»» Columnists

WaPo Managing Editor Agrees Paper Dropped The Ball On Black Panther Story

by Michael Triplett | 3:04 pm, July 19th, 2010

» 24 comments

Raju The Washington Post should have covered the New Black Panther Party intimidation story earlier and alleged lack of staff on the National desk can’t be blamed for the oversight, WaPo managing editor Raju Narisetti said today in a chat with readers.

Coming to the defense of Ombudsman Andrew Alexander, who chastised the paper for not covering the story, Narisetti said the story should have gotten covered and that staffing shouldn’t be an excuse for missing the story.

It was a combination of multiple news priorities, summer staffing, not focusing on everything we should have and overall tight staffing. But the answer isn’t in simply adding more staff. It is in juggling our priorities well in serving all readers and in this case we fell short of our normal standards of what constitutes news and our responsibility in covering it.

Narisetti brushed aside National Editor Kevin Merida’s defense that there wasn’t enough people to get to the story, saying “I doubt there has ever been a time in the Post’s history that a section/topic editor has not felt his or her section is understaffed! It is just the nature of newsroom editors.”

Alexander has come under fire–again–from progressive writers and media watchdogs for his suggestion that the story should have been covered because “it’s a controversy that screams for clarity that The Post should provide.”

Paul Waldman at the American Prospect’s TAPPED said Alexander didn’t know what he was doing as ombudsman while Jamison Foser at Media Matters for America accused Alexander of “promoting” another right-wing attack while ignoring “race-baiting.”

Apparently, allegations that the Justice Department dropped the ball or didn’t pursue a case should be examined among ideological opponents but not by the Washington Post. If the story is a hit-job on the Obama administration, who better to ferret that out than the Washington Post as opposed to the ideological bomb throwers.

For every right-wing conspiracy meme, there’s also one on the left. The traditional press should weigh in and examine the meme – as Narisetti says, it is a newspaper’s responsibility.

American Prospect, American Prospet, Andrew Alexander, Jamison Foser, Kevin Merida, Media Matters for America, New Black Panther party, Paul Waldman, Raju Narisetti, tapped, Washington Post

Azarkhan

What Narisetti said: “the story should have gotten covered”

What he meant: “If that damn Fox News hadn’t made such a big deal about it, we wouldn’t have got caught not covering it”
Pablo

Paul Waldman at the American Prospect’s TAPPED said Alexander didn’t know what he was doing as ombudsman while Jamison Foser at Media Matters for America accused Alexander of “promoting” another right-wing attack while ignoring “race-baiting.”

Which is sort of like Wayne Williams lecturing someone on how child care ought to be done.
felixw

The Washington Post should just have a permanent disclosure on its front page: “We apologize for hiding news embarrassing to the Democrats, and promoting misinformation about Republicans.” Because, as anyone with any experience with the newspaper knows, this kind of biased reporting is a daily occurrence in the Post.
BatBoy

Those WaPo’s sure have that “I’m Sorry…so sorry” thing down!

Here are the Waa Waa Waa’s that I counted…
“We are understaffed!”
“It’s summer staffing”
“multiple news stories”
“not staying focused”

Not said but….
“If we say something Media Matters will get mad at us”
“If we don’t say anything…maybe it will go away”
“It’s just a right wing meme…who really cares”
“If I write about it, I may not get invided to the next Whinny Cheesy party at Tommy’s house”
roxsteady

You mean this story that they and the rest of the media isn’t reporting? There’s my ride! Gotta go but, enjoy!

http://mediamatters.org/research/201007190030
SLO

They didn’t drop the ball they just never picked it up because they don’t want to give the public the truth.
Pablo

roxsteady said:
You mean this story that they and the rest of the media isn’t reporting?

Is it about the DOJ ignoring lawful subpoenas?
MichelleF

Azarkhan, you are very wise!

And Rox, you are a drive-by idiot who can’t stick around to defend her moronic statements. Enjoy your ride to crazytown!!
EdinNJ

So in other words, now that it’s been proven to be a right-wing hit job, dismissed by Bush-appointed Civil Rights Commission vice-Chair, Abigail Thernstom as a politically-motivated witch hunt, we are going to get accurate reporting on it? Careful rightwingers, accurate reporting is not your friend.

