The St. Petersburg Times ranks as one of the best daily newspapers in the U.S. Among Florida dailies, the
Times has long aimed at setting the standard for balance, community service and professional ethics. Mostly, they've succeeded.
Yesterday's Times editorial on the role of blogs in the American media nails it - and Gannongate as well.
The editorial is here, and here's a taste:
The news media have a credibility problem and bloggers, for all their excesses, have shown they have a role to play in holding mainstream journalists accountable.
You might want to email this one to Ann Coulter.
The Poynter Institute, which owns controlling interest in the
St. Pete Times, is a respected and influential journalism school. They publish
Romenesko, probably the leading professional journo blog. On the other hand, "Ethics Group Leader" and lecturer
Kelly McBride came under fire two weeks ago for initially shrugging off the Gannon story. She's since
broadened her perspective.
From the editorial:
Meanwhile, the casualty list in the war of the "bloggers" keeps growing. Bloggers uncovered the identity and background of James Guckert, a writer for a Web site run by a Republican activist who obtained press credentials from the White House over two years under the pseudonym Jeff Gannon. Guckert/Gannon came to public prominence after asking President Bush this loaded question about Democratic criticism of the president's proposed overhaul of Social Security: "How are you going to work with people who seem to have divorced themselves from reality?"
A field of mostly liberal bloggers soon piled on. Guckert had a history of asking Bush-friendly questions during press conferences. He had a habit of plucking long excerpts of White House press releases for his stories. His employer, the now-shuttered Talon News, mostly echoed GOP talking points and was edited by longtime Texas Republican Bobby Eberle Jr. As controversy over Guckert's assumed name grew, his real name was linked to the development of gay escort Web sites such as militaryescortsm4m.com. A Salon.com report noted another blogger has found explicit photos of Guckert online and evidence he offered services as an escort for $200 an hour.
Notice the way this sordid little story is presented? The Times gets it.