Critiquing the Press

Howard Kurtz has been The Washington Post's media reporter since 1990. He is also the host of CNN's "Reliable Sources" and the author of "Media Circus," "Hot Air," "Spin Cycle" and "The Fortune Tellers: Inside Wall Street's Game of Money, Media and Manipulation." Kurtz talks about the press and the stories of the day in "Media Backtalk."

Howard Kurtz was online Monday, Dec. 5, at noon ET to discuss the press and his latest columns.

Read today's column: NBC's Brian Williams, On Top of the News , ( Post, Dec. 5 )

The transcript follows.

____________________

Raleigh, N.C.: What do you think of the efforts to regulate blogs? Should they be forced to disclose payments from campaigns? Should they be regulated further?

Howard Kurtz: I think as a matter of fairness and ethics that blogs should disclose payments from campaigns. And obviously campaaigns are required to disclose their expenditures in FEC reports. But I'm not sure heavy government regulation of individuals posting their opinions online is a great idea.

_______________________

Rochester, N.Y.: I'm a big fan of both your column and the show Reliable Sources.

My question is this: is the media really going to stick with this whole "both sides have scandals" line when it comes to the coverage of the Abramoff probe? Every single person who is under investigation in the probe is a Republican yet the press feels compelled to remind us that Abramoff once gave money go Dorgan and Reid. Will the media ever be free of the tyranny of "evenhandedness" or is that too much to ask?

Thanks

Howard Kurtz: Thanks. I don't think there's anything wrong with pointing out that both parties play the money/access game in Washington and that Abramoff didn't deal exclusively with Republicans. If the lion's share of charges are brought against GOPers in that case, I'm sure the lion's share of coverage will reflect that. But simply mentioning from time to time that some Democrats don't have clean hands on the subject doesn't strike me as artificial balance.

_______________________

Louisiana Documents: Hi Howard-

How significant do you think the Louisiana documents released by the governors office will be in the press cycle this week? Is there a lot of buzz around them at the moment, or do they not provide a lot of new insight into the horrible mess that was the disaster recovery?

Howard Kurtz: They are a fascinating glimpse into how public officials deal with emergencies under the greatest imaginable pressure, as well as into the political tug of war between a Republican administration and Democratic governor. The documents also show that even when people are dying, public officials and their aides fret over the PR aspects of appearing to provide leadership. But at least no one claimed to be a fashion god, a la Brownie.

_______________________

Bolingbrook, Ill.: Howie, it seems to me that all the reports who had great access got the WMD story wrong, isn't that much like Watergate when two unknown reporters broke much of the story? So isn't great access to insiders over rated?

Howard Kurtz: It may well be overrated. The very top people in any organization rarely tell you when something bad is happening. But those with lesser access didn't do a great job on WMD either, and those who tried were often stymied, or had their work played down, by editors. There are really no heroes in that chapter of journalism.

_______________________

Washington, D.C.: A neat coincidence that your piece on the NBC anchor appears on the same day the new ABC anchors are confirmed. (Although they're not really "new" since they've been doing it for awhile.)

So they're going to do three live daily broadcasts? Are they both going to co-anchor all three, or take turns somehow?

Howard Kurtz: I knew the Elizabeth Vargas/Bob Woodruff announcement was close, but wasn't sure how close. The plan is to have them co-anchor most of the time, although that will include instances in which one or the other is in the field.

_______________________

Reston, Va.: The WSJ Friday editorial page had an article (Pouting Pundits of Pessimism)discussing the negative spin put any piece of good economic news. Is this more the fault of the media, or do you blame the Bush White House for not promoting the positive? BTW, your column on Woodward was fabulous(The Man With the Inside Scoop).

Howard Kurtz: Many thanks. I was traveling Friday and missed that piece, but I remember a similar debate during the Clinton years when the economy turned up but many people still thought it was lousy. My sense is that there's at least a 6-month lag time between better economic figures and public perception that things are turning around. And with certain sectors of the economy still struggling (bankrupt airlines, struggling auto companies) and companies like GM laying off 30,000 at a time, there's still a lot of insecurity out there. Of course, maybe reporters' views are subliminally affected by all the recent layoffs and buyouts at major newspapers and magazines.

