Reluctance Of MSM To Cover Edwards Affair Becomes A Story Itself

New York Times:

For almost 10 months, the story of John Edwards's affair remained the nearly exclusive province of the National Enquirer -- through reports, denials, news of a pregnancy, questions about paternity and, finally, a slapstick chase through a hotel in Beverly Hills.

Political blogs, some cable networks and a few newspapers reported on it -- or, more accurately, reported on The Enquirer reporting on it. Jay Leno and David Letterman made Mr. Edwards the butt of jokes on their late-night shows, but their own networks declined to report on the rumors surrounding him on the evening news. Why?

Read the whole story: New York Times

Comments

[kennedy]

The MSM is lying and that is the bottom line.

[kennedy]

The biggest story the MSM is covering up is Obamas slick past.

Sex and a love child are huge stories.

And the truth is coming out very, very soon.

[PurplePhase]

I rarely defend the MSM but I am compelled to in this case because the NY Times omitted one very important point. It was implicitly stated but should have been explicit.

The Inquirer practices checkbook journalism. They pay sources for their information and past experience shows that sources lied to get the money. Money was exchanged in the Edwards story between the Inquirer and sources. For that reason and the Inquirer's reputation, the MSM is more careful with stories broken by the Inquirer.

[amst]

By the title of this article, I assume it's to make the public actually think they are fair and unbaised in their reporting. Give me a break. They only swing one-way and that's to the right. They need not start acting "honorable" now because they didn't jump on this story.

[exhaustedrooster]

pretty simple folks, the stories that will wake the ordinary citizens (the ones that watch the MSM) up. are simply being not reported. hmmm leads one to beleive that there is in fact an orchestrated agenda by a small group with the clout to NOT PUBLISH anything that would tend to put a damper on thier plans for us.

[RRK70]

Sad. The NYT used to be such a great paper.

Other stories getting enough coverage:
-McCain's history if infidelities
-FAKED CIA documents tying Iraq to al-Queda
-Russia at war with Georgia
-Karl Rove in contempt of Congress
-the anthrax case

[GypsyRose]

Gee, the NY Times reporting on a story that's already been reported on because they didn't want to report on but now they're reporting on the MSM (including NYT) not reporting on it because the NE beat them to the punch but the bad MSM TV networks, that the NYT is trashing, didn't report it first so there!
Got It?

NYT = LOSERS = COWARDS

[CeeLee]

Too bad the MSM (ABC,NBC,CBS,CNN, FOXNEWS ,MSNBC, AND ALL OF THEIR LOUDMOUTH SELF SERVING PUNDITS) including the National Enquirer NEVER covered the Bush Administration and their LIES and the documented CRIMINAL activities leading up to the WAR with the same GUSTO they are doing after the fact about Edwards. They ALL did NOTHING to accurately report the NEWS. THEY STILL GIVE BUSH, CHENEY and MCCAIN a PASS on EVERY LIE they TELL and EVERY ILLEGAL activity they are up to their necks in.

[amst]

Amen to that CeeLee. Nothing in this article leads me to respect the MSM to any degree. I don't know their reasons for not publishing right away and doubt any reason they may give.

Also note, the MSM doesn't or won't discuss the same 'sin" on Mr. McCain's part. An JohnBoy IS running for President.

Too bad we can't start a "public" investivating team, where everyday Joes like us can do the MSM's job. I hear even the foreign presses are amazed at the insiginificant stories that are headlines here in the U.S. I suppose too, as hard as it is to admit, there are ignorant, gullible Americans who love these stories. But damn!!!!! Our country is going to hell in a handbasket and NOBODY is speaking out or covering it.

[mshazen]

They probably don't want to cover it because then they would have to start talking about their golden boy McCain.

[edgarallenpoe]

We need more press coverage of the press coverage of the press coverage.

[mediamarv]

mediamatters.com (or org?) is a good place to start. I email stories from there everyday it seems. Keep those stories circulating on the web and any google search by a wannabe journalist (which seems to comprise the majority these days) will produce enough hits to force them to deal with it... I hope anyway.

[raker]

Not that long ago, the scandal would have been the MSM's eagerness to splash sex-scandal headlines across their front pages. Today, the scandal is their holding back.

It was better then. The news is dead. It's worse than dead, because we're left with the obnoxious ghosts of the news industry, the loathsome Toady Show and Nightline and Meet the Press and The Katie Couric Show Starring Miss Katie Couric and the execrable cable news networks, headed by the poisonous drivel of CNN. Our country's being destroyed for the benefit of industry, but we get "news" about politicians getting laid. Another proud day for America.

