I've previously noted that Howard Kurtz is apparently incapable of understanding very straightforward questions -- or unwilling to do so -- posed to him during his weekly online Q&A sessions. Here's another example, from earlier today:

State Dinner Gate Crashers: Ethics question regarding that couple that crashed the WH dinner...I understand it's news about the security breach, etc., etc. ...BUT, it seems they did it for the attention and the spotlight, and even a friend has been quoted as saying they are enjoying the media attention...Is there ever a discussion as to whether, while reporting the story, newcasts should refrain from showing their pictures? I mean, when someone rushes on the field at a sports event, the practice has been for some time NOT to show them on TV so as not to encourage/reward that behavior....In short, could this story be covered with out giving the couple the screen time they are craving? I for one feel like the newscasts should now decline to show the footage of them inside or their Facebook pages....seems like they are being rewarded for a dumb stunt..

Howard Kurtz: Yes, the media have made them into instant celebrities, beyond what is necessary to cover the security breach that required the Secret Service to apologize. But the Salahis, with their tangled history, are also an interesting story. No question this was overplayed over a slow holiday weekend. But I must say, having been out of town to visit family, that there is a heckuva lot of interest in them among ordinary folks who aren't obsessed with politics. [Emphasis added]

Notice that Kurtz doesn't come within a mile of actually addressing the question? And why not? It isn't a particularly controversial one; it doesn't directly challenge Kurtz's own performance or that of his employers (we know he ducks those questions.) There's no reason not to address it. But this happens all the time.

I can only assume he is either incapable of understanding straightforward and reasonable questions about the media (in which case you have to wonder why two of the nation's leading news organizations pay him good money to write and talk about the media) or he has nothing but contempt and disinterest for his readers, and doesn't bother to look at what they're actually asking (in which case you have to wonder why he does these Q&As at all.)

In any case, it does nothing to help the public's understanding of the news media for the nation's most prominent media critic to be so incapable of dealing with straightforward questions.