_______________________

Toronto, Ontario: My question goes back to last week when Congressman Murtha blogged on the Huffington Post. Only a year ago I would have expected his comment to come in an editorial in The Post or the NYT. Is this an indicator of the credibility that the blogs are gaining? Do you think we will see more "mainstream" figures using blogs as means to address the nation?

Howard Kurtz: Sure, why not? It's quick, it gets widely picked up, and you don't have to wait a couple of days for some op-ed editor to decide whether you're worthy of publication.

_______________________

Chantilly, Va.: Howard: Yesterday, at noon, I made a vow never to watch a Sunday talk show again and I don't mean you but programs like Fox Sunday, MTP, and the Stephanopoulos hour. Am sick and tired of watching spinners like Steve Hadley and other pols and spokespeople from the administration come on and never answer a question directly by instead simply give a short speech on a subject that may or may no have anything to do with the question. The questioner rarely repeats the question or challenges the guest, so terrified is he that he'll offend the subject and then somehow lose access. So bah humbug, enough already!

Howard Kurtz: Well, the Sunday hosts do their best to get the guests off their talking points, but it's very hard when someone is determined to stick to the script. I do think a growing number of viewers know when they're getting fed pure spin.

_______________________

Brian Williams and Katie Couric: I was impressed with Williams' restraint in answering your question about Katie Couric going to CBS. It has to make him angry on some level - can you characterize the tone of his response? He tried to say "this is a family matter and will remain private, but I have given her my opinion" but come on, his opinion must have been "don't even try it."

Howard Kurtz: My sense is that he really doesn't want his colleague to leave NBC but knows that it is at least a possibility that she'll accept the CBS offer. But for all the buzz lately, it's by no means a done deal.

_______________________

New York, N.Y.: Howard,

On Sunday's edition of CNN's "Reliable Sources," blogger Ed Morrissey said that he thought that Bush & Co. "...face a more hostile media environment than the previous administration did."

A few minutes later blogger John Arvosis countered with "...ask Bill Clinton how friendly the media was to him."

In your objective opinion, how did the media, during their respective times, handle the story of the White House?

Howard Kurtz: In my objective opinion, every White House complains about its media coverage. Bush has faced months of negative coverage as he (not so coincidentally) drops in the polls after Katrina, the continuing violence in Iraq, etc., but Bill Clinton, after all, was impeached, and still occasionally complains about the way his scandals were covered.

_______________________

Philadelphia, Pa.: What does Katie Couric have to gain by anchoring CBS News? She's already on a higher-rated show and the morning shows make much more money than the evening newscasts. At CBS she wouldn't be the face of that network and won't get to interview major newsmakers. Is it simply that CBS is offering her substantially more money? If not, I don't see what intrigues her.

Howard Kurtz: Katie Couric is already making a small fortune. I suspect she has strong feelings of loyalty to NBC but may also be tired of getting up at 4 a.m. Still, I don't know why you say she wouldn't be the face of CBS or get to interview major newsmakers. She would very much be the personification of CBS News, interview all kinds of newsmakers, travel to hot spots, anchor special events coverage, etc. That would be the allure of the offer.

_______________________

Alexandria, Va.: Brian Williams has definitely proven that the passing of the Dan/Tom/Peter Era didn't mean the end of meaningful TV network news. But with his focus on some topics -- like the obsession with Katrina, and the way that played out this fall as a Bush disaster -- suggest he's just going to be another liberal anti-GOP anchorman?

Howard Kurtz: I don't think it's fair to say that a heavy focus on Katrina three months later means an anti-Bush approach. I certainly asked Williams about that, and he argues that he is motivated by the emotional experience of having been there for the disaster and the continued suffering in the region. Clearly, government at all levels is still not getting the job done when it comes to helping the victims and rebuilding the city.

_______________________

Minneapolis, Minn.: You have done excellent in-depth reporting on the news that Bob Woodward is involved in the CIA leak case. Three questions:

1. Do you know what new information about the case Woodward learned that led him to tell The Post's editor, Len Downie, about his source on October 24? It must have been dramatic, I imagine.