And MichelleF, just try to refudiate what I just wrote.
yweston

It’s such B.S. they better leave that Ball on the ground. Let Fox drown in their own “tub of chit” unless WaPo wants to join them in that “stinking barrell”
Azarkhan

Thanks Michelle. I guess the Post feels the need to be more discreet about it’s leftwing bias, whereas
Chris Matthews on the Morning Joe just blabs the truth:

“I think Sarah’s [Palin] gonna run for president…the media will try to destroy her, of course…”

As Tammy Bruce pointed out, no one on the show even bothers to contradict him.
For them, as for us, it is self-evident.
felixw

Here is the latest move from the Washington Post — hiring someone who blamed America for 9-11, and having him report on national security issues.

http://bigjournalism.com/phuessy/2010/07/19/wapos-william-arkin-blamed-america-for-911-attacks/

You couldn’t make this stuff up!
Ninja

EdinNJ said:
So in other words, now that it’s been proven to be a right-wing hit job, dismissed by Bush-appointed Civil Rights Commission vice-Chair, Abigail Thernstom as a politically-motivated witch hunt, we are going to get accurate reporting on it? Careful rightwingers, accurate reporting is not your friend. And MichelleF, just try to refudiate what I just wrote.

Tell me again how exactly two men violating voters rights is a “right-wing hit job”? I’m not quite sure how you came to that conclusion.
timzank

Ninja said:
Tell me again how exactly two men violating voters rights is a “right-wing hit job”? I’m not quite sure how you came to that conclusion.

In the eyes of Wapo and EdinNj, yweston, Rox etal, it is impossible for black people to wrong, about anything. They are beyond reproach, and incapable of being racist, ignorant, etc…

To point out a mistake made by a black person earns you an automatic racist tag. Welcome to post racial America 2010 with a post racial black in the White House….
http://apostrophejones.com Apostrophe jones

Whatever happened to actual WP reporters , like those crackers Woodward and Bernstein ?
PureFreedom

Lets see if they pick up the new story of the racsist government worker who was speaking to the NAACP about not wanting to help out white farmers in need of help.
yweston

WAPO. If you lay down with dogs you come up with “flees”
notsofast

PureFreedom said:
Lets see if they pick up the new story of the racsist government worker who was speaking to the NAACP about not wanting to help out white farmers in need of help.

Yes, that was a good one.

I hope the NAACP will condemn itself and the DOA for promoting racism.
notsofast

yweston said:
It’s such B.S. they better leave that Ball on the ground. Let Fox drown in their own “tub of chit” unless WaPo wants to join them in that “stinking barrell”

hey, below me, racist!
dowdaytrader

washington post = irrelevant

NY Times = slime
philvich

the one or two guys standing there arent that big of a deal. the big deal is that wapo and other such outlets go out of their way to avoid reporting this based on their non-neutral POV
NORBIT

With all the mea culpa’s going around from the old network & print media for not covering the panther/DOJ story, it’s pretty apparent that Fox IS today’s new Mainstream Media.

After all, most people turn to Fox for real news, not ‘news’ edited to propagandize Progressives’ interests!!
——————————————–

Progressives, how does it feel since “The One” was annointed…..to see your political & ideological world getting smaller, and smaller, and smaller?!?!
citizenview

WaPo is now talking about how they should have covered the story but they still aren’t covering the story. And there is a story despite protestations from leftists that it is a minor issue which should have been put to rest long ago. That is actually exactly what would have happened if justice had been allowed to run its course but since the current administration acted in what appears to be a racially biased fashion and is now trying to cover up its behavior, hand in hand with a duplicitous old line media, the story will live on and grow. Corruption of the Federal government is now the story. Americans aren’t stupid and we are watching. And note to leftists, please keep calling concerned American citizens racist again and again, endlessly. Such juvenile attempts at misdirection evidence your intellectual impotence and further marginalize the leftist minority in this country. A wakeup call is coming in November.
felixw

What the Washington Post is really saying here is: “We hoped this story would go away, but now it hasn’t. So we are forced to tell you about it.” This is pretty much standard practice at the WaPo when a story comes up that might reflect badly on their hero in the White House.