Posted on 09/25/2002 9:22:13 PM PDT by Timesink
Sept. 25 A sickly schadenfreude is pervading the coverage of Bob Greenes swift demise. A little over two weeks ago, Greene was one of the countrys best-paid journalists, writing a four-times-a-week syndicated column for the Chicago Tribune. Then, on Sunday, Sept. 15, a 1988 hotel-room encounter with a teenager came to light.
GREENE RESIGNED, apologizing for his indiscretions. The Tribune covered the story on its front page. Since then, Chicagos been awash in gleefully salacious tales of Greenes other purported extramarital affairs: Steve Dahl, a Chicago shock jock, invited women who were willing to divulge the details of their dalliances to call in to his show last Wednesday. Meanwhile, Chicago Sun-Times columnist Neil Steinberg, who was a guest on Dahls show, penned one of the years tawdriest columns, detailing one womans description of her affair with Greene.
But the press can only fixate on a sex scandal qua sex scandal for so long; even editors eventually end up feeling a little tawdry. So, not surprisingly, laffaire Greene has evolved from being a story about a moralizing columnists tryst with a teenager to a story about a venerable newspapers behavior when faced with a scandal in its midst.
The Tribune hasnt acquitted itself well. Forced to explain why it was getting rid of a columnist who seemingly hadnt broken any laws or codified newsroom rules, management insisted Greene wasnt fired, he quit. When asked why an outfit devoted to newsgathering was being so stingy with the facts, the Tribune said it had to respect the privacy of the people involved. And when queried as to why Greene wasnt forced out a long time ago if his behavior was so wrong, editors said, well, they never knew. Lets look at these, one by one.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.com ...
Shall I go on?
"Why, after 14 years, did a woman who seems to have had, at most, a handful of encounters with Greene, contact him? What did she want? Why did Greene call the FBI? What did the womans e-mail to the Tribunes tip line say?"
If Bob Greene were a "personality" at a major corporation (or a congressional Republican), the Tribune would be all over this story, and would never let go. Major hypocrisy!
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