2. Have you learned who Woodward's source was?

3. Did a representative of the Post go to the special prosecutor with news of Woodward's source before the source himself came forward?

Howard Kurtz: The answer to the first two is I don't know, neither Downie or Woodward is saying (hardly surprising when it comes to protecting the source, given that Woodward refused to give up Mark Felt for 33 years). On the third question, my understanding is that the source himself went to Patrick Fitzgerald, not anyone from The Post. Remember, Woodward says he needed a release from the source to be able to testify.

_______________________

New York, N.Y.: Howard,

One aspect of a possible Couric-to-CBS scenario seems to be overlooked: Her absence from NBC's "Today" will certainly have a detrimental effect on the show's ratings -- if temporarily. To CBS's advantage -- among others.

And, on another note, now that ABC has just officially announced its "World News Tonight" anchors -- Elizabeth Vargas and Bob Woodruff -- how will that affect the price of tomatoes (as we used to say in Brooklyn)?

Howard Kurtz: I'm no expert on tomatoes, but no one in television underestimates the impact of a Couric departure on "Today," especially with "GMA" nipping at its heels.

_______________________

Warrenton, Va.: Howie, I think Katie Couric lacks gravitas. In fact, she's made her lovable rep by constantly joking about how hard interviews "make her head hurt." She's the Dan Quayle of potential network anchors. Don't you think all of those studio gibes about her lack of intelligence would hurt with viewers looking for a voice of authority?

Howard Kurtz: That strikes me as unfair. I've seen her conduct some pretty tough interviews with newsmakers. But remember, when you're a morning show person, whether you're Katie or Diane or Charlie or Bryant, you have to be able to chat with celebrities and make salads as well as interview presidential candidates and Cabinet members.

_______________________

Iowa: CBS, the network of Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite, with Katie Couric as its evening news anchor. I have a lot of trouble getting my mind around that, except perhaps as the final subjugation of a once proud news division to a profit-loving entertainment division.

Howard Kurtz: Keep in mind that Tom Brokaw once co-anchored Today before moving on to NBC Nightly News. Bob Schieffer also briefly co-hosted CBS's morning news in a fairly disastrous experiment. So sometimes your image changes as your job assignment changes.

_______________________

Chicago, Ill.: I'm pretty shocked that the White House non-denial of the President saying he wanted to bomb the Al-Jazeera headquarters isn't getting more play in the U.S. Isn't this kind of a big deal?

Howard Kurtz: Non-denial? The White House has flatly and vociferously denied it as outlandish.

_______________________

Re: Reston & Pessimistic Pundits: Good morning. Mr. Bush held a Rose Garden photo op to highlight the announcement that 215,000 jobs had been created in November. Today he is on the road in North Carolina to continue talking about the economy. I checked the Bureau of Labor Statistics Web site and found that net new job creation in the private sector under this administration's economic policies has not yet reached 1 million. Seasonally adjusted gains in non-farm payrolls have not yet reached 2 million. At the same time, government jobs have increased almost 3 million since Mr. Bush was inaugurated in January 2001. I understand from Robert Reich's comments yesterday that the average monthly job growth during President Clinton's tenure was 245,000. In all private sector employment grew 20 million and non-farm payrolls grew nearly 23 million during the Clinton years. It took me (not an economist) about twenty minutes to look this stuff up. I wonder if our newly invigorated press will see past the spin as the administration tries to change the subject from Iraq. Your thoughts?

Howard Kurtz: The press made these points many times during the campaign when it looked like Bush would preside over a net jobs loss in his first term (which he narrowly averted). The Bush team argued that he inherited an economic downturn and dot-com bust from Clinton and then was hit by 9/11. But even if Bush's job creation substantially trails Clinton's, it's standard operating procedure for an administration to stage events and pat itself on the back when economic figures improve.

_______________________

Fort Myers, Fla.: From your recent article on Woodward:

"Woodward made a "serious mistake" in not informing him about the Plame conversation, Downie says, even as Woodward was repeatedly criticizing special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald as a "junkyard dog" whose conduct in issuing subpoenas to reporters was "disgraceful." But, says Downie, "the fact that people would see that as a firing offense is unfathomable to me."

