Dowd V Mapes Media Bias Alert

November 13, 2005 | me

[Roscoe Karns]

I was watching Maureen Dowd on Larry King last night and something she said jumped out at me. Read the quotes in bold below. One is from Maureen Dowd and the other is from Mary Mapes. (Both were on Larry King last week-but not on the same day). Obviously, journalism standards change from story to story depending on how they can be used to smear a Republican president:

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0511/12/lkl.01.html

KING:[talking about Judy Miller] Was she doing her job or was she caught up in it?

DOWD: I think she was too creditable. And too, you know, investigative reporting is not stenography. When your sources tell you something, that's the beginning of your work. Not the end of it.

KING: So you even question your source?

DOWD: Of course. And Judy's sources all had agendas, Choliby (ph), you know, "Scooter" Libby, the neo-cons. They all had specific agendas. And if they had a "New York Times" reporter who believed those agendas in too creditable a way, they were able to use that to then further their agendas.

Ok. Now read Mary Mapes' quotes. It seems she thinks that, no, reporters shouldn't question their sources too much...

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0511/09/lkl.01.html

KING: But wasn't the commission that investigated it, weren't they fair, weren't the independent?

MAPES: Well, I don't know, Larry. I mean if your work was being judged, wouldn't you like your work to be judged by people who did the kind of work you did? I mean I don't know what Dick Thornburgh knows about journalism.

I suspect he knows as much about it as I know about being a securities analyst or attorney, which is what the other attorneys were, securities specialists or internal corporation investigation specialists.

I think it was a very legalistic approach. You know they even said we had put Ben Barnes and his story on that he had gotten Bush in the Guard and he was sorry and they ruled that I shouldn't -- we should not have put that on because we couldn't prove it.

Well, if that were the case, we'd have blank newspapers every day and there would be nothing on the news because the news is what people say, what they think. I mean you go to a presidential press conference and when the president says something you don't only put it on if you can prove it, you put it on because it's what's being said and because it's relevant. [in other words, when we've got an evil Republican president to take down we reporters SHOULD be stenoghraphers]

[Zacs Mom]

Whats also interesting about that Pulitzer quote is it appears on a plaque that is one of the first things you see as you enter The Columbia School of Journalism!

[Enterprise]

"Real woman are at home with their husbands and children, they don't sit in jail cells protecting "anonymous" sources."

[Enterprise]

I guess that if they bother to read the quote they think it's just something some dead white guy once said. But it's no longer relevant.

[Enterprise]

"Truth? TRUTH? We don need no steenkin truth! Now git before we disembowel ya."

[hinckley buzzard]

I still love Matt Drudge's comment on journalism. It's a trade, not a profession.

Based on the level of performance by the MSM I would go one step further and observe that it is not even a trade, but merely an activity, which requires no skill or training, but only opportunity.

[2ndreconmarine]

DOWD: I think she was too creditable.

I watched the LK interview as well.

Probably shouldn't nitpick, but it bothers me that so-called intellectual Dowd cannot use the English language above the 8th grade level.

She said: credible, which means believable or truthful. She meant to say credulous, which means easily convinced of something.

It is both amusing and irritating (I'm not sure in what proportion), when these liberals pretend to be educated and intelligent.

[Paladin2]

I'd be careful around Dowdie. She has so much pent up frustration, she might want to Bobbit sometime.

[jdm]

[Enterprise]

LOL - but now tell me, which photo was altered?

[marktwain]

"She said: credible, which means believable or truthful. She meant to say credulous, which means easily convinced of something."

You watched it, I didn't. You no doubt understand what she meant better. But, when I read it in the above post, I wondered which one she meant, credible, as in she was allowed to obtain too much credibility by the NYSlimes when she is working with the enemy; or credulous, as she was too easily convinced by the enemy.

The enemy, of course, being the Bush administration.

[stickandpucknut]

Dowd is worn out stinky C-word

[Grampa Dave]

Worn out and [ast her prime and worthless.

[SusaninOhio]

i am so sorry if this offends anyone, but mary mapes reminds me way too much of a bitter lesbian feminist kind of person.

I know about bitter lesbian feminist kind of people because my sister is one of them. They all have the same isues and are bitter way before their time. Everyone is always against them or trying to stop them from telling the 'truth' or some such thing, and if you disagree with them or send them any information that does not fit into their agendas, they block you from their email in order to keep from having to read anything they don;t agree with.

My sister is a very intelligent person. Also very unhappy and willing to lie to make a point. Perhaps it IS genetic.

I sent a nice card when she and her partner went to canada to get married - it will make Thanksgiving more pleasant for all of us and only cost 37 cents.

[Sam Hill]

Mary Mapes took the word of a Bush-hater who had been HOSPITALIZED FOR MENTAL ILLNESS as gospel.

She wanted to believe it. Or even if she didn't believe it, she thought it would help defeat the Republicans--which was her goal.

[ncountylee]

news is what people say, what they think.

What planet does she come from?

[t2buckeye]

"investigative reporting is not stenography."

I heard a similar thing said on FOx Watch by the resident liberal..I can't even remember his name. Only he said, "reporting is not stenography"

First..I guess we know how they feel about all the secretaries and court reporters out there....they obviously feel SO superior

But in actuality, a good reporter DOES mean getting it right and accurate, as a stenographer's main mission is. But too many journalist don't care about that credo any longer. A good reporter TRIES to get the WHOLE story accurately. Journalism 101 says that reporters are NOT to put in their own opinion...Obviously, that's not entirely possible HOWEVER journalists should avoid "loaded" words and should AT LEAST get quotes from both sides of the article. The lack of performing these basic requirements for an article is what has led the MSM back to "yellow journalism"

[Enterprise]

"Far from CBS News headquarters on West 57th Street in Manhattan, Mapes has remained at her Dallas home -- her base while working on "60 Minutes" -- with her husband and 7-year-old son. She declined to be interviewed for this article through her husband, Mark Wrolstad, a staff writer for the Dallas Morning News."

Her actions would remind anyone of a bitter old lesbian. I think she is more of a Reublican-hating hack. Anyway, evidently she does have a husband and a son. (Which is more than DOWD has - HAHA!)

[kcvl]

DOWD: I think she was too creditable.

roflol!