MSM Continues Use of Unauthenticated Memos

The following article is the latest on the unsigned strategy memo in the Terri Schiavo case, by Michelle Malkin. Please go to her site to get caught up on the entire fiasco by the Washington Post.

Bottom line is that the Washington Post reported via their wire service that the "talking points memo" using the Schiavo case as a political issue was issued by GOP party leaders. The fact is that they have no clue who issued the memo and have admitted such. Further the memo could have been faxed from any left leaning group to these Senators. We know that the left has used fake memos in the past for political gain.

Here is her post.

WASHINGTON POST DIGS IN
By Michelle Malkin · April 04, 2005 11:16 AM

You're gonna love this.

Washington Post media critic Howard Kurtz writes about the Schiavo memo once again, finally acknowledging that the Post did indeed report that the talking points were "distributed to Republican senators by party leaders."

The flap about a Washington Post report on an unsigned strategy memo in the Terri Schiavo case, which the paper said was "distributed to Republican senators," isn't going away.

It turns out that The Post's news service put out an early version of the March 20 story -- published by numerous other papers -- that said the talking points, which touted the Schiavo case as a political opportunity, were "distributed to Republican senators by party leaders." GOP congressional leaders say they never saw the document, whose author remains unknown. Post reporter Mike Allen, who was unaware the news service had distributed the earlier version, said last week that the paper was careful not to say it was "a Republican memo."

Incredibly, Post editors still refuse to issue a correction, even though the reporter who co-authored the article has now requested one:

Kate Carlisle, the news service's managing editor, says Allen's report was sent out at 9:07 the night before and "we weren't notified that changes had been made to the story after we got it." Despite criticism from bloggers, and Allen's request for a correction, Carlisle said no correction was warranted. Late Friday, the news service sent out an "advisory" saying: "The version of the article published by the paper did not specify the authorship and noted that the memo was unsigned. The authorship remains unknown." The advisory did not retract the assertion that "party leaders" had given out the memo.

Unbelievable. Opening this one up for comments...

Contacts:
- Mike Allen, White House reporter, (202) 334-6000, allenm@washpost.com
- Michael Getler, ombudsman, (202) 334-7582, getlerm@washpost.com
- Howard Kurtz, media critic, (202) 334-7420, kurtzh@washpost.com

Previous:
- St. Louis Post-Dispatch slaps the Washington Post upside the head
- Will the Washington Post please respond?
- What exactly did the Post say about that memo?
- Kurtz revisits the fishy Schiavo memo
- Kurtz dodges again
- Ask Kurtz
- MSM continues to ignore questions about the Schiavo memo
- Howie Kurtz tries to cover up
- Kurtz keeps quiet
- Did the MSM learn nothing from Rathergate?
- MSM ignores Schiavo memo story
- Another fishy memo