Woodward, who once headed the Metro staff, is widely admired at The Post, but a series of incidents has made some staffers question his loyalty to the paper. The Post was scooped on his book "Plan of Attack" in April 2004 when the Associated Press obtained an advance copy. Vanity Fair, not The Post, was the first to reveal this past spring that Deep Throat was Mark Felt, although in that case Woodward believed the 91-year-old former FBI official lacked the mental capacity to release him from his long-ago pledge. Metro reporters who wanted to know where they held their parking-garage meetings were miffed when Woodward revealed the Arlington location first to NBC's Tom Brokaw."

What is "unfathomable" to me is that you and your Post colleagues have not risen up in a revolt against Woodward AND Downie long before now. What gives? Have you'll become invertebrates?

Howard Kurtz: Risen up in revolt? You think this is a dictatorship or something? People here have no problem making their views known, and The Post has no problem with me covering internal messes like this aggressively. But ultimately, Len Downie runs the paper.

_______________________

Washington, D.C.: Terrific article on Brian Williams. I usually get my news from Internet or print sources, but during Katrina, I really needed to see video of the damage, so I turned to TV. But with the recent turnover of anchors, I had no loyalty to any network or cable channel, so I tried them all and kept going back to Williams on NBC. His were truly the most informative, professional, human, and respectful broadcasts that terrible week--and not just by a bit, but by a landslide. Now I'm loyal to NBC.

Howard Kurtz: Verrry interesting. Which may help explain why Williams has maintained NBC's No. 1 ranking, and why his ratings have risen versus his rivals in the three months since Katrina struck.

_______________________

Gainesville, Fla.: Hi Howard, I think it is interesting that so many MSM journalists are blogging or planning to blog regularly. Are the popular blog sites cutting into their readership? I love The Washington Post and NY Times but I am now loving these blog sites too. I feel they really are making a contribution to our political education. And the outrageous allegations and headlines sometimes provide lots of laughs!

Howard Kurtz: Actually, we're just trying to look cool.

_______________________

Cross Plains, Wis.: Re: Dana Priest. Her story this weekend provides straightforward descriptions of her anonymous sources -- former and current intelligence officials -- and hazy lines like "said one CIA officer, who, like others interviewed for this article, would speak only anonymously because of the secretive nature of the subject." Is that really giving the reader enough info?

Howard Kurtz: I'm sure she'd like to give more, but you have to be extremely careful when you're dealing with classified material. The use of unnamed sources on some of Dana Priest's recent stories, such as the disclosure of secret CIA prisons used to interrogate terror suspects abroad, seems to me a classic demonstration of why such sources are sometimes needed, as opposed to the routine political back-and-forth pieces with so many background quotes.

_______________________

Morrison, Colo.: Has the ongoing network news coverage of Katrina and its aftermath generated more indepth understanding or is it more a case of spectacular visuals still abound which can garner more viewers? I don't mean this cynically, it's just that this isn't going to be solved in a day, a week or a year and broadcast media has a disaster of the week reputation.

Howard Kurtz: Well, there are no more spectacular visuals. The dramatic pictures of rising flood waters and people dying have been replaced by what I call a slow-motion disaster--people losing their homes and businesses, most schools and health care facilities still shuttered, nearly 90 percent of the population still scattered. Unraveling that story is far more of a journalistic challenge than providing timely disaster coverage.

_______________________

Jersey City, N.J.: Re: Alexandria, VA Brian Williams/Katrina post

So caring about people who are suffering makes one a liberal? I guess not caring makes one a conservative. If this was true, I think I'd rather be a liberal.

Maybe I'm in a minority here, but I want to see anchors and correspondents care about the stories that they are reporting. Granted, it can be a bit over the top sometimes but I'd rather have that than some talking head droning on and on and on... I don't get a chance to watch Brian Williams very often but when I do, I'm very impressed. Thanks for the insightful column today.

Howard Kurtz: You're welcome. During Katrina, I wrote a column saying that journalists were getting high marks from the public because they were clearly passionate about the story, rather than cynical and detached. Some obviously went a bit far. Being passionate isn't a license to be opinionated. But caring about the importance of what you're covering makes a difference.

