Redstate

Posted at 1:30pm on Apr. 21, 2008 Does WaPo fact-check front page stories?

An update on a non-news front page story

By Soren Dayton

Yesterday, I criticized WaPo's front page story about John McCain's temper.

I have several quick updates. First, Matt Lewis notes that it is odd that "bitter-gate" was A4 and a week-long story that will be a dominant theme of the campaign.

Second, I noted that the stories seemed old. Well, Jake Tapper notes that he first broke the story in the lede in ... 1999.

Third, the Corner reports Salter's criticism of the report.

But the tastiest is that Michael Leahy and his editors didn't actually fact-check the story. Check out what Fox's Carl Cameron found out:

Bogus facts. Clearly biased editorial decisions. Selective quotation. Old stories. Not a story. Michael Leahy and his editors should know better and be ashamed of themselves.

Posted in 2008 | Media Bias | Michael Leahy | Washington Post — Comments (9)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 12:31pm on Apr. 20, 2008 WaPo: A question of newsiness

Wishing it so; Trying to make it so

By Soren Dayton

The Washington Post's Michael Leahy ran a front-page story about John McCain's temper that they thought was about his temperament. In fact, they called it "A Question of Temperament".

But shouldn't Leahy and his editors asked "A Question of Newsiness?" Is there really a story here, much less a front page story? And if not, what does it tell us about the Washington Post? So let's review the facts in the story.

First, there is an argument with Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) from 1992! Wow. That one was racing to get out.

Then there's a story from McCain's high school years. 1954, 1989, "the early 90s", 1982, and a couple more from early on.

Oh, and there were two widely reported stories from 2006 and 2007.

Perhaps tellingly, Leahy says, "According to aides, McCain's frequent comments about his temperament reflect a recognition that the issue persists for some voters and the media." The media wants to tell a story about John McCain... But there's not news to tell.

Read on.

Posted in Archived | John McCain | Media Bias | Michael Leahy | Washington Post — Comments (9)/ Email this page » / Read More »