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Leakers Have Agendas—That Journos Hide

From gossip to war, the press is too kind to its sources

By Jason Farago, Newser Staff

Posted Sep 28, 2009 7:58 AM CDT

(Newser) – In the past few days the New York Times and Washington Post broke three major stories with the help of leaks: John Edwards' readiness to declare paternity, Stanley McChrystal's blunt assessment of the Afghanistan war, and Barack Obama's intervention in the New York governor's race. For Post media columnist Howard Kurtz, they all raised questions of propriety and influence. "None acknowledged the elephant-in-the-room question of whose agenda was being advanced through these leaks," he writes.

The Edwards article, on page one, may have been stoking interest in an upcoming book, while Bob Woodward's McChrystal exclusive, which may have helped the White House, left the Pentagon "frankly disgusted." The New York story may be most shocking of all: "senior administration officials" speaking "on condition of anonymity" were able to knife David Paterson without any attribution. For Kurtz, it's another case of journalists "erring on the side of keeping readers in the dark about those pulling the strings offstage."

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In this Sept. 21, 2009 file photo, President Barack Obama, right, is greeted by New York Gov. David Paterson as he arrives in Albany, NY. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink, File)

In a June 2, 2009 file photo Lt. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta/file)

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The story served as a neon sign for Democrats thinking of backing Andrew Cuomo in the 2010 race. But why should the Times have allowed the Obama team to disparage Paterson without a single official putting his name to the hit job? -

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COMMENTS

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Showing 3 of 3 comments

Derni

Sep 28, 2009 3:17 AM CDT

Anyone that knows about ploitics-especially 30 years ago when the press was kept at a distance saw leaks-they were either done on purpose-someone had an agenda or by an internal leak that had his/her own motive-things are basuically the same-the only difference-the immediacy of the media and the internet

Toon

Sep 28, 2009 2:45 AM CDT

??? What is leftist about journalist hiding Bush flunkies motives? Its simple laziness. You could be more honest and get fewer tips from leakers and do a lot of investigating or you could go easy on tipsters and have them give you most of a story on a platter. It cost corporations less to do the latter. It has been happening for decades but it comes from a profit motive not a political bias.

Dr.Y.Dino

Sep 28, 2009 2:33 AM CDT

This isn't news. It's been happening on a regular basis for decades. It is a staple of the Leftist MSM.

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Politics • Media

John Edwards • New York Times • Washington Post • Bob Woodward • American media • press leaks • David Paterson • Stanley McChrystal • Howard Kurtz

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Leakers Have Agendas—That Journos Hide