It has now been several weeks since Newspaper Guild President Linda Foley, claimed US troops target journalists. A claim she now admits she has no evidence with which to substantiate it. A similar unsubstantiated claim forced CNN's Eason Jordan to resign.
The media were silent on Jordan till the bloggers kept up the pressure and they were forced to report on his resignation.
The media are still pretty much silent on Foleygate. So, it's nice to see someone in the media notice the silence.
A column in the St. Paul Pioneer Press mentioned it, and so did an editorial in the Washington Times . Bloggers and The O'Reilly Factor brought important national attention. But a Nexis database search last week failed to turn up a straight news report on Foley's remark anywhere in America since Foley spoke on the panel. Remember, she is president of the union representing 35,000 reporters, editors, and other journalism workers. "Where is the professionalism and the authority that is our main claim to writing the indispensable 'first draft of history'?" Lipscomb asked in a follow-up piece in Editor & Publisher. He wrote, "The mainstream media couldn't be bothered to cover 'Easongate: the sequel.' " Foley sent a letter to the White House calling on it to pursue the "worldwide speculation that the U.S. military targets journalists and the media." In other words, she doesn't have to back up her charge, but the White House should start trying to prove that what she said is false.
The media are hoping that by remaining silent the story will go away. Once again, it's up to us bloggers to keep the pressure on. Here is a contact list you can use to make your feelings known. Via Media Slander.
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