_______________________

Arlington, Va.: Howard:

I must be missing something REALLY important in the Plame mess. Judith Miller went to jail to protect a source. Was Woodward not asked? How did he stay so far under the radar of the Special Prosecutor? Please explain how her circumstances differed.

Howard Kurtz: Woodward, who had laid low because, he says, he was afraid of being subpoenaed, did the same thing that Judy Miller ultimately did after her 85 days in jail--testify with the permission of the confidential source, which was Scooter Libby in Miller's case.

_______________________

Re: why Couric would be evening anchor: I don't think money is the only reason a journalist would take an anchor job. First of all, its not like CBS would pay her in peanuts, and secondly the prestige of being at the anchor desk of the CBS evening news or any network is something coveted by any reporter, I would imagine. Couric isn't my favorite reporter, but I think to call dismiss her as a ditsy blond is unfair. There are a lot of pretty girls out there, but you have to have brains to get to where she is now.

Howard Kurtz: Well put.

_______________________

Syracuse, N.Y.: I am very surprised that no one seems to be as agitated over the remarks by the 9/11 commission as I am. This seems to me as a damning indictment of the Bush administration. Howie, is this one of those "tough story to tell" because it's not 1- visual 2-no crime committed yet 3-not Plame/Katrina/bad poll numbers kind of story?

Howard Kurtz: I don't think it's a tough story to tell. But commission chairman Tom Kean only spoke a few hours ago.

_______________________

Alexandria, Va.: I don't watch morning television or any network TV news, so I can't comment one way or the other on Katie Couric's merits or image. But I do have a vague recollection, from years ago when she first landed her morning job, that she came with a strong hard-news resume. Did I somehow make that up or am I correct?

Howard Kurtz: Katie was an NBC Pentagon reporter before she became part of Today.

_______________________

Austin, Tex.: A comment about news anchors. I Bob Schieffer. Despite his age, I think CBS could do a lot worse than to stick with him.

I'm also wondering if that might actually make some sense, in that it would differentiate them from the "younger, hipper" alternatives on the other two networks.

What do you think?

Howard Kurtz: Schieffer has livened up that newscast but is doing double duty now, traveling between NY and Washington to anchor both the evening news and Face the Nation, and plans to retire in a couple of years. So he was never more than an interim solution to the post-Rather problem.

_______________________

Washington, D.C.: A few of the questions people (both here and elsewhere) have had about Katie Couric's capabilities have struck me as perhaps being more about gender than intelligence. As you noted, Brokaw and others have gone from the morning shows to more "serious" anchoring positions. Do you think there might still be a resistance to a woman anchoring the nightly news?

Howard Kurtz: I certainly wouldn't rule it out.

_______________________

Syracuse, N.Y.: Why did the Sunday story on Sen. Allen give a favorable spin to his running for president in 2008 right after (presumably) winning re-election to the Senate in 2006. No one insists he make a commitment to serve a full six-year term.

But when Hillary Clinton ponders running for president after (presumably) winning re-election to the Senate next year, it's usually accompanied by a negative Republican reaction about Hillary refusing to commit to serving a full six-year term. How come no one is demanding the same six-year commitment from George Allen?

Howard Kurtz: I'm sure George Allen's eventually opponent might raise that a time or two.

_______________________

Ashland, Mo.: Wouldn't everyone be better off if the media concentrated on whether reporting is accurate rather than who is doing it or how it is produced? Information might be on a blog or on a conservative network or on NPR, but shouldn't the accuracy of the content be the sole guide? Even if information is paid for, does that disqualify it from being accurate? Plenty of free media in this country is inaccurate. If you can only get accurate information placed by paying for it, why not, if the alternative is a misinformed public making decisions on the basis of the misinformation?

Howard Kurtz: Depends on the meaning of the word accurate. If a supposedly journalistic "story" is actually written by U.S. military officials or a government contractor, it's certainly possible that the individual facts will be correct. But it may still be totally one-sided, slanted, or leave out contradictory information--in other words, propaganda. Government press releases are usually "accurate," but hardly journalism. And would you want to rely on press releases for your news?

Thanks for the chat, folks.

_______________________

Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.