By now everyone knows that in the early morning hours of Tuesday, August 17th, someone threw an incendiary device into the campaign finance office of Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-MO). I remarked at the time, both online and on air, that the story didn’t make sense, so I and others began digging because we all knew our local media wouldn’t investigate any further beyond whatever any press release or liberal blog mentioned of the incident.
While area bloggers were doing the heavy lifting, our local media was busy trying to pin the incident on the tea party. The alt-weekly’s local blogger wrote of the suspect:
Given what we know of him — 50, white, angry — he certainly fits the demographics of a Tea Party member.
Before you get too upset, have pity: Chad Garrison once complained that he couldn’t be prevailed upon to actually vet his stories for accuracy because, the poor thing, has to write ten whole posts a day for his job. Ten whole posts!
At least TPM is running away from anything remotely close to a smear on the story.
Jake Wagman at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has a record of viewing conservatives with a gimlet eye. In his write-up of the Carnahan incident, Wagman wrote:
Carnahan is weathering a tumultuous political environment. A year ago, several people were arrested at a Carnahan town hall forum after a fracas broke out between protesters and Carnahan supporters.
No. Protesters were harassed by people who identified themselves as Carnahan volunteers and people not even of the 3rd district, OFA bused people in who were loud and disruptive at the meeting (I know, because they assumed I and the veteran who attended the townhall with me were with OFA and snuck us through the side door), and Carnahan supporters attacked a man they profiled as being a conservative. I and others have endless video and photographic footage of the evening. The “fracas” came from Carnahan supporters and there isn’t a police report or eyewitness that has stated otherwise. To report otherwise is disingenuous and the omission of the above implies that those targeted at the townhall contributed to the “fracas” and whether Wagman intended it or not, further implies that the “fracas” could be linked to the firebombing and that the perpetrator could be a tea partier. Also not cool.
The Daily Caller contacted Garrison, giving him more attention than he’s likely ever had in his ever-loving life:
A writer for a St. Louis alternative newsweekly tells The Daily Caller he does not regret speculating in a story that the suspect of an attempted arson of a Democratic congressman’s campaign office was a Tea Party activist…
“As to the legions of Tea Party adherents who are calling for my head: No, I have no regrets. I was having fun — at their expense,” River Front Times reporter Chad Garrison said in an email.
And this, ladies and gentlemen, is what happens when your zeal to be snarky exceeds your ability to write. Ha ha, just kidding.
No I’m not.
Was Garrison joking when he lied about the St. Louis Tea Party leaving a coffin, the notorious Coffingate of Spring 2010 story – wherein a small group of activists stood on the sidewalk in front of Rep. Carnahan’s house to pray for him the night of the health control vote.
Perhaps, he [the suspect] joined his fellow “patriots” earlier this year when they burned Carnahan’s photo in effigy or placed a coffin on the sidewalk outside his home.
The group brought a small coffin, in which to put the liberty killed by way of the vote, with them, never strayed from public property, and left with their coffin just as quietly as they came.
The next morning Carnahan’s sorority-dramatic press lady went wailing to the press with the story that the tea party left a coffin on Carnahan’s yard. Local reporter Betsey Bruce interviewed my St. Louis Tea Party Co-Founder Bill Hennessy at his home wherein he led her to his garage and showed her the coffin that was supposed to have been left on Carnahan’s yard. It was a less dramatic version of Al Capone’s vault but more successful.
[youtube P84OKTUx6LY nolink]
Months later and the alt-weekly is still reporting the made-up Carnahan talking point.
These distractions aside, the most amazing thing about this entire story isn’t the questions left unanswered, which are many, but the way in which new media once again has led the way in original investigative reporting. Wagman couldn’t even bring himself to credit by link the original sources which spurred him to further expound on the developing story.
The daily press wonders why its circulation is circling the drain; I know know why I only get six hits whenever the alt-weekly’s blog publishes another “Dana is Satan” piece: people are tired of seeing shoddy news gathering and politicians’ talking points poorly repackaged and repurposed under a sycophant’s byline.
What do these major news stories have in common: Van Jones, government co-opting of the arts, the Yoshi Sargent conference call, ACORN, Serve.gov, the JournoList — the list is numerous — have in common? They were broken by new media. Bloggers. Folks who don’t get the corporate paychecks but do more original content and newsgathering than many of the “journalists” who skate by on the reputation of the now-anachronistic term.
Do I expect an apology from these shysters of the news? No.
But local alt-weekly blogger is right: it is a joke that any journalist has to deflect to comedic failure to hide his lack of courage in his convictions, however ridiculous. Own the bias.
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