About us Login Get email updates
County Fair
Print

Howard the Duck

August 04, 2009 9:34 am ET by Jamison Foser

If you're a media critic with unlimited space, and one of the biggest media stories for going on three weeks has been a cable news host promoting phony racial conspiracy theories about the president, and a media watchdog organization has released an ad it plans to run during that host's show criticizing his promotion of those conspiracy theories, doesn't it look pretty strange if you don't cover the ad?

Now how does it look if you've steadfastly refused to criticize that cable news channel's president despite his false and misleading support for that host's conspiracy theorizing?

Now, how does it look if you get a paycheck from that cable news channel?

It looks like you're ducking your responsibilities as the Washington Post's media critic for fear of offending your bosses at CNN, that's how it looks.

UPDATE: That ad Howard Kurtz is ignoring?  Youtube viewers aren't ignoring it:

#3 - Most Viewed (Today) - News & Politics

#7 - Most Discussed (Today) - News & Politics

#10 - Most Viewed (Today)

#25 - Top Rated (Today) - News & Politics

#33 - Top Favorited (Today) - News & Politics

#83 - Most Discussed (Today)

Tags: The Washington Post, Howard Kurtz, CNN, Lou Dobbs

Support Our Work


Expand All Expand 1st Level Collapse All Add Comment
    • Author by Bad News (August 04, 2009 9:40 am ET)
         
      CNN's President is in a really bad Spot.
      He may have no choice but to let Lou Dobbs Report the News like a "Hippie On Pot"
      Lou Dobbs hates Obama, to hurt him has always been his Plan.
      Lets not forget Lou Dobbs once said "I Have No Use For The Man"

      Speak truth to power.


      Mr. News
      Report Abuse
    • Author by ForTheLoveOfEllipsis... (August 04, 2009 9:51 am ET)
         
      All this is quite true, Mr. Foser, but if the only possible sources of coverage for Kurtz' outright journalistic corruption are MMfA, The Nation magazine, Keith, Rachel, and Air America--with the entire remainder of the media either indifferent to or opposed to showing Dobby the CNN House Bigot in his true light, the right-wing (read here "nearly all") media win in a canter. The trick is to find ways to get such items as this out to the broadest possible audience...
      Report Abuse
      • Author by MM_JF (August 04, 2009 10:06 am ET)
           
        It might help if the Washington Post heard from readers. If you'd like to contact the Post's Ombudsman, you can do so here: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ombudsman-blog/

        Report Abuse
    • Author by seeryer (August 04, 2009 10:14 am ET)
         
      Just like everything else in DC, money talks and BS walks. In Kurtz's view, CNN talks (and shows the money) and integrity walks.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by MickD (August 04, 2009 10:25 am ET)
         
      He wants it to go away and then...someone forges a document. So HK gets to keep sweating in his hypocrisy.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by jpeagle21 (August 04, 2009 12:41 pm ET)
      1 4
      Awwwww, did he hurt your wittle feelings MMFA? Your web site doesn't justify any more news coverage than its gotten. No matter hom much you think it does?
      Report Abuse
      • Author by RABBITLUVR (August 04, 2009 2:37 pm ET)
           
        Bitter much?
        Report Abuse
      • Author by Meremark (August 04, 2009 2:54 pm ET)
           
        Very likely the storied "birther" girth is a phantasmagoria grown so at-large that even a mercenary troll patrol cannot keep down the corners of the rug trying to smother it.

        Since a reputable co-worker at the Post has now brought attention to the mud bath that is covering Kurtz's non-coverage, and so MMFA reports. Which brings forward commentary advancing the story through MMFA which otherwise perhaps would hardly appear.

        Report Abuse
      • Author by RABBITLUVR (August 04, 2009 2:56 pm ET)
           
        Here ya go, dummy...

        http://washingtonindependent.com/53722/david-bomford-talks-about-the-forgers-who-used-his-birth-certificate-to-smear-obama
        Report Abuse
    • Author by scootmandubious (August 04, 2009 5:40 pm ET)
         
      I think his name reads better this way:

      Coward Hurts
      Report Abuse

my.MediaMatters.org

Login  Sign Up

About the Blog

Feed Icon
  • County Fair is a media blog featuring links to progressive media criticism from around the Web as well as original commentary, breaking news and rapid response updates to major media events from Media Matters senior fellows and other staff.