Undercover, under fire
You know I've been hard on the LA Times, but this piece is excellent: "The Washington press corps is too busy cozying up to the people it covers to get at the truth." Ken Silverstein went undercover to expose some DC lobbyists. When he did they complained that he was...undercover...
Now, in a fabulous bit of irony, my article about the unethical behavior of lobbying firms has become, for some in the media, a story about my ethics in reporting the story. The lobbyists have attacked the story and me personally, saying that it was unethical of me to misrepresent myself when I went to speak to them.
That kind of reaction is to be expected from the lobbyists exposed in my article. But what I found more disappointing is that their concerns were then mirrored by Washington Post media columnist Howard Kurtz, who was apparently far less concerned by the lobbyists' ability to manipulate public and political opinion than by my use of undercover journalism.
"No matter how good the story," he wrote, "lying to get it raises as many questions about journalists as their subjects."
Even Howard Kurtz plays the attack the messenger game. How are journalists supposed to actually report on these types of stories, Howard?
Chuck Lewis, a former "60 Minutes" producer and founder of the Center for Public Integrity, once told me: "The values of the news media are the same as those of the elite, and they badly want to be viewed by the elites as acceptable."
Read the full article. Thank you, Ken.
“No matter how good the story,” he wrote, “lying to get it raises as many questions about journalists as their subjects.”
Or how about: No matter how good the war, I write, lying to get it raises questions about presidents...
Damn that Rove is something else..............our govt has been bought and sold so many times now nobody really knows where it started........but it sure as hell has to end.As for undercover reporting...We need more of it...no matter the cost.The question is how many real reporters are left.There was a time I remember when you could count on real journalist to provide real truth to the people...............where are they now...?
Good farking christ... Howie Kurtz is such a buffoon sometimes.
Excellent article and no wonder Howard Kurtz didn't like it.
See, Howie doesn't understand actual reporting because doing so might ruffle a few feathers and threaten his prized position as head bartender on the DC cocktail circuit.
Kurtz and the others don't remember what real journalism is. How many people are doing undercover journalism these days, or even investigative journalism where they actually take the time to question what is being told to them, instead of just being stenographers.
It seems to me that all the mainstream Washington journalists do anymore is complain because others are doing their jobs, and they are doing them better. They are the stenographers for the White House and the republicans and then they whine and attack anyone else who embarrasses them, by actually ferretting out the truth.
There is nothing unethical by going undercover. If the lobbyists weren't doing anything unethical themselves they wouldn't have anything to whine about. Hear is a question. Are the lobbyists also bribing the msm Washington journalists and reporters???? Why else would Kurtz even mention it???
Good evening C&L folks.!!
and in regards to the story above, nothing surprises me much anymore .
new eagle pics up, morning sunrise highlights. If only Bush cared about our nations icon. I know we can dream that he cares about anything other then $ and % stocks!
Well, yeah! A journalist is supposed to get the story, sometimes by whatever means available. Howard, you're not a journalist so you don't know about this... Good going, Ken. Maybe you've showed Howie what it's all about this journalism thing...
There's so many phonies pretending to be what they aren't. Thank you Ken!!!! Keep up the excellent work!!
Anybody else catch the historical reference about Nelly Bly? Now there was a woman!
They're all in bed with each other.
That's how you get David Gregory acting as Ann Coulter's public spokesman when talking to Elizabeth Edwards.
They're all too cozy with the people they are supposed to cover. They all go to the same Washington elite cocktail parties. They're all buds.
When dan rather said the same,, CBS fired his ass and replaced him with?
mrs. brady!!
about the only news i care to read and actually believe is news from other sources NON usa.
otherwise,your getting the same spin crap over and over, and when or IF one person speaks out,
why they just simply swiftboat em via the news corps.
Listen up newsman, do the job you went to college to do. Do it with truth and honesty. Dont become a ariwave whore and sell out for more $ and book deals here there and everywhere. Whatever happend to the schools of professional journialist?
Oh,, thats right,, Murdoch bought that too!!
I disagree when he says undercover reporting should be used sparingly. It should be used extensively. It should be used routinely.
Good for Silverstein. As for Kurtz, he can stick someone's cocktail weenie back in his big and vacuous mouth, and shut up.
They considered him covert because they had something to hide. That's all.
The Conceptual Scoop is the future of newspapers, but I'll settle for undercover reporting ANYDAY.
"As a class, [the Washington press corps] honor politeness over honesty and believe that being "balanced" means giving the same weight to a lie as you give to the truth".
Bulls-eye.
By this same contorted logic, police conducting an undercover operation and thus lying to criminals would be somehow suspect in their findings. Does this actually make sense to the corporate media?
johno, you took the words right out of my mouth, er fingers, um...whatever.
Howard Kurtz is so concerned for the undercover reporting. is it that he receives
a handout $ from these lobbyists also. i guess he will next complain (NOT) about the
tactics used by the fbi and cia in shit-for-brains illegal secret spying on americans in this country? huh, Howard Kurtz?
Are you suggesting that David Gregory oughtn't be doing the Bad Rap Dance with Karl Rove? Just wondering.
wow Ken should be proud of his effort. He wrote little in this essay about the bust but lot to defend his technique. I found it unnecessary to explain readers about this under cover reporting techniques and justification. Ken should carry out more like this.
Good job Ken, may god bless you.
I've been saying for years that there is no left wing media. The only media that most of us see is EXTREME RIGHT WING MAIN STREAM MEDIA (ERWMSM). I don't know if there is anything we can do but, I ordered the DVD On Orwell rolling over in his grave. I will make sure that as many people as possible wsee it. I have heard these media commentators say over and over again that it is us that wants to hear about Paris Hilton, Brittney Spears and Anna Nichol
Smith
Ron @ 20:
I wasn't finished. We don't want to hear about this B.S. Now we know what I have been saying for years is true. Everyone should get the DVD and get it in front of as many people as you can.
