National Enquirer snubbed by snobs: As usual, we get old media logrolling instead of awards for real
The Washington Times
When the 2010 Pulitzer Prizes were announced Monday, the outlet most deserving of the prestigious journalism award was glaringly absent from the list: The National Enquirer.
The New York Times and The Washington Post took half of the prizes, which is not surprising, considering that much of the Pulitzer jury came from these publications. Their annual prize has become more of a self-indulgent round robin than a reward to the most deserving journalist.
The Enquirer’s investigation of former Sen. John Edwards single-handedly ended his run for the White House and led to a federal grand jury probe. If the Times or the Post had broken the same stories about Mr. Edwards, the Pulitzer would have been a slam dunk. A handful of strong voices in these same outlets even admitted that they failed the public by not following up on the Edwards story. Still, in the end, the media elite circled the wagons to exclude the scrappy, self-proclaimed supermarket tabloid.
In early January, I pointed out that the Enquirer deserved the honor purely on the merits of its reporting and the ensuing criminal investigation. Consider the paper’s 2009 scoops: that a grand jury was investigating Mr. Edwards’ misuse of campaign funds; the DNA test proving paternity of his mistress Rielle Hunter’s child; wife Elizabeth Edwards filing for legal separation; and Miss Hunter’s legal documents preparing to sue Mr. Edwards for child support.
When I contacted the Enquirer’s Executive Editor Barry Levine about my column, he thought submitting the application for a Pulitzer was too much of a long shot. But weeks later, Mr. Edwards’ longtime aide Andrew Young’s book came out, which validated the organization’s reporting. Then John Edwards admitted publicly that was the father of Miss Hunter’s two-year old daughter Frances Quinn. Vindicated, Mr. Levine decided to submit the Pulitzer application.
In an attempted pre-emptive strike, Pulitzer administrator Sig Gissler told a reporter that the tabloid was not eligible because it was a magazine (only newspapers are eligible) and the reporting was done in 2007 and 2008, outside the calendar year deadline. Undeterred, Mr. Levine completed the application materials and submitted for consideration in two categories.
Mr. Gissler, to his credit, gave Mr. Levine the opportunity to prove that the Enquirer is a newspaper and not a magazine (which begs the question how “The New York Times Magazine” won an award this year). After negotiations, the Pulitzer committee granted eligibility to the National Enquirer.
Over the past couple months, while the Pulitzer jury met in secret, media coverage shed doubt on the possibility of the National Enquirer winning by focusing on the Enquirer’s so-called “checkbook journalism.” For the record, the paper did not pay any sources for information related to reporting on Mr. Edwards in 2009. So, hopefully the Pulitzer jury did not use that excuse to dismiss the Enquirer out of hand.
Mr. Levine openly admits to paying sources, but only for information that is proven to be truthful and verifiable. His sources are often subjected to lie detector tests and asked to sign legal affidavits that they are giving truthful accounts. Then, the Enquirer’s own reporters track down the leads and verify the account before publishing.
But consider the conduct of the mainstream press. The Enquirer reported in December 2007 that Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards was having an affair and that his mistress was pregnant. Reporters covering the Edwards campaign refused to pick up on the story. Despite photographic evidence of a pregnant Rielle Hunter, journalists “on the bus” refused to ask Mr. Edwards whether the charge was true or not. Partly I blame the reporters’ reticence on their adoration of cancer-stricken Elizabeth Edwards. Mostly, though, the reason the mainstream media did not follow up on the Edwards’ affair is because the source of the stories was a supermarket tabloid.
That “tabloid” has continued the expense of running a top-notch investigative team whose dogged pursuit of the Edwards scandal closely scrutinized the conduct of a man who could easily have become president, vice president or attorney general.
It is a sign of the times that political investigations have moved away from the traditional media outlets to those willing to spend the time, manpower and shoe leather to uncover political wrongdoing.
Although the announcement that the National Enquirer did not win a Pulitzer was disappointing, the public outpouring of support for the underdog has not been in vain. The National Enquirer has earned a great deal of new respect for its investigative reporting by the mainstream media admission that they let down the public in the case of John Edwards. So, the next time the Enquirer uncovers a political scandal, the mainstream media will have no choice to pay attention – and follow up.
Most importantly, “nontraditional media outlets” such as bloggers, local newspapers and yes, tabloids have proven to be as important to our public discourse as the mainstream media. The power is being returned to the American people in the form of a favorite pastime: standing in supermarket lines reading The National Enquirer.
Emily Miller blogs about insider politics for The Washington Times.
There most be a solution for this problem, some people think there will be now solutions, but i think there wil be one.
