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easymoney101

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Saturday, 07/10/2004 11:40:11 PM

Saturday, July 10, 2004 11:40:11 PM

Post# of 472958
The N.Y. Post is becoming a bad joke
Commentary: Veep fiasco threatens its credibility

By Jon Friedman, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 8:26 AM ET July 9, 2004


NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Let's face it: New Yorkers and serious journalists alike have long regarded the New York Post as something of a joke.



Since Rupert Murdoch took over the tabloid in 1977, it has entertained us with its trademark provocative headlines and an obsession with celebrity gossip. While highbrows mocked the tabloid's boorishness, we fans found it rather endearing. The Post seemed like journalism's answer to your crazy uncle, who shows up at a black-tie party and impishly shakes things up.

What other mainstream American paper would publish a headline screaming "HEADLESS BODY IN TOPLESS BAR," as the Post did in 1983?

But now, it pains this longtime Post reader to say that people are laughing at the paper, not with it.

It's becoming a bad joke.

Fixated on the task of printing what it deems scoops and exclusives at all costs -- even with only the flimsiest evidence to make its case -- the Post has been captured by its own game, and, worse, it has become a caricature of itself.



This became all but official Tuesday.

The Post ran on Page 1 what it proclaimed to be an "exclusive." It said the expected Democratic presidential nominee, John Kerry, would end the national guessing game and announce that he had selected Missouri congressman Richard Gephardt as his running mate.

Instead, Kerry proudly declared hours later that he had picked North Carolina Senator John Edwards. Immediately, the Post took its place alongside The Chicago Daily Tribune, whose notoriously incorrect 1948 headline proclaimed "Dewey Defeats Truman."

This week's blunder seriously threatened the Post's credibility.

Riding for a fall

It appeared to me that the Post was riding for a fall.

Over the years, it has seemed to take enormous pleasure in the problems, failings and scandals of mainstream and fringe celebrities. Nobody could kick you while you were down with the gusto of the Post.

Unfortunately, the Gephardt front-page snafu undermined much of the genuine progress that the Post has made over the years.

The New York Times noted in May that the average weekday circulation for the Post had jumped 9.3 percent to 678,012 for the six months ended March 31. At the same time, the figure surged 1.4 percent, to 747,053, at the Daily News and 0.3 percent, to 1,133,763, at the Times.

The Post's circulation was 480,000 when its editor, Col Allan, took the helm in 2001, said Post spokesman Howard Rubenstein.

The paper's business coverage has made strides in the past few years. Notably, its media coverage, anchored by magazine-industry reporter Keith Kelly, is practically a must-read in the industry. I think the sports section has slipped, but, judging by what I see on the New York subways, it's still very popular among men of all ages.

The Post's reporters would be well-served to show better judgment in story selection. Many are content to write rumor after rumor -- evidently willing them to be true -- and remind me of overaggressive baseball hitters who will swing at any pitch.

For better or worse, the Post's widely read Page Six daily feature has set a standard in writing about celebrity gossip (even though I confess I've never heard of half the socialites that it bellows about). At the same time, the Daily News' clever gossip specialist, Lloyd Grove, is gradually establishing a good reputation and may be putting some pressure on Page Six.

Swift reaction

The media's reaction to the Post's error of July 6 was swift and rough.

The archrival Daily News clucked about the Post's error. On July 8, a News headline said: "Post gaffe: Rupe keeps his distance."

The News observed that Murdoch "spoke in the third person" when he told CNBC: "Everybody made a mistake and they are embarrassed and they've apologized for it, and it happens even on NBC sometimes."

The Post and the News are locked in a ferocious battle for circulation that seems destined to make the Hundred Years' War look like the invasion of Grenada.

The Post hasn't had it easy over the years. Even though it has frequently seemed to teeter on the brink, it always loved to stick it to its rival, which the Post called "The Daily Snooze."

The News returned the favor this week by delivering a case of Cold Duck and a bottle of Australian sparkling wine, in recognition of Australian-born Rupert Murdoch, who heads News Corp. (NWS: news, chart, profile), the Post's parent.

CNN's resident morning curmudgeon, Jack Cafferty, cheered up long enough to take a shot at the Post.

"We all make mistakes, but the Post made a dandy," Cafferty said, flashing a slightly satanic grin. "And we're all taking great joy in that."

Minutes later, on Fox's morning show, one of its hosts speculated, "Maybe somebody was out to sandbag the New York Post."

Could it be? A Democratic dirty trick perpetuated on the Post --which has shown great sympathy with conservative politics? It's the ultimate Beltway conspiracy theory! Where was Oliver Stone when you needed him to fan the flames! Where was a latter-day Woodward and Bernstein to dig out the truth!

Maybe Dick Morris, a former adviser to President Bill Clinton, who writes a column in the Post, should get on the case right away. How embarrassing for the Post that this Democratic insider couldn't get the straight info.

"The Post will never reveal any of its sources," said Post spokesman Rubenstein. "Col Allan took sole responsibility for it."

Big apology

"We unreservedly apologize to our readers for the mistake," Allan said in a press release.

I called Allan to get some elaboration about the debacle and was referred to Rubenstein. He told me that the paper had issued a statement and wouldn't be commenting further.

The Post, Rubenstein said, had "apologized for it. That's all we're going to do. We're not going beyond it."

Is Allan's job safe? I asked Rubenstein.

"Of course, it's safe," he said. "His job is safe. He handled the situation with grace, and it's behind them."

This isn't the first time that the Post has looked foolish under Allan's watch.

On the day after the New York Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox in the playoffs last October, some Post editions mistakenly included an editorial lamenting the Yankees' loss.

The Post's back pages

When Australia's Murdoch took over America's oldest daily newspaper in 1977, his editors introduced a new kind of journalism to New York.

The tabloid printed in-your-face headlines and elevated gossip to high art. The paper, in the tradition of London's trashy Fleet Street papers, aspired to sex appeal.

As usual, Murdoch's timing was impeccable. New York City was undergoing seismic shifts and was ripe for a newspaper that loved to dish the dirt.

Lively public figures suddenly emerged out of every crevice. Ed Koch was elected mayor, replacing Abe Beame. "Saturday Night Live" helped New York look hip. Reggie Jackson arrived as a free-agent superstar and transformed the staid Yankees into champions in "the Bronx Zoo." The bad news hummed, too, when Son of Sam terrorized the city and looters ran wild during the blackout of 1977.

Meanwhile, the Post is trying to move on and put a happy face on its predicament.

The day after the Post made its massive mistake, it tried to make light of the debacle.

It noted on the front page that Kerry had actually teamed with Edwards and added the words "(REALLY)" and "NOT EXCLUSIVE."

Ha ha ha.

I just wish the Post could do better and let readers again laugh with it -- not at it.

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B0D8A6067%2DE9AB%2D459C%2DA767%2D3DCC5DA969D8%7D&am...

"All truth passes through three states," wrote Arthur Schopenhauer. "First it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident."
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