So, is Kurtz going to get away with it? Where is the Outrage?

Last week, Howard Kurtz wrote a column in the Washington Post Strafing the Speaker (I route you to page 2 because that is where the peculiar content resides), in which he cites support for his (absurd) position from two blogs, with what he terms 'some typical blog reaction'.

Our own oznick stepped up almost immediately to point out in this excellent diary that the two blogs linked by Kurtz were (a) 1 and (b) 8 days old, and that oznick was unable to re-create any circumstances under which Kurtz might have discovered these 'typical reactions' by normal search or other processes. No way!

Here are oznick's conclusions:

It is possible that [Kurtz] found it through Google's Blog Search. But searching for 'Pelosi Plane' returns 3,079 hits and even after I went 28 pages in there has been no listing for PoliticalRetch.

It's disappointing to see that [Kurtz] didn't make a single mouseclick to check to see how legitimate the PoliticalRetch site was, even after he managed to score the incredible hole in one shot to find a newly created blog with exactly the opinion he was looking for.

That is, unless the blog was created for the article.

And that seems to be where the matter has rested.

That's not right, dammit! Kurtz has lied, and he needs to be called out!

Let me give you a bit of followup on the two blogs involved.  

Political Retch has proceeded to a second entry (in just 13 days!). In this second one, the proprietor 'Bobby G' - otherwise totally unidentified - continues with the journalistic excellence that must have drawn the similarly excellent Kurtz to him with a short entry noting

Pelosi allowed the Sargent [sic] at Arms to take the blame for the plane request and it seems to have worked for many people. Of course, you couldn't expect the calibre of people who support her to be capable of seeing much beyond the end of their nose to begin with. [Emphasis added]

Wow! This is a drudge in the making!

But Radiant Times, which belongs to ... wait for it ... 'Radiant', who describes him/herself as 'a choral director specializing in working with singers with changing voices', has broken ranks!

While posting almost daily about the movies s/he watches and the kids and (of course) 'finish[ing] my trill paper', Radiant has offered this:

My blog was quoted with another, probably fake, blog last week in the Washington Post article by Howard Kurtz. The potentially fake blog, "Political Retch", has very little information. At least the creator had the wherewithal to make a second posting - just as inflammatory as the first - to try to legitimize his (Bobby G.'s) place in the blog world. I was not proud to be in the same article with him.

But as for new bloggers like myself, don't brush us off. We see the potential of this medium to reach the millions who wander into cyberspace ... [blah blah blah]

'Mark' even inquired at RT

I would like to know if you can tell me how Howard Kurtz came to cite your blog? It appears to be only a week or so old with nothing to suggest that a mainstram media reporter could have access to it. I couldn't find it in searches or Technorati (save for references to this new story) and I knew it existed.

to which Radiant responded somewhat disingenuously

Mark, I have no clue unless it was by Technorati Tags.

Okay. Deep breath. Let's deal with the fact of the matter.

Howard Kurtz has been playing us, and he's getting away with it, and we're letting him get away with it.

Here is the e-mail for Deborah Howell, the WaPo ombudsman:

[e-mail]

Let's let her know that this behavior by Howard Kurtz is both unethical and intolerable.

Let's not let Kurtz get away with this. Don't you agree?

•  I'm mad as hell and I'm not taking it any more!

  Plus, I just hate being played for a sucker!

  You?

  by Clem Yeobright on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 06:02:49 PM PDT

  •  And, it would be a good way for these

    rat bastids to discredit bloggers.

    by Friend of the court on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 06:41:29 PM PDT

    •  I don't have a blog

      so I don't understand the sensitivities of those who do; for example, the blogroll hoo-hah went right over my head.

      Still, Kurtz has behaved very cynically.  I thought this would blow up a week ago. I haven't heard back from Howell on my complaint though, so maybe nobody really expects anything more...

      by Clem Yeobright on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 06:44:35 PM PDT

  •  Hey Clem.

    I'm the Mark that engaged Radiant at her blog. She was polite and, apparently, as confused as we are. I also left a comment at Political Retch, but the site is moderated and my comment (or any other) never showed up.

    I've sent two emails to Kurtz and tried to get him to address this on his online chat. I also sent an email to Deborah Howell, WaPo's ombud. I haven't received responses from any of them.

    This just gets smellier. The only way Kurtz could have known about Retch was if he was told personally, or if it IS him. Even if he was told about it, wouldn't he go to see it and find that it was just created and had a single post?

    I'm not through with them. I want answers.

    By the way, I think Roger Ailes (not the real one) gets credit for digging this up.
    .

    by KingOneEye on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 06:42:51 PM PDT

    •  Excellent!

      Let's not let this go.  You do the next diary, and e-mail me when you do.

      Oznick did a heckuva job on the first day.

      by Clem Yeobright on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 06:46:09 PM PDT

    •  didn't he say something about it on his

      chat?  Something about little known blogs deserving attention too?  I'll try to find it.

      This is what I was thinking of from Feb 12, the day after his original column...

      Sterling, Va.: From your column today:

      "I often try to look for average bloggers in their pajamas (or dorm rooms or wherever) rather than just stick with the top 100."

      Wow, condescend much? I guess it isn't possible that a forty-something father who is working a full-time job and trying to raise a family with a child suffering from autism could possibly care enough about his country and world to blog. Take a look at the pictures of various blog communities, they look just like any other cross section of America (despite what your stereotype would suggest).

      Howard Kurtz: Just having a little fun, but unfortunately you took that entirely the wrong way. I was explaining why I think it's worth quoting average bloggers who don't necessarily have a big following. There are an unbelievable number of smart or interesting people out there, putting their thoughts on the Net, and sometimes I do searches just to find out what these off-the-radar folks are saying.

      Not exactly addressing the issue, but it might have something to say about the putz's mindset.

      by dougymi on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 07:16:54 PM PDT

      •  Thanks

        I looked for something like that but obviously didn't look hard enough ...

        by Clem Yeobright on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 07:19:17 PM PDT

      •  That's the chat I tried to ask questions for.

        His answer completely avoids the points of controversy. These were not "average bloggers who don't necessarily have a big following." They were almost entirely invisible. One had existed for only 24 hours. How did Kurtz stumble on that site when it was not in Google, Technorati, or any other search facility? And why would he cite it even if he did stumble onto it?

        He needs to answer those questions.

        by KingOneEye on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 07:36:15 PM PDT

•  Who The Hell

  Cares what COL Kurtz thinks?  Besides, didn't he get killed at the end of the movie?

  by vetman on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 06:21:36 PM PDT

  •  It was a short novel before it was a movie

    Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. In Conrad's work it is: "Mistah Kurtz - he dead."

    by Chas56 on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 06:40:18 PM PDT

  •  In Howie's honor...

    The horror whore.

    by KingOneEye on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 06:46:10 PM PDT

    •  KingOneEye

      Wouldn't that be: the Jeff Gannon?

      by Carnacki on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 07:15:49 PM PDT

  •  Even the jungle wanted him dead

    and that's who he really rook his orders from.

    by Snarcalita on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 09:40:34 PM PDT

•  Here's another take you might consider

  Why go after the blogs that are "off the radar" when you can get high traffic sites with plenty of informed content?  Seems like a lot of work for low yield.

  However, there is one benefit for surfing these outcroppings.  If you lift the content of a nobody...who is going to know you lifted it?

  Someone might want to run Kurtz's columns through Turnitin or some other plagiarism software.  You might turn up some interesting stuff.

  by 8ackgr0und N015e on Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 07:35:21 PM PDT