There will be a lot off mothers and fathers how think the same about this. I’m gay, so i can’t be a father, but i think the same about it.
This is getting a bit more subjective, but I much prefer the Zune Marketplace. The interface is colorful, has more flair, and some cool features like ‘Mixview’ that let you quickly see related albums, songs, or other users related to what you’re listening to. Clicking on one of those will center on that item, and another set of “neighbors” will come into view, allowing you to navigate around exploring by similar artists, songs, or users. Speaking of users, the Zune “Social” is also great fun, letting you find others with shared tastes and becoming friends with them. You then can listen to a playlist created based on an amalgamation of what all your friends are listening to, which is also enjoyable. Those concerned with privacy will be relieved to know you can prevent the public from seeing your personal listening habits if you so choose.
Twitter had a tweet on Discount Knife Warehouse Specials that lead me hear for some reason. Not sure what this has to do with what I was looking for.
Great share, thanks for the post.
Sometimes i wondering, how many times in my life i get hurt because i’m gay, and people don’t accept me for that.
I would just like to tell you how much I learn from reading website Favorited u.Hope to be back in the near future for some more good stuff
Hey, great blog you have here, think I came across it on Yahoo but i’m not sure now…anyway, I’ll check back again!
Must I join 5linx.net/christian? My buddy started off this on the web enterprise and she wants me to join also. She says it is easy cash for the reason that all of the corporations that she cope with are well know and she doesn’t have to carry or ship inventory. I’ve observed checks that she has cashed, so I am aware that it’s not a scam, but given that I’m not as ambitious as she is then I’m afraid that I may perhaps not get any buyers. I desire to join simply because I could use the extra cash. What really should I do?
I was been scouring the Internet for such information and just wanted to say thanks to u for this post. BTW, just off topic, where can i download a version of this theme? – Thank you
Finden Sie günstige Ferienhäuser
I revelled reading it. I need to read more on this matter…I am admiring the time and effort you put in your blog, because it is apparently one great place where I can find lot of reusable info..
Hi! I found your blog on AOL.It’s really comprehensive and it helped me a lot. Continue the good work!
I would like to thank you just for this fantastic read!!! I definitely loved each and every little bit of it. I have bookmarked your webblog to be able to look at the latest stuff you publish.
It seems that you’ve put a good amount of effort into your article and I demand a lot more of these on the World Wide Web these days. I truly got a kick out of your post. I do not have a bunch to to say in response, I only wanted to register to say wonderful work.
Howdy there, are you having problems with the web hosting? I had to refresh the page about million times to be able to get the web page to load
Sorry for the huge review, but I’m really loving the new Zune, and hope this, as well as the excellent reviews some other people have written, will help you decide if it’s the right choice for you.
Nice share. I really like your blog.
Strange this post is totaly unrelated to what I was searching google for, but it was listed on the first page. I guess your doing something right if Google likes you enough to put you on the first page of a non related search.
5.We eat together.We play together.
8.It helps to keep us fit.
3.She is a good girl.She helped everyone.
Im happy I located this blog page, I couldnt obtain any knowledge on this subject before. I also operate a site and in case you are ever serious in doing some guest writing for me please feel free to let me know, im always look for people to check out my site. Please stop by and leave a comment sometime!
This was really a fascinating subject, I am very lucky to have the ability to come to your blog and I will bookmark this web page so that I might come again another time.
this was a very entertaining read. i enjoyed it very much!
Your post is definitely an inspiration in my opinion to find out much more concerning this subject. I must confess your readability broadened my sentiments and I’ll proper away snatch your rss nourish to stay day on any upcoming content articles you might create. You deserve thanks for employment nicely done!
The minute you make up your mind to assemble your own personal photovoltaic panels there are various points for you to think about for example exactly exactly how much energy you would like to crank out and precisely which sort Build-it-yourself photo voltaic panel guide you might use. Whenever you constructor your own personal solar power panels there is a huge feeling of fulfillment that results out of the completed product. There may be a certain sense of accomplishment that you come about being powering some thing naturally utilizing the sun’s power all at once gradually reforming as less reliant upon the system. Best of luck when you plan to put together your individual photo voltaic power panels!
Found your blog in the AOL strengthen your golf swing directory, very nice job, thanks.
You have remarked very interesting points ! ps nice website .
Regards for all your efforts that you have put in this. very interesting information.
Man where is your RSS feed,don’t want to loose this blog ,may help me in my online studies,loads of great stuff
Hello, Thankyou for the great exelent information which you’ve posted on this website. I’ve spent lots of hours searching the net all over for this.
this was a very entertaining read. i enjoyed it very much!
This is great! Where do you find this stuff?