L.A. Times: The General Ideology of a Newspaper That Obtains a News Leak Is Important — But Only if It’s a Conservative Newspaper
In an update to a post below, I praise the first draft of the L.A. Times article on the Alito job application, for being fundamentally fair, and for including the document itself on its Web site.
However, I do take issue with this statement in the Times article:
The Washington Times, to which the document was apparently leaked, has a largely conservative readership, and the document’s appearance there suggested that Alito’s supporters were seeking to reassure opponents of abortion of his opposition to the Roe vs. Wade decision that in 1973 established abortion rights.
First of all, will the L.A. Times ever admit that it has a large liberal readership, and acknowledge that leaks to its reporters may indicate some sort of liberal agenda? Ha!
Second, why assume that the leak was intended to reassure conservatives? Isn’t it equally (or more) likely that the Bush Administration personnel who leaked this (and I assume they were the source) saw the document as politically radioactive — and wanted to make sure that initial word of it emerged in a sympathetic publication?
Patterico:
Speaking of newspapers, Hugh Hewitt had a segment today asking where youngsters get their news nowadays. During that hour, he only took calls from listeners who were twenty-five or younger.
I kept hoping you would call in, but you must have been busy in court. You have such a great story to tell — law-school degree at age 14, working as a prosecutor with a fantastic wife and two cute kids while you’re still barely drinking age… and you missed a golden opportunity to say you got all your news from Patterico’s Pontifications!
Dafydd
Dafydd (f8a7be) — 11/14/2005 @ 6:34 pmMaybe he’ll look at the opposite end of the spectrum tomorrow, and I can call in. There aren’t too many bloggers left who are veterans of the charge up San Juan Hill; Teddy never could get the hang of using a trackball, which as you know is a federal requirement for operating a blog.
Dafydd
P.S. Oh, I’m back from Hawaii, by the way. Sachi is still there, slaving away at work again.
Dafydd (f8a7be) — 11/14/2005 @ 6:37 pmIt’s likely to draw some questions but the statement was of a conservative seeking a highly political office. I tend to think that his judicial view is less inclinced to precipitous overturning of precedent. The fames may grow for a while but they will not ignite.
Neil J. Lehto (b2057e) — 11/14/2005 @ 7:55 pmWas it leaked? I saw a pdf of it and it was marked up with FOIA exemptions. That doens’t look like a leak.
actus (c9e62e) — 11/14/2005 @ 8:00 pmListening to Bill Sammon on the radio gave me the sense that the leak might have come out of the Reagan Library — where the documents originated.
PrestoPundit (c8886f) — 11/14/2005 @ 8:22 pmI thought it was released by the Reagan Library in one of their “oh hey look what we found in the archives!” document dumps- we saw a number of these with Roberts, as they continued through the massive number of papers they keep.
I could be wrong.
Angry Clam (a7c6b1) — 11/14/2005 @ 9:00 pmWas it leaked? I saw a pdf of it and it was marked up with FOIA exemptions. That doens’t look like a leak.
Why not? They know they’re about to release it, they know it’s a political hot potato, so they leak it to a sympathetic publication to get the best possible spin.
Patterico (4e4b70) — 11/14/2005 @ 11:23 pm“Why not? They know they’re about to release it, they know it’s a political hot potato, so they leak it to a sympathetic publication to get the best possible spin.”
I see. Like an early release. Could be. Though I thought these FOIA requests were handled by career staff. But now that I find out its Reagan library staff.
actus (ebc508) — 11/15/2005 @ 7:03 am“First of all, will the L.A. Times ever admit that it has a large liberal readership, and acknowledge that leaks to its reporters may indicate some sort of liberal agenda?”
Not is this lifetime. The Mary Mapes mindset is pervasive among MSM outlets. They think exactly like William Hurst did 50 years ago: MSM makes public opinion and if the little people don’t like it they can pound sand or go kick the dog.
Black Jack (ee9fe2) — 11/15/2005 @ 12:39 pm