There is a decidedly different tone this morning from Brad Blog now that Palin's camp is using words like "Attorney" and "charges."
A diary on Friday alerted Kossacks to an Alaskan blogger that led to the well known Brad bragging about exclusives and such.
I'd expect another shoe to drop very soon here...Looking into it...More shortly...
But now that the big boys are jumping into the game, Brad seems to be roaring less, and mewing a little more.
Though the words "fact" and "under federal investigation" are quoted directly, Van Flein does not cite the sources of those quotations.
Also...
While The BRAD BLOG was not directly named in Palin's rebuttal statement, Alaskan journalist Shannyn Moore, a blogger at Huffington Post (and occasional guest blogger at The BRAD BLOG) who served, as we noted, as one of our sources for some of our reportage on this matter Friday, is mentioned --- and threatened --- directly in the Governor's statement.
Let's be honest Brad. Your...reportage...Friday was based almost exclusively on Ms. Moore's announcements. I mean, did someone pick up the phone, call directory assistance and ask for a number for F-B-I before saying what they thought the FBI might be doing? Do we think so little of our blog sites that we think no one from the FBI would ever bother to read our stuff? C'mon. Give yourself some credit!
I love your work, Brad. Your Anne Coulter expose was legendary. But when you freely reprinted Alaskan journalist Shannyn Moore's words ... you did precisely the same thing. You quoted directly without citing sources. You don't get a pass by now not standing behind the story and pointing to another source. That's not how journalism works. You verify the story first, before you print it, so you don't have to go back later and pretend like you had nothing to do with the groundswell around the story.
I can understand that now that federal authorities are denying Ms. Moore's assertions that an investigation is underway makes pushing this story scarier, and come with greater risks - especially if you get it wrong. And I hope to god you don't back off rigorously investigating this story just because some fed cops are flashing their badges.
But this is what makes blogging the butt of Randi Rhodes jokes when she was telling her former listeners that she never even bothers to read words printed on sites like your's and Daily Kos.
Verify first ... rather than distance and retract later.
Nobody wants to see this Mountain Cow go down in humiliating flames more than I do. Lets just please make sure they're flames that a thimble full of water can't put out, please?
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