[uheardme]

The National Enquirer PAYS FOR ITS INFORMATION. If someone wanted to give me 100K to say I saw Tator getting a BJ from Newt Gringrich in a Wendy's parking lot. I would take the money and tell them where, how, why, and what happened.

In this case, the MSM did the right thing by waiting until this story was confirmed by a reputable source. The Enquirer on occasion gets it right. But what's just as important is HOW the sources were developed and HOW the story was "investigated", not just the story itself.

[Tator]

After reading about this for days you moonbats still do not get the significance of this "story". History will record Edwards will be forgotten (just another slimeball politician), but what will be remembered is how the MSM put up a "cone of silence" to protect a Liberal Democrat. Any half honest Liberal will see the blatant bias demonstrated by the MSM on this story. Had it been a Republican the coverage would have been 180 degrees different.

Why is this so significant? Because by the time the MSM was shamed into reporting this story almost every regular American had already heard about it. Far more references were made about the MSM running interference for a Liberal Democrat, bending over backwards to protect him. They went to such extremes as sites like the Dailykos to censor its site and not allow any discussion on the subject (and moonbats what folks like those to run things)...talk about bringing back tactics of Joseph Goebbels.

Thanks to Limbaugh and others like him, 40 years of MSM information control has slowly eroded and with this story will be the one "the common everyday American" saw blatant, intentional, coordinated effort of the MSM to control information and protect a fellow Democrat.

Edwards will be forgotten.....the actions of the MSM will be referenced for a very long time....and it is a wonderful thing to see.

[trollsbwild]

The MSM have not been reporting the news for quite some time. Where was your outrage over the coverage of the war? The non reporting of alleged acts and being too cowardly to ask any questions to this WH?
Oh, you only becomes angry only when it involves Dems.
Spare me about Rush. The man has no character. How many marriages, his oxycotin habit, and his blatant lies all in the name of keeping the precious GOP in power?
In case you haven't figured it out yet, DC- both parties are all bought and sold ten times over. The system is rigged against an honest man to be able to maintain a decent standard of living. Corruption is rampant. This culture has got to change or we are DOOMED.

WAKE UP!

[RRK70]

Compare the attention Edwards is getting with McCain's infidelities and Giuliani's.
Compare Spitzer's dealings with a prostitute to Vitter's.

How you can claim that that the media is easy on Democrats is ridiculous at face value.

If the MSM ever practiced such vigilance regarding the Bush Administration thousands of lives could be saved. But what's that compared to the affair of an ex-candidate? I guess you have to have your priorities.

[research]

covering up Edwards infidelity story would benefit the Conservatives! Duh. don;t all you conservatives wish Edwards had won the nomination? This story would be crushing for the dems in that case. The MSM is the conservative plutocracy's propaganda subsidiary.

Read " The Republican Noise Machine".

[partyofone]

I think it is admirable that the MSM did not descend into tabloid frenzy with Huffpo and the National inquirer. Voters did not chose John Edwards as a candidate for president, and he is no longer an elected official.

We are in a trillion dollar war that has killed 4,000 soldiers, countless Iraqis, and ruined millions of lives. We are there because of official lies made by the Bush administration, aided by the media. who accepted and repeated them with no scrutiny. New reports of documents fabricated to make the case for war go virtually unreported. If true, these are allegations of IMPEACHABLE offenses.

Yet, we get Edawards affair and lies as 24-7 coverage. What exactly does that stroy have to do with the future of our natio?

The blogospher has become as distorted, distracting and lacking as the MSM.

[mshazen]

I really don't think they are being admirable, they just don't want to have to cover McCain's affair, it would be talked about if they over blew this story.

[DaOne]

Worth a read

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/aug/07/usa.uselections2008

[SaddieMcCall]

The New York Times got beat up pretty bad for its story about McCain's campaign managers for his 2000 election not trusting McCain's judgment in permitting Vicki the lobbyist to be constantly on the campaign trail with him. They intervened and chased her off due to the appearance of her being constantly with her - and her using her accessibility to McCain to tout her worth as a lobbyist. A lot of people suggested that the newspaper suggested an affair - when it only told of the campaign's concerns of McCain's judgment to have her around.

[uheardme]

The NYT pull the trigger TOO EARLY on that story. VICKY ISEMAN will come back to haunt John McCain.