Journalists On Shooting Story List Unanswered Questions [View All]

[Ganja Ninja]

By Joe Strupp

Published: February 15, 2006 2:05 PM ET
NEW YORK For several days, the lag in news emerging about a shooting incident involving Vice President Dick Cheney has dominated media coverage of the episode. But based on interviews with E&P this morning, journalists covering or directing the story are becoming increasingly interested in the actual chain of events in the field, and at the White House, on the night of the shooting, when the vice president wounded his hunting companion, Harry Whittington.

For reporters and editors, from Texas to Washington, D.C., the details of the shooting itself and the immediate aftermath are the top unknowns, they say. As news staffers continue to pursue the story, many contend that the lack of detail is so vast that offering a clear picture of events is nearly impossible.

"The whole chronology of the accident, what occurred," Leonard Downie, Jr., executive editor of The Washington Post, said when asked what details he would like to know. "There is a lot that we don't know yet. We have to find out."

Specifically, those who spoke with E&P Wednesday cited details ranging from how far Cheney was standing from the victim (less than the 30 yards as claimed?) to why law enforcement investigators were turned away from the ranch Saturday night. "I would love to have a videotape of exactly what happened," said Robert Rivard, editor of the San Antonio Express-News, which has three reporters on the story. "It is a real reporting challenge because it is after the fact. There is not much of a record. The vice president left the state without so much as a statement. How is that?"

George Hager, White House editor for USA Today, also sought specifics on who turned away whom at the ranch. He noted that many simple details become more interesting to reporters when they are withheld. "That is a journalist's nature," he said.

More: http://www.mediainfo.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002033468