Howard The Coward

Washington Post reporter and CNN host Howard Kurtz just finished an hour-long online chat. Over the course of that hour, Kurtz poo-pooed suggestions that the press has softpedaled UNSCAM, opined on the propriety of Martha Stewart appearing on NBC, and took no less than ten (out of 19) questions about “Deep Throat,” a possibly-fictional figure from a 31-year-old scandal.

The name “Eason Jordan” was never mentioned. Nor the words “Davos” or “Barney Frank” or “deliberately targeting journalists.” This despite the fact that high-traffic bloggers like Jim Geraghty and Hugh Hewitt prominently linked to Kurtz’s chat from the time it started at noon Eastern.

Anybody here believe that Kurtz didn’t receive a single question about Easongate today? I sure don’t–I sent half a dozen of them myself.

You’re a coward, Howard. Your silence, your outright stonewalling in failing to even mention a developing story about one of your bosses isn’t just deafening, it’s damning.

We’ll all remember this the next time you run a story about conflicts of interest in “journalism.” We’ll all remember you covering for your boss. Shame on you. You wouldn’t take this from another reporter–and certainly not from any politician–in the same position.

Shame on you.