboating..
Theres not enough mustard in the world for a hot dog like Geraldo....but you gotta love that "jayson blair in a cocktail dress" line!!!
The soldiers in Afghanistan absolutely detest him. Told to stay in X spot, they had to risk their lives to cover him and try to bring him back. They spent more time putting their lives on the line protecting the idjut than they did during combat.
I must now admit that I like Geraldo and his flamboyant style. Somehow, both Geraldo and Drudge fit a strange and similar mold - they both claim the title of "Journalist" but they both are considered outcasts by that same profession. Journalism needs the likes of Geraldo and Drudge.....and yet, journalism could stand to do away with the typical NY Times journalist.....
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