MediaWatch: April 1994
Table of Contents:
- MediaWatch: April 1994
- A World Destroyed by Capitalism in Need of Higher Taxes, More Government
- NewsBites: Embarrassing Eleanor
- Revolving Door: Baer To the Rescue
- No Such Media Concern During Iran-Contra, Wedtech, Sununugate...
- America, Full of Hatemongers
- Good Money After Bad
- Times Says Post Suspended Reporter
- Janet Cooke Award: All Four Networks, Newsweek Distort Studies of Hunger in America
Times Says Post Suspended Reporter
Paula Jones Story Fight?
Michael Isikoff was suspended from The Washington Post "for two weeks for insubordination after a heated confrontation with editors over the newspaper's handling of a story about sexual harassment accusations against President Clinton," according to Rod Dreher of The Washington Times. The March 25 story reported: "Two sources at the paper said Mr. Isikoff was upset because he thinks the Post is burying his findings about sexual harassment charges leveled at Mr. Clinton by Paula Corbin Jones, an Arkansas state employee, at a Feb. 11 news conference."
The next day, Post Managing Editor Robert Kaiser countered in Howard Kurtz's Post Media Notes column that the Times story was wrong: "We do not discuss personnel matters of any kind out of respect for the privacy of our employees...But in light of the incorrect assertion in today's Washington Times, I'd like to say that no one here has been disciplined over the handling of a story about Paula Jones's allegations."
Kaiser explained: "Our role in a case like this is to examine an allegation made by a private citizen against a public official with some care...We have an obligation to the Post's readers to do our best to establish the truth and not simply to print damaging accusations the moment they are made." Really? Two years ago the Post had no problem putting on page one Anita Hill's uncorroborated allegations about Clarence Thomas. But two weeks after the Times story, the Post had still not printed a story on Paula Jones.
