Chron conjures up new beat
Gebe Martinez, formerly of the Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau, apparently has been assigned a new beat: the anti-Delay Drum.
Martinez's new duties on the Anti-DeLay Drum beat seem occasionally to include "analysis" rather than reporting (although the output is still featured on the news pages), recycling of old news as "new questions," and marshalling of quotes that don't necessarily support assertions. It's a very special beat for a very special drummer!
Take this bit of "analysis" from the weekend:
Unless DeLay is hit with new, clear-cut evidence of wrongdoing or gets indicted by a Travis County grand jury that is investigating political corruption by his associates, the Sugar Land Republican remains protected by the conservatives in his party, despite persistent questions about his overseas travel and political fund raising and spending.
Questions persist, but the "news" remains olds for now. As we wrote a few days ago with respect to a different topic, when there's something new (news!), please let us know. As the Houston-area media and politics blog, you can bet we'll be interested.
Then there's this fine drumming:
"I think there's a general feeling that (critics) are going to need more before he's in trouble. There's nothing that compares to the moment when we spoke out about Lott," the administration official said.
But there are signs of strain.
On board Air Force One as it headed back to Texas after the funeral of Pope John Paul II, Bush was asked to respond to DeLay's recent attacks against federal judges, particularly those who refused to order the reinsertion of a feeding tube for Terri Schiavo, a severely brain-damaged Florida woman who died last week.
"I believe in an independent judiciary. I believe in proper checks and balances" between branches of government, the president said, joining other high-profile Republicans, including Vice President Dick Cheney and Frist, who have distanced themselves from DeLay's strident critique of judges.
Just a month ago, Bush was calling DeLay a "close ally," adding, "I have confidence in Tom DeLay 's leadership, and I have confidence in Tom DeLay."
While House Republicans are keeping a stiff upper lip in public, some GOP lawmakers privately worry that DeLay's troubles are becoming a major distraction.
Congressional analysts also note the absence of a strong public statement of support by House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., DeLay's longtime ally.
Note the "signs of strain" compiled by our erstwhile drummer. Taking the bolded parts in order: 1) The White House has not backed away from the statement that DeLay remains a "close ally"; 2) Which GOP lawmakers? Name names. So far, Christopher Shays has been critical (his own strange standards for judging ethical conduct are reflected by the fact he concluded from evidence that former President Clinton raped a woman, yet still voted against his impeachment), and Joel Hefley has been critical (more on that below). 3) Speaker Hastert has been steadfast in supporting the Majority Leader, but since Hastert was recovering from surgery last week, a more thoughtful journalist might not expect him to be out making statements. So far, the assertion about "signs of strain" seems a bit strained!
Later, Martinez pretty much gives away the point of the new anti-Delay Drum beat to which he's been assigned:
"The challenge (for Democrats) with the attacks on DeLay is that you cannot, in two sentences, explain what the charges are," said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform.
But critical news reports could eventually change that.
Once upon a time, if significant newspapers like the New York Times and Washington Post decided you were toast, you were. And even less significant newspapers like the Chronicle could inflict some damage. With the rise of a true alternative media, that's just no longer automatically the case. It is the case that that news reports of substance could eventually change matters for the Majority Leader. As we've written previously, those reports have not been forthcoming thus far.
Instead, in the Chronicle's case, we get examples of misleading statements from Martinez like today's:
Shays and Rep. Joel Hefley, R-Colo., the past chairman of the House ethics committee, have signed a Democratic resolution that would undo some of the rules changes that GOP leaders, including DeLay, pushed through the House in January.
The new rules make it harder for the committee to pursue probes against members. Democrats have protested by blocking the committee from officially organizing.
Hefley was removed as chairman after the committee unanimously voted last year to issue three admonishments against DeLay.
Nowhere does Martinez mention that Hefley had reached the end of his term as chairman of that committee, and was replaced because of term limits.
Of course, some journalists and editors at the newspaper apparently erroneously believe the House GOP leadership has abandoned term limits for committee chairs, an error revealed by the reader representative in a recent email "explaining" why the newspaper refused to correct a different error it had made.
The Chronicle is welcome to keep beating its anti-DeLay drum (it's kind of fun to see how much further its credibility can sink from these levels), but they're really starting to embarrass themselves with the lack of "news" and the extent of the editorializing masquerading as news.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/11/05 10:04 PM | Houston Chronicle | Print | Comments (1)
Previous Entry | Home | Next Entry
ADVERTISING
DISCLAIMER
All content © 2004-09, blogHOUSTON and the respective authors.
blogHOUSTON.net is powered by Nucleus.
Site design and Nucleus customization are by Kevin Whited.