Wow!! An Arrianna Huffington/Tim Russert brawl!!

[CatWoman]

:D

Big fuss over claims
about Little Russ

Celebrity blogger Arianna Huffington regularly attacks "Meet the Press" moderator Tim Russert as a Washington insider who gets chummy with the powerful. Usually there's no response.

But now Huffington has really gotten under Russert's skin - to the point of drawing blood.

Yesterday the entire NBC News publicity machine went ballistic on the impresario of Huffingtonpost.com, whose Web site is eight months old.

"The last time we heard from Ms. Huffington, she was hiring private eyes to investigate reporters," NBC News flack Barbara Levin E-mailed me yesterday, resurrecting an old charge that Huffington has repeatedly denied, including personally to Russert in 1996.

Tempers at NBC flared this week when Huffington skewered Russert's ethics for using his prestigious Sunday morning policy-and-politics program to hype his 19-year-old son Luke's sports-talk radio show - on which the Boston College sophomore will be paired with frequent "Meet the Press" panelist James Carville.

Huffington - along with her close friend, Slate magazine blogger Mickey Kaus - also derided Russert's scheduled keynote speaking gig next week at a journalistic ethics conference at Ripon (Wis.) College. She wondered if Russert will receive his standard $50,000-$60,000 fee along with first-class airfare for two - although, she wrote yesterday, "according to ... private planes are strongly preferred."

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/gossip/story/386287p-327783c.html

[salinen]

1. Russert

at a journalistic ethics conference? This is a silly planet.

[TahitiNut]

19. "Huffington scoffed: ..."

Huffington scoffed: "Inviting Tim Russert to keynote a conference on journalistic ethics is like having Jack Abramoff keynote a conference on lobbying reform."

:rofl:

[Burried News]

2. Why would they get so upset about a mere blogger?

You rock Ariana.

[Vinnie From Indy]

3. A hooker giving a morality lesson!

Russert at an ethics panel.

[Meldread]

4. I've always loved Arianna...

...if only all Democratic women (and the men, too) were like her. Well, she used to be a former Republican, so maybe there is hope.

[Loki]

5. My money is on Arriana.

Poor Timmeh, so thin skinned and so much of it.

[Gman]

6. Flame away but...

I like Russert and think he's as close to fair and balanced as possible. The way he deconstructed Condee a few weeks ago was right on. In fact, I think at times he leans a bit left. I also think Russert is probably the most honorable journalist of the entire MSM. I have a lot of respect for Russert. Yes, I am "series".

<---Asbestos suit on!--->

[xray s]

9. "most honorable journalist in the entire MSM"

whoo...you had me there for a minute! Honorable MSM journalist...man that's funny! :rofl: on so many levels!

[pretzel4gore]

11. you've been conditioned

it's simple fact that russert is a liar, a conman and has committed long running treason in the interest of fascism....he has aided/abetted the bush junta in overthrowing electoral politics and he continues helping bush by soft peddling news of bush's real affect while exxagerating the pretended 'hopes' the bushviks and their supporters claim is theirs: there was a story recently that the iraq adventure has cost $1 to 2 trillion, bush is trying to install a known extremist to the ussc, tens of millions of dollars were used to fund the gopigs, funds raised by lobbyist jack abramoff, and russert is in the lead trying to smotrher these stories....bush proclaims himself a hitler like dictator, and russert is helping him buy time while the fact sinks outta sight.....you're maybe sincere about russert, but fact is, russert should one day be executed for his crimes, and even if he wasn't as bad as brite hum or hannaty or bob shieffer/woof blitzer etc he's still one of those who have put themselves on the list of public enemies, with an asterick beside their names....

[tinfoilinfor2005]

13. Oh dear, here we go again. You are obviously thinking of Tim Conway.

instead of Tim Russert. Conway leans "a bit to the left" because he is playing a dorf, a witless moron. Russert leans a LOT to the RIGHT, because he IS he a dorf, and supports a witless moron.

[im10ashus]

16. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

:rofl:

That's so hilarious! I love Tim Conway though. :-)

[Gman]

20. Heat! It's Hot! Hot, I say!

Like I had no asbestos suit! Hot!

[Changenow]

28. You do know he reports on the Leakgate

story and doesn't disclose his role in the affair?

The sad thing is that standards are so low that his bias and insider dealing now substitutes for fair and balanced, people don't even remember what fair is.

[UTUSN]

7. My cash is on Arianna, and my love is on Catwoman n/t

[lovuian]

8. russert wasn't he involved with Plamegate???

he is sooo bad Arianna is right...

