Suspended 'Blade' Reporter Fired (Editor & Publisher)

[WhoWantsToBeOccupied]

By Joe Strupp
http://editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002576509
Published: May 26, 2006 10:25 AM ET

NEW YORK George Tanber, the staff writer for The Blade of Toledo, Ohio. who admitted this week to writing an anonymous letter to the Pulitzer Prize Board claiming the newspaper's "Coingate" series was tainted, has been fired....

The anonymous letter, an eight-page document dated March 28, was titled "Deception and Coverup Taint Award-Winning Coingate Series." It claimed, among other things, that the Blade was aware of alleged illegal campaign contributions by GOP fundraiser Tom Noe prior to the 2004 presidential election....

Tanber commented: "I was fired for dishonesty....In fact, I was fired for revealing the truth, which, under the journalism code of ethics, I was obligated to do."

[robbedvoter]

1. Sitting on a story before the election? nah, who'd do a thing like that?

A, lookie here:

NEW YORK - CBS News has shelved a "60 Minutes" report on the rationale for war in Iraq because it would be "inappropriate" to air it so close to the presidential election, the network said on Saturday.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=762&e=...

[Judi Lynn]

2. Here's a working link for that article, and thanks for posting it.

(I didn't see it the first time!)

Published on Sunday, September 26, 2004 by the Associated Press
CBS Nixes '60 Minutes' Story on Iraq War

NEW YORK - CBS News has shelved a "60 Minutes" report on the rationale for war in Iraq because it would be "inappropriate" to air it so close to the presidential election, the network said on Saturday.

The report on weapons of mass destruction was set to air on Sept. 8 but was put off in favor of a story on President Bush's National Guard service. The Guard story was discredited because it relied on documents impugning Bush's service that were apparently fake.

CBS News spokeswoman Kelli Edwards would not elaborate on why the timing of the Iraq report was considered inappropriate.

The report, with Ed Bradley as the correspondent, has long been in the works. Originally scheduled for June, it was first put off because of new developments, Edwards said.
(snip/...)

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0926-04.htm

[bobbieinok]

8. AND NYT story on NSA illegal wiretapping

[Blue_Tires]

3. ttt n/t

[Judi Lynn]

4. Here's the view the Blade revealed almost a year ago:

Article published Sunday, June 19, 2005

OHIO SCANDAL
Allegations arose before '04 election
Democrats say Noe case concealed to assist Bush

By JAMES DREW
and STEVE EDER
BLADE STAFF WRITERS

COLUMBUS - In the final weeks of the 2004 presidential race, the nation focused on Ohio as both campaigns carefully choreographed every move by their candidates, knowing one misstep could throw the keys to the White House into the hands of the opponent.

The national media scrutinized every detail of the high-stakes political battle, as President Bush and Democratic challenger John Kerry crisscrossed Ohio, energizing their bases and reaching out to swing voters in the Buckeye state, which ultimately decided the race by fewer than 120,000 votes.

At the same time - beneath the surface and out of public view - allegations were swirling that Tom Noe had laundered contributions into President Bush's campaign, and facts were emerging that the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation had lost $215 million meant for injured workers in a Bermuda hedge-fund.

Now, more than six months later, those bombshells have created the biggest state government scandal in decades in Ohio. Democrats are charging that Republican leaders suppressed the potentially explosive information until all the votes were counted to save the President's re-election campaign.

The Blade has learned that the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Ohio knew of the campaign-finance allegations against Mr. Noe about three weeks before the November, 2004, election, giving it little time to do a thorough investigation.
(snip/...)

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050619/NEWS24/50619020

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sure would like it if somehow the ENTIRE TRUTH of this finally was shared with the American public.

[Blue_Tires]

5. ttt for those that didn't get the message

[Kurovski]

6. K&R(nt)

[BeFree]

7. Another casualty...

..from the WarPublicans war on the free press. A war they have just about won, eh?

[mirandapriestly]

9. this makes me so mad

they called him a "disgruntled employee". He is the one who should get the prize. That information would have made a big difference if it were released when they knew about it. Media in this country has become so blatantly biased.

[WhoWantsToBeOccupied]

10. I also deeply respect his having "no regrets about sacrificing a job..."

"I have no regrets about sacrificing a job I loved and have been successful at for many years for what I consider a greater good."