I thought that the pres & vice pres made it perfectly acceptable to lie! The ends justify the means?
Here is a link to Amazon to order the DVD.
http://www.amazon.com/Orwell-Rolls-Grave-Charles-Lewis/dp/B0008237AA/ref...
You know, if I worked for the WaPo, the same newspaper which recommended confirming Alito and Roberts and is now shocked they are wingnut ideologues, I would hide my head in shame and just STFU. It takes a special breed of WaPo columnists, like Kurtz, to keep opening their mouths and exposing their ignorant stupidity.
Ron@20
I have heard these media commentators say over and over again that it is us that wants to hear about Paris Hilton, Brittney Spears and Anna Nichol
Smith
The sad truth is that there are too many people who do want to see or hear those stories. It's the biggest problem with the American voter - not being informed!
The press as we knew it is dead. The media are sock puppets for the administration. The press have become the powerful so who will keep the powerful in check?
Bloggers are the new "press." They are the pamphleteers of the century. 10 years from now, bloggers will be the MSM. We're counting on you, C&L.
craig @ 11:
I agree!
This was kind of a journalistic Borat moment..."very nice!"
...or a Colbert "Better Know a Lobbyist!"
I said it many times. Phukkk howie kurtz he is basically an infiltrator and not a journalist. His wife is an insider as well. Same trough, they drink from as those the LATimes exposed.
I honestly believe that the only thing worth acknowledging about kurtzie is that he has a show AND a clear conflict of interest!
He is married to Republican consultant and commentator Sheri Annis. Tell me his commentary is not tainted.
Howard Kurtz complaint does make sense, and there are parallels. I mean, how can we REALLY expect the police to do anything about organized crime if they have to lie to meet with them and get information from them? Dont they realize that theyre supposed to be the GOOD guys?
If police feel that the best way to subvert organized crime is by lying to them and tricking them into believing that theyd never have them arrested, then organized crime wins.
And anybody who disagrees is a terrorist...or a liberal...or an online poker player...dammit...
This is so incredibly true. After Hurricane Katrina, one of the newspapers reported that a "senior White House official" said that the Governor of Louisiana Kathleen Blanco had not declared a state of emergency yet (two days after the hurricane hit.) I emailed the journalist and pointed out that all he had to do was go to the Louisiana state web site to see that Blanco had in fact declared a state of emergency before the Hurricane hit. I asked him to identify the "senior White House" official who was promoting this incorrect information, since it pointed either to extreme mendancity or utter confusion.
He refused to identify the official, and even seemed to think that it was all right for the story to stand because that is what a White House official had said. After a few back-and-forths they did issue a small retraction, but said that because it was a confidential source in the W.H. it would be unethical for him to identify him! Of course the retraction did no good, because the story all over was says that says that Blanco had yet to declare a state of emergency -- and that has become part of the mythology to this day.
I was really frustrated and confused -- I thought there was a really good story here that they were missing. Now I think that I understand. (I have no connection to New Orleans, just an interest in Hurricanes so I knew that she had issued a state of emergency and what I read in the paper was incorrect.)
The Chicago Tribune LA Times (aka the "Liesangeles Times") just lost its managing editor.
He's gone to work for Murdoch directly, instead of one of the subsidiaries.
Crapping on Bushco is how the Smokescreen Media plans on regaining its credibility.
That's not reporting -- that's COWARDICE.
David Hill @ 30:
Hehe. Yes, the police agents are supposed to walk up to members of organized crime, in uniform, and say "We are police. Do you mind if we hang out with you a little? Everything you do and say will be used against you in a court of law. Better yet, now that we have gotten through the formalities, how about you tell us everything that you have been doing, you know, just for the good of justice and the American way?"
And then in Kurtz's world, the criminals say why waste the time of good law enforcement officers by holding back any information, spill everything, and hold out their hands to be cuffed.
Prefers to be nameless @ 31:
Name the reporter. Blog the story.
They never complain when "To Catch A Predator" lies, conspires with police and unprofessional deputized thugs to entrap people in crimes.
you know, if all these pathetic msm so called "journalists" are so determined to eschew actual reporting to instead indulge themselves to sucking up to those in power, the very least we could expect from them i think is a picture of dick cheney's and say howard kurtz' 7-headed love child.
it only seems fair.
undercover reporting is what earned Greg Palast a name in the business, guys like Kurtz would like to ignore them but it's getting harder everyday because Kurtz and his gang of political sycophants don't do their jobs anymore.
Australian journalist and author John Pilger gives a speech on propaganda and the corporate media. Posted at google video here: http://tinyurl.com/yvgwyp or http://preview.tinyurl.com/yvgwyp (had to use tinyurl because I couldn't get the full video google link to work on C&L )
Details about John Pilger's background here:
I know I'm late to this thread, but an excellent point to make, both by Ken Silverstein and C&L is that there is a precedent for this going way back in journalism. Anyone remember Nellie Bly for instance? She faked mental illness to expose sanatoriums, and went to work in a factory to expose worker treatment. This was as a woman at the turn of the century. I am sure there are countless other examples. I hope someone points this out to Ken.
fuddled @ 35:
fuddled @ 35:
You know, I'll agree with you that entrapment must stay out of criminal investigation and prosecution. As for it being used in investigative reporting, I'll probably agree there too.
But undercover work in general is invaluable and indispensable. Neither field would get far without it. Which partly explains the abysmal state of reporting in our country right now. The other part of the equation for journalism mediocrity is that reporters completely trust whatever their interviewees say without fact checking.
This is a classic denialist tactic of poisoning the well. There is no response to the actual criticism, just an attack on the criticizer. Disgusting.
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