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Today on DN one of the stories is on the new appointment for the Secreatry of Internal (aka Homeland) Security.
One of the guests wrote an article that will be publised in the LA Weekly tomorrow. Here is the complete text of the article from the author's (Doug Ireland) blog:
The Bush White House thinks they're being clever by naming a prosecutor instead of a criminal to head the Department of Homeland Security: Mike Chertoff, whose appointment as DHS czar in the wake of the failed nomination of scandal-plagued Bernie Kerik (now under investigation by multiple law-enforcement agencies) was announced as the Weekly went to press. But Chertoff is as political an appointment as one can imagine--especially for those who know the arcana of politics in New Jersey, where Chertoff was U.S. Attorney, and where his naming to the DHS job caused jaws to drop.
Author's blog (Ireland)
Ireland, from the DN interview:
One of Chertoff's dirty little secrets, that I haven't yet seen in any of the coverage except my piece in the LA Weekly, is Chertoff's very close friendship with former senator Bob Torricelli. You'll recall that Torricelli, a democrat, was chased from office and forced to resign in a corruption scandal which -- in which he was accused of taking bribes from a convicted felon. At the time Chertoff was the US federal attorney in Newark, New Jersey, and it's -- his friendship with Torricelli was notorious in fact.
DN (Ireland)
Compare this to some of the coverage in other news media:
Judge Chertoff has a well-documented if at times controversial record on issues related to fighting terrorism. As the Justice Department, he favored aggressive steps like holding Muslim immigrants for questioning and passage of the USA Patriot Act to give the government more antiterrorism tools.
NYT (Stevenson & Lichtblau)
While the NYT times does cover Chertoff's role in 9/11 responses, roundups and increases in executive power, there is no mention of Chertoff as being closely tied to criminals while a federal prosecutor. So which is it? Was he, do people suspect this? Or not? Because if he was or is suspected, that does seem like it's newsworthy enough to get some mention.
The NYT's other article on Chertoff headlines (online edition) with this title: "Nominee Is Hard Charger on Legal War on Terror" NYT (Lichtblau). How's that for framing?
I couldn't find anything else linking the nominee to shady politicians, or to being a mover in shady political circles. Let me know what you can find.
Note:
There was some talk earlier today that I read about how the media will always present things from their side. The big corporations that own the tv media will do what is best for them, not you and me. We do have another option: Democray Now.
Just look at today's news in DN:
- Bush Taps Architect of Patriot Act to Head Homeland Security
- Rich Nations Consider Debt Relief For Tsunami-Hit Nations
- U.S. Ends Fruitless WMD Search in Iraq
- UN: Only 8,500 Residents Return to Fallujah
- Iraqi: U.S. Torture At Abu Ghraib Worse Than Under Saddam
- Israel Considers Building 75-foot Deep Moat On Gaza Border
- Homeland Security Chief Nominee Chertoff
- Oversaw Detention of Hundreds of Arabs and Muslims After 9/11
- Bush Appoints Arch-Conservative Claude Allen As Chief Domestic Policy Adviser
- Unprecedented Security Preparations For Bush Inauguration
- James Forman 1928-2005: Civil Rights Pioneer Dies At 76
It is not how they cover things that matters so much, but what they cover.
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