According to New York Times public editor Clark Hoyt, Times columnist Maureen Dowd disputes much of what Game Change claims about her and David Geffen -- and says the book's authors, Mark Halperin and John Heilemann, neither interviewed her nor checked all of their facts with her:
According to “Game Change,” Dowd persuaded Geffen to give her an interview by telling him that, when it was over, if he did not want her to use it, she would not. She read the finished column to Geffen, the book said, warned him it would be explosive and asked if he wanted to take back anything. If true, Dowd would, in effect, have surrendered editorial control to her source, an unacceptable situation.
The book also implied that Dowd attended a private $2,300-per-person Obama fund-raiser the following night. Afterward, it said, she was among a small group of 35 who “repaired to Geffen's mansion” for a dinner for the Obamas.
Dowd said it didn't happen that way. “I never gave David Geffen veto power over the column,” she said. She said she did not read the column to him, warn him that it would be explosive or ask if he wanted to take back his words, and she did not attend the Hollywood fund-raising event at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. She was a guest at the dinner later, she said, although the candidate's camp sought to have her barred.
Dowd said that, as is often her practice, she told Geffen which quotes she was using and checked them for accuracy and context. He had been unsure whether he wanted to say some of the things he told her but agreed to all of it, she said.
Geffen, who did not want to get embroiled in a controversy among journalists, would only say: “I don't think anyone imagines Maureen would allow anyone to edit her column. I certainly didn't.”
Dowd said the authors did not interview her for the book but that Halperin called at some point to “check a few - but not all - of the details.”
* The convoluted sourcing rules used by Halperin & Heilemann, in particular their bizarre explanation of how they came to quote Harry Reid, have inspired the derisive phrases "Halperin background" and "Halperin deep background." It may be time for “Halperin facts” -- things that might be true, but require blind faith in Mark Halperin.
Previously:
WaPo reviewer slams Game Change
Kurtz criticizes Game Change sourcing; will anyone defend Halperin & Heilemann?
Lowering the bar (Game Change edition)
Come back, Bob Woodward. Save us from Game Change journalism
The reviews are in: Game Change is “a 450-page version of Page Six.”
Veteran journalist blasts “convoluted” Halperin/Heilemann explanation of their ground rules