03.17.07
Just so everyone knows I’m “fair and balanced…”
The Washington Times engaged in some poor editing on this one.
I was interested in the event itself, not the wardrobe of the individual providing testimony. This segment is crappy journalism:
The 90-minute testimony took on the atmosphere of a circus trial; two dozen photographers scrummed and elbowed to snap shots of the petite bleached blonde, clad in a low-cut white blouse, beige herringbone jacket and snug brown slacks.
The fact that Ms. Plame is a “bleached blonde,” and wore a “low-cut white blouse” is so completely immaterial that its inclusion in a NEWS story (not an editorial or opinion piece) is inconceivable to me. And describing her “snug” brown slacks??? The reporter may as well have just said she had a nice ass and wore a shirt to show her boobs to the panel! This type of shabby, petty writing does nothing but give ammunition to those who view the Washington Times as a wacky, far-right, amateur rag. It does nothing but discredit a paper that has some extremely talented and saavy reporters and columnists (like Bill Gertz, for instance).
In a news story, you stick to the facts. The Washington Times isn’t unique - most major newspapers have lost sight of the idea that the news pages ought to be dispassionate and objective. Without question, they ought not to include references to fashion - particularly in the subtle-yet-obvious way that the Times portrayed Ms. Plame as a bimbo wearing tight pants. Absolutely disgraceful journalism.
