NYT: Working To Spin Distrust Of Media Into Votes

When The Los Angeles Times published articles just days before the California recall election detailing reports of inappropriate sexual behavior by Arnold Schwarzenegger, its editor steadfastly defended the timing.

"It is a paper's job to disclose anything it knows that bears on a candidate's fitness for office — before Election Day, not after," the editor, John Carroll, said.

But Republicans on talk radio, the Internet and some cable television talk shows accused the newspaper of shilling for Gov. Gray Davis. And many voters agreed. "This is a Davis ploy — he's the king of dirty tricks," one Schwarzenegger voter said, adding, "If anything, it made me want to vote for him more."

Mr. Schwarzenegger's election put more than incumbent politicians on notice. It also gave pause to the establishment news media, with implications that go beyond a single governor's race, political and media analysts said. Other candidates running as outsiders — like Howard Dean and Gen. Wesley K. Clark — are proving they can overcome potentially damaging coverage by positioning the news media as part of the establishment they are fighting.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/12/national/nationalspecial3/12MEDI.html

I wonder why news about Bush's AWOL history wasn't covered?

And this from the LA Times is mighty interesting considering an email conversation I had with one of its crack reporters last year regarding the conflict of interest posed by Daddy Bush's Carlyle Group and the Bush family's trust fund enriched by the war machine. The reporter told me that they could not report about the conflict of interest unless a Dem of standing made news about it. And (she said) no Dem was making noise about it.

PS, in re the conflict of interest issue:
I agree with you that Bush most assuredly is not getting the drubbing Clinton got. But, the Democrats have not appointed any special counsels to investigate and leak allegations about Bush. From DC, it looks like the Democratic leadership --and even poeple like Paul Wellstone-- have all signed on or shut up. I haven't heard a single public figure make charges like the ones in your letter, hence we have nothing to report on. That's not meant as a justification, just an explanation.

<snip>

In our democracy, it is often elected officials or other groups who raise issues, denounce conflicts of interest, or make evidence of wrongdoing available to the news media. My point is that the most liberal, anti-war officials (e.g. Wellstone) are not making the case you outline.
I'm happy to be the lone voice in the wilderness, raising issues that lawmakers won't, as long as I have evidence to support a story. But if our own reporting does not yield evidence, and nobody else provides any, there is no investigative body with subpoena power investigating, and we have no documents to support a news story, we don't write a news story.
However, the paper has the opinion pages, and the letters to the editors, where we welcome and print the views of many ordinary citizens. I urge you to raise your concerns there.

She mentions him twice as proof of her hypothesis, as if he were still alive and leading.

She made sense to me.

The failure is not with the media as much as with dem leadership.

When any liberal says or does anything - there are pukes giving news conferences and puke talking heads denouncing them at length. This has been going on for years. Plenty long enough for dems to put some counter-mechanism in place. Rich dems could sponsor liberal think tanks, start liberal publications, produce liberal pov movies and literature, etc.

I can only conclude that dem pols are not really "into" ideology. They'd rather play politics and react to the pukes and hope the pukes screw up enough that they can take advantage.

It is shameful.

and got away with it......it's the control of wealth (thus media outlets) that's the problem. mind you daschle, terry mcaulffe (sp) gephart, lieberman etc are a bunch of cowards.....but who knows how many headless kittens have been found on their doorstep?
i consider bush inc as nuremberg material (so maybe too angry to be commenting here!)

it is not newsworthy? They only print that which is 'official news'...now that is what newspapers are NOT supposed to represent ...the 'official line'...please explain to her her job is to delve into information that does NOT come from official persons and find out the REAL information!!! DUH!

Hmmm... me think this reporter should both go back to Civics class and read the obits.

Others already covered Sen. Wellstone in this thread. However I'll point out that Democrats cannot appoint special prosecutors or special councils. That's the job of the President and his Cabinet. The whole Senate is screaming for a special prosecutor for the leak probe and Ashcroft refuses. Sen Byrd has been screaming at the top of his lungs since Bush took office. So has Rep. Waxman. She wants evidence? It's everywhere. The Carlisle Group contracts, employees, and members of the board are public record. There's a whole documentary about the prisoners in Afghanistan we locked into trailers for days without water. Geez... there's documents that have been scanned and posted all over the net.

So she is both clueless and ignoring facts.

but one would only know it by watching C-Span. Without the power to convene committee's and investigations (hint: need to have a majority) and hold hearings - there is simply no media covering it. Now this reporter says well, gee, if they said something we would cover it. Helllooooooooo classic tree falling in the woods.

The Screw York Times invented Whitewater and lied any lie about Clinton, yet they ALWAYS give a pass to ANYONE with the magic (R) at the end of their names.

The Lies Angeles Times has learned their lesson, they have to go back to Rimming Arnold 24/7

This is a dittohead freeper type who doesn't care how bad of a Governer Arnold would make so to hell with him/her keep reporting the news! We need the truth to be coming from the media not just what ever helps some candidate or other.

Report the unbiased truth and let the voter do with it what they will!

"Republicans on talk radio, the Internet and some cable television talk shows accused the newspaper of shilling for Gov. Gray Davis." Now what do Republicans call "talk radio, the Internet and some cable television talk shows"?

The LA Times ran one negative Arnold story to go with the thousands of Davis bashing stories in all of the media, and somehow that was "dirty politics".

Arnold comparing California under Davis to Iraq wasn't dirty politics, but a newpaper reporting facts is dirty politics.

The right wing media has to be stopped or we are screwed.

and continues through Arnold's sexual battery. Nevermind the fact that Bush neglected to tell anyone about the fact that he was running for president and had been convicted of drunk driving. It was the "timing" of the relevation they attacked.

How can we win with thinking like that??? We can't when people flock like lemmings to the diversion.

Two years before Dubya was elected it was common knowledge he'd done serious amounts of coke in his life and they never asked about it.

will make californians wake up..... too bad it's too late