New York Times Reports Palin "Quote" About Africa was a Hoax
By now everyone has heard about the leak from a staffer in the John McCain campaign, that Governor Sarah Palin had to be told that Africa was a continent, not a country. Fox News initially reported the source of the story as an unnamed McCain campaign member. MSNBC did Fox one better; David Shuster, an MNBC anchor, reported, “Turns out it was Martin Eisenstadt, a McCain policy adviser, who has come forward today to identify himself as the source of the leaks.”Trouble is, as the New York Times now reports, there is no such person as Martin Eisenstadt. His existence, the supposed leak, and Governor Palin's remark about Africa were all a hoax.
One would have thought that the media's mauling of Governor Palin would have ended with the defeat of the McCain-Palin ticket. However, the media seems intent on destroying her future political prospects as well. Unfortunately, the revelation of the hoax will not get one-tenth of the publicity as the original false story.
UPDATE: HOT AIR reports that the fictional Martin Eisenstadt was not the source of the smear for Carl Cameron at Fox News, and so far at least Fox News is not retracting the original Carl Cameron report, even though MSNBC has retracted the story.
posted by The Kosher Hedgehog at 11:30 AM
|
9 Comments:
Much like the weapons of mass destruction were?
Anonymous, an excellent attempt to change the subject to something absolutely irrelevant. In a way, I am impressed.
The election is OVER, Can't we just let Sara Palin go? What kind of pets does Sara Palin's famiely have? Ask her some questions she might be happy to answer.Stop being so involved in her personal and political life.
So "the media" continues to attack Palin and McCain, yet you're relying on the NYT as a source for why the Africa leak is bogus. Is the NYT not part of "the media"?
MSNBC has retracted the story attributing the "Palin didn't know Africa was a continent" claim to the fictitious Eisenstadt. FNC is standing by Cameron's story on the grounds that an entirely different, existing source first gave him the claim. In other words, a false claim of responsibility from a non-existent source does not prove that another source does not exist or is lying.
Lesilie: If you read my update, which was posted before your comment, you will find that I report exactly what you state in your comment. However, I fully believe that Fox News will eventually retract as well. I do not quite understand the insistence of so many people on believing that Governor Palin is some sort of imbecile or ignoramus.
Keohane: I am really dismayed sometimes by the flawed logic displayed in the opposing comments posted on this blog. It truly seems sometimes that you people never read the original post. Yes, the New York Times is media. I never said or even suggested that the "media" only publishes attacks on McCain-Palin, or never publishes news stories about them. However, as the non-partisan Project for Excellence in Journalism documented, the ratio of unfavorable stories for John McCain was far higher than for Barack Obama, and that does not even take the stories on Sarah Palin into account. Moreover, as I expressly noted, the media will not give the "correction" regarding the "Africa" story a fraction of the play that the original story received.
Two things Kosh--
First off, you cite the study regarding the ratios of unfavorable stories for McCain and Obama during each of their respective campaigns. The obvious flaw in using that study as proof of bias is that it assumes both men are equal in ethics, actions, and reactions. McCain simply had more newsworthy negatives during his campaign. It would have been unethical for the press to overlook those negatives simply because Obama did not have as many.
And as for your comment regarding the correction not receiving "a fraction of the play" received by the orignal story...of course it won't. Corrections are always left for the end of publications or newscasts and given very little play. They are an embarassment, and also, not that interesting to viewers/subscribers. This is not a conspiracy to smear Palin. This is how corrections are handled no matter the subject.
Hey, Anonymous (the one whose comment posted Nov. 27): I love this explanation:
"McCain simply had more newsworthy negatives during his campaign."
For its blitheness, its simplicity, and its almost religious acceptance of the MSM point of view, your comment has taken the cake. Enjoy.
Post a Comment
<< Home