Howard Kurtz Chats It Up

Earlier today, Howard Kurtz held his weekly chat over at post.com, where he addressed issues such as bloggers at the Scooter Libby trial, Wolf Blitzer’s interview with Dick Cheney and The Politico. Some excerpts:

New York: Do you think the presence of the bloggers has been a stimulus to the print media to expand their coverage of the Libby trial? I did not notice much change in the TV pundits on Washington Week in Review or the Sunday chat shows attitude toward the trial (i.e. there’s nothing to see here … just move along) but The Post and The Times seem to be covering the story more seriously than in the past. I did notice you had one of the bloggers on (so please don’t take offense).

Howard Kurtz: I think it’s great that bloggers have been admitted to the trial, but I think this would be a big MSM story whether they were there or not. Not so much because of Scooter Libby but because of Dick Cheney’s role and all the prominent journalists who are involved. I suppose bloggers might be prodding us to do more Web updates, but newspapers have been moving in that direction for some time anyway.

Read other excerpts when you click below..

Granger, Ind.: Wolf Blitzer and Cheney: While I’m glad Blitzer asked the question abut Cheney’s daughter, I was sort of amazed at Blitzer’s response when Cheney barked at him. Blitzer, back-pedaling, said something to the effect that “we” all admire Mary Cheney, and “we’re” all happy for her etc. I’m not happy for her. I don’t care about her one way or the other. The bigger issue is that a big-time, national journalist seemed completely unnerved when he was challenged. Of course it was a fair question: you can’t run on a platform bashing gay marriage and not expect questions when a member of your own family takes a same-sex partner and decide to raise a baby with her,

Howard Kurtz: Blitzer did seem a little taken aback by Cheney declaring that he was out of line. I generally don’t like it when the children of public figures are dragged into controversies. The reason this case is different is that Mary Cheney is an adult who worked in her father’s reelection campaign, wrote a book about it, criticizing the administration’s position on same-sex marriage in that book and went on TV (including a sit-down with Wolf Blitzer) to promote it. So she has put herself in the arena. What’s more it is conservative groups, such as Focus on the Family, that made this into a controversy by criticizing Mary Cheney for having a baby, which is why Wolf quoted from a piece by that group in his question to the vice president.

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Reston, Va.: Was it odd or difficult critiquing a Web site run by two of your former colleagues

Howard Kurtz: Not difficult at all. I wish them the best. Tried to give an honest assessment for a site that’s been up and running for less than a week.

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Arlington, Va.: Did you contemplate that giving someone who used to work with you free publicity after a week was maybe a little too soon — unless it was all about the publicity? How many online Washington-area media efforts have been around for years and received no story from you?

Howard Kurtz: I don’t look at it as “free publicity”; I look at it as “coverage.” Politico was attracting an enormous amount of attention, not only online but in places like the New York Times; it’s local; it’s run by a major D.C. media company, Allbritton Communications, that owns two television stations here, and half a million people checked it out last week. I think readers would expect me to have a take on it.

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