Jeralyn Merritt of TalkLeft wrote yesterday in the Examiner, comparing MSM and blog coverage of the Rove story:
Most bloggers are not "masquerading" as journalists. Some really are journalists, while others have no such intentions. While some break news, many more analyze reported news. Bloggers simply can’t be categorized and stereotyped so easily.While Raw Story and Truthout broke news in the Plame investigation, they are not bloggers, but alternative news sites with their own investigative journalists. Most bloggers covering every detail of the Plame investigation, like Just One Minute, TalkLeft, Empty Wheel and Firedoglake, concentrated on reporting and analyzing the legal developments.
Were those of us wrong who speculated Rove would be indicted? Yes. But we also were careful to detail and present our reasoning as our interpretation based upon media reports, statements attributed to Luskin and other attorneys involved in the case and pleadings in the Judith Miller/Matthew Cooper subpoena and Scooter Libby cases. How many mainstream journalists bothered to read every pleading, available transcript and court order in both cases? By and large, it was the bloggers, not the mainstream media, who gathered documents from the courts’ Web sites and made them available for all to read and interpret for themselves. Bloggers also educated readers on the legal process, from how grand juries work to the meaning of criminal statutes and the mechanics of cooperation deals.
Merritt is a criminal defense lawyer, so she's got plenty of expertise in this area. She's also a fair, fun-to-read lefty blogger, and one of the members of the Examiner's new Blog Board of Contributors.
Meanwhile, Tom Maguire has a hilarious account of TruthOut's attempt to shamelessly cling to their Rove-indictment fantasy with all the fingernails they can spare:
At least they remain true to the TruthNot motto - Speak Truth to Power, deliver BS to everyone else.With almost as much seriousness, Marc Ash provides some text telling us that yes, Rove really was indicted. The short version is a re-hash of the fantasy still prevailing among lefties who can't let go - Rove has given up the key evidence on Cheney, who will be getting his come-uppance within the next 24 business hours (i.e., at about half-past never).
Dude, that dog is so far from hunting, it might as well be in Paris Hilton's handbag.
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