[otohara]

10. Russert To Head "Ethics In Media" Conference - Fred Barnes/Peggy Nooner

Arriana mentions this on her Russert blog -

Ripon College's Ethical Leadership Conference to be hosted by 3 republican media shills. Rippon College is a tiny liberal arts college (250 student body) in Ripon Wisconsin "Birthplace of the Republican Party" (Abe Lincoln's GOP) Ripon must have some big bucks to pay these 3 media horrors.

Ripon students will get no truth from this bunch.




News and Press Releases
Ripon 'Ethics in Media' conference, Feb. 2-4; Speakers include Tim Russert, Peggy Noonan, Fed Barnes

CHANGE OF VENUE FOR THURSDAY: RUSSERT SPEECH TO STORZER CENTER

To make reservations, call Ferne Maki at 1-877-231-0455 or 920-748-8351.

Release Date: January 2, 2006

RIPON, Wis. – Tim Russert of NBC's "Meet the Press" will provide the keynote address as part of a three-day ethics in the media conference at Ripon College. Ripon's Ethical Leadership Program will host "The Ethics of the Media: Public Trust/Private Enterprise," Thursday through Saturday, Feb. 2-4, in the Storzer Center and the Great Hall of the college's Harwood Memorial Union.

The conference, highlighted by Russert and several other major news journalists, is an intensive, three-day program of panels and guest speakers designed to investigate such topics as ethics in the media, the relationship between the media and the government, the role of public influence on the media, and whether the media is a business or truth provider to the public.

"We're very proud to be hosting the Ethical Leadership Conference, and I am looking forward to hearing the guest speakers for this special weekend," said Ripon College President David C. Joyce. "We welcome the gathering of people with alternative opinions, meeting together for reasonable inquiry and a search for truth. One of our main goals at Ripon College is to provide an effective educational experience for our students and, I believe, this conference serves as an avenue to reach that goal."


Tim Russert, managing editor and moderator of "Meet the Press" and political analyst for "NBC Nightly News" and the "Today" program, will be the featured speaker on Thursday, Feb. 2, at 6 p.m. in the Wyman Gymnasum of the College's Storzer Center; Peggy Noonan, best-selling author, contributing editor to The Wall Street Journal and former special assistant to President Ronald Reagan, will speak Friday, Feb. 3, at 12:30 p.m.; and Fred Barnes, executive editor of The Weekly Standard and co-host of Fox News' "Beltway Boys," will speak Saturday, Feb. 4, at 12:30 p.m. Both Noonan's and Barnes' addresses will take place in the Great Hall of Harwood Memorial Union.


http://www.ripon.edu/news/current/eliConference.html?cid=289&states=WI

[pretzel4gore]

12. too stupid to see the facts

like william blake said 'contempt is to the contemptable what air is to birds or the sea to fishes'... a school in a fukking conquered country gloriously sukkholing up to mediawhores who finessed it for the conquerors...

[burythehatchet]

14. excellent reference.

and much too sad to be anything but reality

[Ksec]

21. OMG thats just scary

Thats like having the KKK speak at a conference on racism. Jeez, we need to write some letters to the idiot who put that together. Barnes on ethical journalism? LOL

[Doctor_J]

23. All wingers speaking

they'd probably spend the whole conference raosting Dem journalists, if there were any Dem journalists.

[TahitiNut]

15. To get [ and ] to display in posted message, use &#91; and &#93;

[Like this] :hi:

Here's what happens when I repeat the subject line of this post character for character ...
To get < and > to display in posted message, use [ and ]


Here's the edited paragraph from the article ....

Huffington - along with her close friend, Slate magazine blogger Mickey Kaus - also derided Russert's scheduled keynote speaking gig next week at a journalistic ethics conference at Ripon (Wis.) College. She wondered if Russert will receive his standard $50,000-$60,000 fee along with first-class airfare for two - although, she wrote yesterday, "according to [Russert's lecture agent] ... private planes are strongly preferred."

Then ...

Huffington scoffed: "Inviting Tim Russert to keynote a conference on journalistic ethics is like having Jack Abramoff keynote a conference on lobbying reform."

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: So true!!!

[im10ashus]

17. Good for her!

He is an asswipe IMHO.

[htuttle]

18. Arianna types some words into her blog...

...and NBC mobilizes a multi-thousand dollar effort to counter it.

Hee, hee, hee:

"We'll march day and night by the big cooling tower,
They've got the plant, but we've got the power."
- Lisa Simpson

One day we'll figure out how to use it...

