Free Republic

...Late this morning, DrudgeReport.com alleged that a new scandal was about to rock the campaign of Democratic frontrunner John Kerry: some sort of purported recent marital "infidelity" that involved a woman who once worked for the Associated Press, and has now supposedly "fled the country." ...[snip] Reached by E&P for comment, AP spokesman Jack Stokes said, "We simply don't comment on stories we are pursuing or not pursuing." Leonard Downie Jr., executive editor of The Washington Post, acknowledged that his staff had begun to dig deeper into the life and career of Kerry, but said he had not heard anything...

WASHINGTON - A Pulitzer Prize-winning music critic for The Washington Post has apologized for sending an angry e-mail in which he called District of Columbia Council member Marion Barry a "crack addict." Tim Page wrote to Barry's aide last week after receiving a press release about the former mayor's views on the financially troubled Greater Southeast Community Hospital. "Must we hear about it every time this crack addict attempts to rehabilitate himself with some new — and typically half-witted — political grandstanding?" the e-mail said. "I'd be grateful if you would take me off your mailing list. I cannot think...

This is an excerpt from a Washington Post article published back in March.The piece concerned the onset of FBI investigations into the egregious leaks of national security secrets at that time, including the "CIA prisons" and the NSA's monitoring of Al Qaeda calls.(This investigation probably lead to the the firing of the Washington Post's Dana Priest presumed source for her Pulitzer Prize winning articles on the "CIA prisons" -- CIA officer Mary McCarthy.)But the comments expressed in the article by the Washington Post's executive editor Leonard Downie seem to perfectly exemplify the hubris felt by the Post, the New York...

The following letter is being sent to Leonard Downie, Executive Editor of the Washington Post. If you wish to support this letter, please e-mail the Washington Post at: 1. Letters to the Editor: letters-at-washpost.com 2. Michael Getler, Ombudsman E-mail: ombudsman-at-washpost.com ================================================== December 24, 2004 Leonard Downie, Jr. Executive Editor The Washington Post 1150 15th Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20071 Dear Mr. Downie: I am writing on behalf of the National Coalition of Free Men – DC Chapter to express our numerous concerns with the Washington Post’s recent series on Maternal Homicide. The series, written by Donna St. George and others,...

Joe Strupp says this "secret arrangement" began in the early 1990s. "It seemed logical, because for years we would always try to get a copy of each other's papers as soon as they came out," says Post executive editor Leonard Downie Jr. "It made sense to both of us to make it simpler for everybody."

NEW YORK Managing Editor Paul Steiger of The Wall Street Journal and Executive Editor Leonard Downie Jr. of The Washington Post were both asked to be part of last weekend's unique joint Op-Ed piece by the editors of The New York Times and Los Angeles Times, which defended the publication of stories about the secret SWIFT bank monitoring program, E&P has learned. But each declined. "We had talked about doing something together," Steiger said. "But when I looked at it and thought about it, our position was so different from theirs -- that nobody asked us not to publish [our...

Post Discusses Circulation, Diversity By Frank Ahrens Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, November 19, 2004; Page C03 Washington Post Executive Editor Leonard Downie Jr. met with hundreds of newsroom staffers yesterday to outline management's latest attempts to combat declining circulation. However, the more intense discussion at the meeting involved diversity at the newspaper, as several minority staff members lamented that a white man recently was chosen over a woman and a black man as the paper's new managing editor. Philip Bennett, assistant managing editor for foreign news, who is white, was selected by Downie to be the paper's No. 2...

A succession of well-publicized missteps by the news media in recent years -- from misrepresentation of facts and questionable reporting methods to outright fabrication and plagiarism -- has understandably shaken public trust in the media. The Washington Post, like several other large news organizations, has responded by reviewing our policies on accuracy, fairness and our relationships with news sources and readers. We have spent several months on this effort and recently produced a restatement of our policies covering, among other things, reporting techniques, use of direct quotations, attribution of information, use of confidential sources and corrections of our mistakes. We...

Mr. Leonard Downie, Executive Editor Mr. Michael Getler, Ombudsman The Washington Post On October 27, 2004 Washington Post executive editor Leonard Downie Jr. penned an op-ed entitled, “A Strict Separation”. Therein Mr. Downie, the self-described “ultimate gatekeeper” (Post, “Live Online” 10/6/04) for everything printed in the newspaper, reassures readers that there is what amounts to a Chinese wall between the editorial and news reporting departments at the Post. Mr. Downie’s op-ed has a pedantic, just-for-the-record, ‘let’s get this straight’ flavor. The purpose for the article is to stipulate that the home-stretch flurry of political endorsements by the Post has nothing...

Swapping Scoops: Every Night the 'NY Times' and 'Wash Post' Exchange Front Pages for the Following Day Leonard Downie, Jr. By Joe Strupp Published: September 14, 2005 10:30 AM ET updated 4:30 PM NEW YORK When The New York Times on July 16 broke the story of a 2003 State Department memo that had become a key element in the Valerie Plame leak investigation, the paper scored a major exclusive. But when The Washington Post hit newsstands that very same Saturday, it had its own version of the same story. It even credited the Times for the same-day scoop. Welcome...

