Several Florida newspapers sat on this story for over a year

[CatWoman]

The FBI has begun an inquiry into Foley's computer contact with pages, and Hastert wrote a letter to Florida Gov. Jeb Bush asking for an investigation into whether state laws were broken.

Meanwhile, Florida newspapers — who were leaked copies of the e-mail with the Louisiana boy last year — defended their decision not to run stories. Both The St. Petersburg Times and The Miami Herald were given copies of the e-mail, as were other news organizations, including Fox News.

"Our decision at the time was ... that because the language was not sexually explicit and was subject to interpretation, from innocuous to 'sick,' as the page characterized it, to be cautious," said Tom Fiedler, executive editor of the Herald. "Given the potentially devastating impact that a false suggestion of pedophilia could have on anyone, not to mention a congressman known to be gay, and lacking any corroborating information, we chose not to do a story."


http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/10/03/america/NA_GEN_US_Congressman_Resigns.php

[YDogg]

1. "a congressman known to be gay"

Not sure everyone knew.

[misanthrope]

27. Since when is being gay the same as being a pedophile?**nm

**

[DoYouEverWonder]

2. Then they should have turned the matter

over to the FBI or FDLE.

[Demit]

3. Their reasoning sounds reasonable to me.

The kid wouldn't let them use his name, and the reporters couldn't get another source (or two, they like two, right?) to come forward. They didn't want to print just rumors. What I want to read is the FBI's rationale for not pursuing an investigation in July.

[NNN0LHI]

7. And if it had been a Democrat then what?

You think Fox News would not have exposed this then?

:rofl:

Don

[Demit]

11. Er, aren't we talking about what the St Pete Times & Miami Herald did?

Not what Fox cable network would have done in a hypothetical?

[NNN0LHI]

13. From the OP

>>>were given copies of the e-mail, as were other news organizations, including Fox News.<<<

[Demit]

16. I see, but it's the 2 newspapers who are quoted by the Herald Tribune

defending why they didn't run it. The title of the thread imparts suspicious motives to the 2 newspapers, and I am saying that their explanation is entirely reasonable.

Years ago in Philadelphia, a news station ran with a story about then-mayor Bill Green being involved in corruption. Reporters I knew who covered Bill Green were absolutely astounded. Anybody who knew anything about him knew that he was clean, in fact almost tiresomely so. The station hadn't waited for confirmation from a second source, they were so eager to go to air with their "scoop". They paid through the nose for that one.

[mnhtnbb]

19. Tell me if it had been Barney Frank, FAUX wouldn't run 24/7 with this?

[KurtNYC]

22. or Gary Condit - eom

[CatWoman]

23. lest we forget

:rofl:

[EFerrari]

4. This case is the model for how news is suppressed. Check it out.

The leadership sits on it and the supine media does, too. Other actors are intimidated or bought.

[lonestarnot]

9. Wonder what role heebeejeebie had in the suppression.

[EFerrari]

12. Which felon are you talking about?

:)

[lonestarnot]

26. Jeb bushitler.

[glitch]

24. Yes, it is. I wonder what else they are sitting on? nt

[EFerrari]

25. I think the most useful thing to do is to look at this as a model.

Sure, we're curious.

But in the long run, THIS is what we're up against when it comes to filtering news.

I don't know if that makes sense.

[allisonthegreat]

5. i don't know why i continue

to be surprised.

[Uncle Joe]

6. I wonder, who owns those newspapers? n/t

[Clark2008]

10. Well, when it happened, the Miami Herald was owned by Knight Ridder

The St. Pete Times is owned by the Poynter Institute.

[uberblonde]

8. No responsible newspaper would have done anything else.

Yes, Fox News probably would have gone with it - proving my point.

You have no idea of the libel hoops lawyers make journalists jump through. There was not enough to go with, and they probably didn't have the extra staff to assign to it.

Not every newspaper is in the pocket of the GOP. The St. Pete Times is owned by a non-profit organization, and is a model paper.

[Demit]

14. Well, Fox prolly would've gotten one of their non-news guys to do it...

O'Reilly for example. That way the rumor could've been floated to their rabid audience without penalty. That's the advantage their format has—calling themselves a "news network" so that their audience conflates actual news with what their rabble-rousing personalities say.

Glad you bring in a common sense perspective here. And I've always had an affection for the St Pete Times (as compared to the Tampa Tribune). Do they still have Wayne Stayskal as their editorial cartoonist?

[bunny planet]

15. don't know about the Miami Herald but the St. Pete Times is not

a right wing rag. Its a decent paper, has won the Pulitzer prize and has had balanced coverage over the years. I would hate to see them be dragged into this. From what I heard, they did not have enough documentation or proof to run with the story. It has been a fairly fearful climate for anyone to go against this administration, not that it excuses them if it turns out they had any evidence that could've made this story come out sooner.

[NNN0LHI]

21. St. Petersburg Times misrepresented political ties of people praising Jeb

http://mediamatters.org/items/200503250007

In reports on Republican Florida Gov. Jeb Bush's role in the Terri Schiavo case and its ramifications for his political future, both The New York Times and the St. Petersburg Times quoted individuals praising Bush without noting their conservative ideological views or their close professional ties to him.

A March 25 St. Petersburg Times article titled "Bush's powers fall short of beliefs" quoted two sources -- Florida Catholic Conference executive director Michael McCarron and former Florida Republican Party chairman Tom Slade -- as evidence that Bush's "supporters and critics agree" that his "actions are not motivated by polls or political ambition, but by personal conviction." But neither of these figures -- both conservatives -- could fairly be described as "critics" of Bush. The Florida Catholic Conference agrees with Bush that Schiavo's feeding tube should not be removed. On February 28, the group issued a "plea that Mrs. Schiavo continues to receive all treatments and care that will be of benefit to her."

Additionally, following the lead of cable news coverage, the St. Petersburg Times also lent tacit support to those who want Terri Schiavo's feeding tube reinserted, describing such advocates as "Schiavo supporters" (as opposed to "supporters of Schiavo's parents"). This usage amounts to taking sides in the dispute, since the court case centers precisely on whether Terri Schiavo would want to continue living in a persistent vegetative state and, by extension, who her true "supporters" are. Her husband, Michael Schiavo, claims his wife would not want to continue living in her current state, kept alive by a feeding tube; her parents, sister and brother disagree.

[cynatnite]

17. Miami Herald publisher resigned today...

but it wasn't about this.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061003/ap_on_re_us/miami_herald_publisher_8

[corkhead]

18. all I have got to say is what he said...

[bvar22]

20. Well, this discredits today's Right Wing Spin....

Well, this discredits today's Right Wing Spin that it was the Democratic Party that sat on this info and saved it for political opportunity.

Rush Limpbag said that this AM.