[GoldenOldie]

22. Russert is not a journalist

He is an attorney and performs as a defense attorney for this administration.

Journalists question all sides of an issue and report their findings allowing the reader to form their opinions based on facts the journalist has researched and reported on. The Russerts, Scarboroughs, etc., are performing entertainers whose only job is to defend the CON's......that's where the money is.

Defense attorney's will do whatever it takes to get thier clients off the hook, therefore Russert is doing is job.

[Gman]

24. Russert nailed Frist this morning

the look on Frist's face trying to answer about why the president broke and "ignored" the law was priceless. Frist's face showed he was extremely desparate to convince Russert and the viewers there's nothing wrong with the president breaking the law.

Russert an "insider" and too chummy? I don't think so.

[otohara]

25. Today Was A First For Russert

and Bill Frist is no longer pals with White House circle. He got dumped when the stock stuff came out - so Timmy was a little rough. Now if Dick Cheney is on or Rummy - no follow ups, no interruptions - just sit back and let the lies flow, so they will come back.

Russert is the only guy who gets White House Officials on a regular basis, because he's so kind to them.

Russert didn't want to testify in Plamegate - sent letter to Fitzgerald saying he would "ruin" White House relationships - couldn't chance it.

Insider.. I think so!

Maybe all this criticism from Arriana and other bloggers has made an impact - but I don't trust him!

[CatWoman]

26. or perhaps Russert is feeling the heat of his exposure

as an enabler of this Administration?

I don't see how you can honestly say Russert wasn't soft on these people when he interviewed them.

I just don't see how you can say that.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/fred-branfman/russert-at-the-feet-of-t_b_14638.html

[Changenow]

29. He let Frist off the hook in the end

Yeah, he played it tough at first but he didn't nail Frist on the emails which clearly showed he knew about the stock dealings. The Shaivo questioning was pathetic, we have deficits, corruption, war, declining standards of living, a deteriorating military and Russert asks "tough" questions about year old grandstanding? It played perfectly to the base, even if Frist profited from insider trading he was still their man on "life" (of formerly cute white women, the only people whose lives matter).

It was a tough-guy act Bud, transparent and meaningless when viewed in context.

[wildbilln864]

27. A good thing for blogs in general?

I do think it's great though that this will bring new readers to Arriana's blog and to many others probably. Then they'll see how much them MSM doesn't report.

[Garbo 2004]

30. Shouldn't NBC news be required to back up its claim about Huffington?

Not just cite Rollins' memoir. Is there any actual proof of Rollins' allegation? Perhaps a noted news organization should be required to put up or shut up when it's spreading an unproven allegation as fact. I recall Rollins had an axe to grind with the Huffingtons, he was scathing. At the time to me it was a strange thing for a political consultant to do...trash his former clients. I would have thought that might not be a career enhancer.

From a 1996 Huffington column regarding Rollins' "credibility:"

"We went into black churches," he said, "and we basically said to ministers who had endorsed Florio ... 'Don't get up on the Sunday pulpit ... and say, "It's your moral obligation that you go on Tuesday to vote for Jim Florio." ... How much have they paid you ... ? Well, we'll match it; go home, sit and watch television,' and I think to a certain extent we suppressed their vote."

On Nov. 19, 1993, in depositions for the U.S. district court in New Jersey, Rollins said that he had made all this up. His book is similarly peppered with fictitious conversations, the specifics of which testify to the power of his disturbed imagination, not his memory. Lots of petty liars make things up, though with much less pizzazz and without the detail that adds verisimilitude to his fabrications.

When Rollins was asked under oath whether he had ever told the story about suppressing the black vote prior to the Sperling breakfast, he replied, "I promise you, I did not. ... Absolutely not." Yet Sidney Blumenthal wrote in The New Yorker that Rollins had already said it at a Washington dinner attended by journalists Rowland Evans and Margaret Warner. And he had also repeated it to Mary Matalin. "Will Rollins face perjury charges," asked Blumenthal, "with Matalin in the witness box?"

...There have been exceptions. Editor Walter Isaacson said that he "killed from the excerpts in Time magazine the parts of the book for which Rollins could provide no substantiation." And NBC dropped specific allegations from "Dateline" after receiving signed statements directly contradicting Rollins' assertions.

http://www.ariannaonline.com/columns/printer_friendly.php?id=654

Wonder what allegations NBC dropped from its Dateline program...it would be interesting if one of them was Rollins' claim about Arianna that the NBC News flack is repeating now.