'Post' Editor Hits 'Criminalization' of Leaks to Media Len Downie Published: April 22, 2006 10:45 AM ET WASHINGTON The CIA fired a top intelligence analyst who admitted leaking classified information that led to a Pulitzer Prize-winning story about a network of secret CIA prisons, government officials say. The officer was a senior analyst nearing retirement, Mary McCarthy, The Associated Press learned. Reached Friday evening at home, her husband had no comment. The Post's Dana Priest won a Pulitzer Prize this week for her reporting on a covert prison system set up by the CIA after Sept. 11, 2001, that at...

11/14/2006 5:40:17 PM November 14, 2006 To: Newsroom staff From: Len Downie Phil and I met yesterday with the newsroom's senior editors to discuss proposals and make decisions as we continue to transform our newsroom, the newspaper and our relationship with washingtonpost.com. We have much more to do to maximize readership of the printed newspaper, build audience on the Web site and further reduce costs in the newsroom. As you have noticed from developments at other newspapers, readership and economic challenges remain daunting. Our goal is to be the one newsroom that does this right. We must produce high quality,...

As Washington Post reporters gird themselves for today’s 3 pm meeting with executive editor Leonard Downie, they use four words to describe the mood of the newsroom: Anxious. Depressed. Restless. Angry. And for good reasons. A month ago Downie issued a memo saying the Post would have to “shrink the newsroom staff” and “renovate sections” and tighten the news hole. Translation: fewer reporters writing shorter stories at different assignments. Then earlier this week New York Times media writer David Carr, in a column about Washington Post Company head Don Graham, said, “Newsroom layoffs of an unspecified number are in the...

October 20, 2004 Mr. Leonard Downie, Jr., Executive Editor Mr. Michael Getler, Ombudsman The Washington Post “The story is a legend now, but it really did happen.” So begins page one of The News About The News: American Journalism in Peril, the book co-authored (with Post colleague Robert Kaiser, 2002) by Leonard Downie, Jr., an omnibus review of the condition of American news media. The legend referred to is Watergate. Mr. Downie reminisces about the unfolding of the Watergate saga—he had a ringside seat as the direct supervisor of Woodward and Bernstein at the time--and the Post’s role in driving...

NEW YORK In a surprising memo to staffers today, Leonard Downie, Jr., executive editor, announced several general and specific shakeups "to maximize readership of the printed newspaper, build audience on the Web site and further reduce costs in the newsroom." This includes a plan to "shrink" the newsroom, "tightening up the paper's news hole," cracking down on story length and moving reporters and editors "within and among staffs." The Post is now suffering from regular circulation declines. Downie called it nothing less than an "opportunity to transform journalism for a new era." He added that it is "the most important...

The Post's editor had a R-rated encounter with a drag queen during a Post party this month—but so far the photos have stayed private. Journalists get the occasional juicy and anonymous letter. Most are titillating but not worth publishing or broadcasting. The letter in large type about a party hosted by the Washington Post photography staff seemed to fit the second category: It mentioned in paragraph three that Post executive editor Len Downie was “the recipient of a lap dance and breasts in his face” by one of the party’s entertainers—who were drag queens! Too good to be true? A...

It appears that the Huffington Post isn’t just upsetting people for its often uncouth and liberal take on the day’s news. Now people are getting irritated with its willingness to reprint other outlet’s content with offering minimal credit. And so goes the view of former Washington Post editor Leonard Downie, Jr., author of “The Rules of the Game” During his remarks at the James Cameron Memorial Lecture at London’s City University on Sept. 22, Downie gave his view of “the new news” and offered a harsh critique of the Huffington Post. He explained operations like HuffPo operate on the cheap....

As Washington Post staffers reached the deadline to decide whether they would take buyouts, newsroom sources confirmed that WaPo Executive editor Leonard Downie will retire no later than inauguration day, 2009. An announcement could come as early as today. Former International Tribune editor David Ignatius and post managing editor Phil Bennett are the leading inside candidates to succeed Downie, who has been paper's top editor since 1991, when he succeeded Ben Bradlee. Many of Bennett's colleagues described him as "moody," and he may have suffered from backing Susan Glasser to become the assistant managing editor for national news. Glasser was...

Leonard Downie Jr. said today he is stepping down as The Washington Post's executive editor, ending a 17-year tenure in which the paper became a major online force and won a slew of prizes for high-profile investigations, including one that Downie published over President Bush's objections. Downie, 66, said his last day will be Sept. 8. The paper's new publisher, Katharine Weymouth, said she plans to announce a successor soon. "After 44 years, the notion of not working in the newsroom anymore brings a lot of emotions," Downie said in an interview. "I will really miss it . . ....

For the past five years, beginning with his first presidential campaign, Barack Obama has promised that his government would be the most open and transparent in American history. Recently, while stating that he makes “no apologies” for his Justice Department’s investigations into suspected leaks of classified information, the president added that “a free press, free expression and the open flow of information helps hold me accountable, helps hold our government accountable and helps our democracy function.” Then, in his National Defense University speech Thursday, Obama said he was “troubled by the possibility that leak investigations may chill the investigative journalism...