Author of NYT tabloid story on Clintons has checkered record

http://mediamatters.org/items/200605240005
Author of NYT tabloid story on Clintons has checkered record

Summary: Patrick Healy, the author of a New York Times article purporting to examine the married life of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and former President Bill Clinton, wondered in a 2004 report whether Teresa Heinz Kerry, wife of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John F. Kerry (MA), was "a bit kooky" and openly questioned "what kind of marriage the Kerrys have" while filing other erroneous stories on the Democratic nominee that fueled Republican attacks. By contrast, Healy has let another prominent New Yorker and possible presidential contender, former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, escape similar personal probing in three recent stories.

Patrick Healy, the author of a front-page, above-the-fold May 23 New York Times article purporting to examine the married life of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and former President Bill Clinton, wondered in a 2004 report in The Boston Globe whether Teresa Heinz Kerry, wife of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John F. Kerry (MA), was "a bit kooky" and openly questioned "what kind of marriage the Kerrys have" while filing other erroneous stories on the Democratic nominee that fueled Republican attacks. By contrast, Healy has let another prominent New Yorker and possible presidential contender, former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, escape similar personal probing in three recent stories.

Healy, in his article, interviewed "some 50 people," conducted "a review of their respective activities," and revived unsubstantiated rumors of an affair between Bill Clinton and a Canadian politician -- rumors that Healy himself appeared to acknowledge are better suited to "the gossip pages." However, Healy has not turned a critical eye on the marriages of Republican presidential hopefuls, or explored how the spouses of Republican candidates may affect their political future. Since April, Healy has written three articles on Giuliani. While two of the articles made mention of the former mayor's divorces, none delved into the matter in any detail, much less subjecting Giuliani to the same level of scrutiny as the Clintons' marriage received in Healy's May 23 article. .......

Take Action!

Contact information:

The New York Times
Byron Calame, NY Times public editor
E-mail:public@nytimes.com
Phone: (212) 556-7652
Address: Public Editor
The New York Times
229 West 43rd St.
New York, NY 10036-3959

New York Times
letters@nytimes.com
executive-editor@nytimes.com
managing-editor@nytimes.com

:eyes:

Damn idiotic bogus tabloid writers!

The are full of pure B.S.....

"Patrick Healy's page one extravaganza on the Clinton marriage was an absurd waste of reporter time and front page space.

Not only was it inappropriate, but it contained no "news" whatsoever. It appears that its only purpose was to refresh the public's recollection of Monica Lewinsky and the impeachment trial and to plant, without documentation, a rumor of a Canadian intrigue.

Didn't the Times get enough Clinton bashing in during its reportage of the impeachment and Whitewater? Before starting a new investigation into a new non-event, wouldn't it be appropriate to apologize for all your false Whitewater coverage?

Why has no similar investigative story been run about Rudy Giuliani or George Bush? Oh, that's right, they are a protected species, they are Republicans."