Fox News host Greta Van Susteren is still mad at The New York Times (and Howard Kurtz on CNN's Reliable Sources) for underlining her husband John Coale's assistance to Herman Cain. On her GretaWire blog, she highlighted Jake Tapper's news item on MSNBC stars and other liberal media folks going to coffee with Obama Monday. Her headline was "You got to be kidding me … and they complain about ME???? [1]"
She wondered if the Times would notice this Obama coffee and "do some reflection." But there's no sign of it yet. While the Times offered several items on Greta - on the Media Decoder blog and then in the paper edition - there's no notice yet of the White House/progressive-media-stars coffee. This was Noam Cohen of the Times website on November 30:
The 24-hour local news channel NY1 reported that Mr. Cain had "abruptly canceled a private dinner with New York's media elite planned for this Sunday," which was organized by the New York Post columnist Cindy Adams. Among those on the guest list, according to NY1, were Barbara Walters, Matt Lauer, Bill O'Reilly, Lesley Stahl, Senator Chuck Schumer and Greta Van Susteren, who recently interviewed Cain and his family on Fox News. Ms. Van Susteren's husband, the lawyer John Coale, has been an unpaid adviser to Mr. Cain, and, according to Ms. Adams, was the one who called to announce the cancellation.
Then came the newspaper article by Jeremy Peters on December 1:
News Host Is Scrutinized For Her Ties To Candidate
By JEREMY W. PETERS
Greta Van Susteren, the Fox News host, faced questions on Wednesday about whether she should have disclosed the friendship between her husband, a noted Washington lawyer, and Herman Cain, whose wife, Gloria, granted Ms. Van Susteren an exclusive interview.
The appearance was a huge coup for Fox News, coming shortly after Mr. Cain was accused of sexually harassing several women.
The friendship between Mr. Cain and Ms. Van Susteren's husband, John Coale, came to light after NY1 reported that Mr. Coale had called Cindy Adams, The New York Post gossip columnist, to cancel a dinner with Mr. Cain and media luminaries like Barbara Walters and Matt Lauer.
Ms. Van Susteren would not comment on the record on Wednesday about whether she had ever disclosed to Fox executives her husband's friendship with Mr. Cain. And she did not answer another question, posed to her in an e-mail from The New York Times, about whether anyone at Fox News had pressed her to mention the friendship on her 10 p.m. Fox News Channel program.
Some journalists in the news division of Fox, which has long felt that its reporting is unfairly associated with Fox's right-leaning hosts like Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly and Ms. Van Susteren, were said to have voiced their concerns about yet another example of coziness between Republicans and the network.
Mr. Coale called The Times to say that his friendship with Mr. Cain had no influence on Ms. Van Susteren. No money or strategic advice ever changed hands, he said, just dinner and informal talk.
''I didn't advise him,'' Mr. Coale said. ''Why should Greta have to disclose every time I have dinner with one of my friends?''
Here's how Greta blogged about the difference in media coverage:
A few weeks ago the New York Times, Howie Kurtz at CNN, and others were all fussed up because my husband is just a friend (not paid, not on staff, not looking for a job, not lobbying) with Herman Cain. He is also friends with Dems, yes, Leader Pelosi, Governor Martin O'Malley, and other Republicans, yes Speaker Gingrich, Governor Palin etc. which you know because I posted that information here on GretaWire.
I shrugged the criticism off because I know about ALL the others in the media whose spouses are actually are PAID by campaigns, politicians, political parties, the government and are mum about it.
The critics have no problem with it when it is themselves or their colleagues and it is money. I also know about cozy relationships in Washington, DC and President Obama has one with some in the media (see below.) They may call it sources. Ok. Whatever.
So I read with some amusement my friend Jake Tapper at ABC's note below. Jake is 'outing' the rather cozy relationship that some have with President Obama that apparently does not now concern the New York Times (whose Frank Bruni is named), Howie Kurtz and others who are critics of mine...
What do YOU think? and will the New York Times and others take a look at this and do some reflection?
Greta added this PS: "I don't begrudge these journalists working sources (here the President) and I would, too…I merely point out the hypocrisy of some in some news organizations criticizing me for my husband's – not even mine – friendships."