APOLOGY (and challenge) to reporter Dick Stevenson from the NY TIMES

dfu | 3-7-04 | Doug from Upland

[doug from upland]

There was a previous post about an article that originally appeared in the NY TIMES. While doing a key word search about families offended by the recent Bush ads, I found this story -- Anger at terror images in Bush ads .....By Richard Stevenson, Jim Rutenberg..... Santa Clara..... March 6, 2004

Included in that article attributed to Stevenson and Rutenberg was this: "Kelly Campbell, co-director of a non-partisan group called September 11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows....."

Unfortunately, the site used Stevenson's work and combined it with work from a WASHINGTON POST author named Paul Fahri. THE AGE, where the story was found, led us to believe it was the work Stevenson and Rutenberg. Stevenson did not write the sentence about Kelly Campbell.

Dick Stevenson is owed an apology and it is hereby given to him. His article was done with complete professionalism.

From an email I received from Stevenson: " to those who read your post and called me to leave abusive messages that impugned my professionalism and patriotism, please pass along this response: We take criticism very seriously. When we mess up, we try to acknowledge it and correct it. But calling and swearing at me, making ugly personal statements and jumping to conclusions on the basis of sketchy information -- which in this case turned out to be dead wrong -- is no way to engage me or my newspaper in a dialog. And I would point out that not one caller other than Doug had the guts to provide a name or a phone number."

Come on, FReepers, this is personally embarrassing. He didn't deserve that treatment. We are better than that. Let John Kerry use the F word in Rolling Stone. Let the political left shout down opponents, stifle free speech, do damage in the streets, and act like jerks while this nation is at war. Let the left have the Michael Moores. I don't want people like that on my side.

The initial hope was that Stevenson would want to correct the record. We don't get people to see our side if we scream and swear at them.

Here is what was in his article: "The criticism -- from a firefighters union, relatives of victims and allies of Senator John Kerry....." He acknowledge that allies of Kerry were part of the criticism.

Stevenson is being sent this thread. I asked and the Admin Moderator removed the first one. Don't be nasty to him here.

Dick, this is to you. I hope you accept the apology, and I am sorry it ruined your Sunday. But, I also want to challenge you. I hope you will write a follow-up story. "Relatives of victims" was technically accurate, but it was incomplete. Please check out September 11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows. Please investigate the source of a great deal of their funding. That is the next story that needs to be written. When that one is written, FReepers will send notes of congratulations to comments@nytimes.com

Finally, I encourage activism and contact with reporters. Please do it with civility. The anti-Bush extremists set up the press with this pre-emptive attack on the ads. We need to help reporters discover the rest of the story. Don't make them your enemy. Most of them are just trying to earn a living.

[doug from upland]

Now here is a great sign ---

[philetus]

I have a feeling, some of the abuse directed at Mr. Stevenson, could be trolls trying to give FR a bad name.

[doug from upland]

It would not surprise me.

[GailA]

btt

[spodefly]

BUMP

[doug from upland]

I have been to the NY TIMES site, and I have not yet found a story on the group being funded by Heinz. Hmmmmmm, that is curious.

[BigSkyFreeper]

You'll never find one from the same paper that just last week endorsed Kerry. ;)

[doug from upland]

Susan, I hope you have come back to the thread. Can you tell us if someone will be assigned to do the story about the Heinz funding?

[SW6906]

BTTT

[Lancey Howard]

First, I agree that haranguing reporters is a loser. Totally counterproductive.

Second, it still looks like Stevenson was a willing, panting, tail-wagging lapdog when the DNC fed up these "outraged" 9/11 family members. He couldn't see that this was a DNC-orchestrated quick-response effort, primed and ready to spring at the first Bush TV ad? C'mon.... Nothing could have been more obvious.

A good reporter would have been on this like stink on poop trying to find out how the Democrats dug up these people, how much they were paid and/or promised, what their connection was to the Democrat party, and how they were so quickly lined up for TV, radio, and newspaper interviews all over the nation. A good reporter would have smelled a rat a mile away.

This was a masterpiece of political gamesmanship by the Democrats, no question, but it only worked because of the willing complicity of the liberal newrooms. In none of the stories and in none of the TV interviews was it asked of these "outraged" family members, "Did you have any contact with the Kerry campaign or with the Democrat party or its allies prior to coming forward with these criticisms?"

[Sloth]

But ask yourself this: why did you, a consumer of news, believe that you were being lied to in the first place? The answer is simple; because in large part, you have.

Well said. If "journalists" ever want to rise above trial lawyers and used-car salesmen on the credibility scale, they'll have to police their own. And there's no indication yet that they even want to do so.

[BigSkyFreeper]

He couldn't see that this was a DNC-orchestrated quick-response effort, primed and ready to spring at the first Bush TV ad? C'mon.... Nothing could have been more obvious.

You're correct. 12 hours after the release of the Bush campaign ads, there were victims being paraded on TV gabfests all day long, coached into using similar "talking points" as if they were all put into the same room and told what to say, by the DNC.

[doug from upland]

The RATS orchestrated this and played the press like a Stradivarius. I think perhaps, with a Marion Barry saying is fitting: "The b*tch set me up." Yep, print, TV, and radio journalists --- the b*itch set you up. The question is, what are you going to do about it? Does Teresa scare you? Will she cut off your ketchup?

[aculeus]

Although I'm way behind the curve on this matter a tip of the hat to you for this post.

[doug from upland]

It has now been 11 hours since the original post. Has the NY TIMES written about the Heinz funding yet? I haven't see it on their website. I guess we need a betting pool.

[E.G.C.]

BTTT!!!!!!!

[baseballmom]

That her!! Kristin Breitweiser. She was in fine bashing form yesterday. At one point, even Greg Jarrett had to cut her off.

Thank you Mo, and calcowgirl.

[doug from upland]

It is now 18 hours since they were alerted. Where is the NY TIMES on the story of the set up? When will the grieving families be outed? When will they trace the money from Teresa?

[baseballmom]

You're not by any chance holding your breath are you??

I'm off to write a letter to the Phila. Inquirer, who had a front page, top of the fold spread on this "outrage".

I'll be checking in to see what happens.

[Copernicus]

I hope we are all learning something every day of our lives.

Indeed.

Perhaps this would be a good time to reiterate my previous reiteration:

Emotion-based Republican Compassionate Conservatism is as or more destructive to a Liberty affirming Constitutional Republic as is the erstwhile opposite of emotion-based Soviet Socialist Bolshevik Left wing Liberalism.

Any approach that ignores 2000 years of Western Tradition from Euclid’s Elements to Robert’s Rules of Order must charitably be best described as “counterproductive”.

Best regards,