All Blog Posts from Public Eye

Think the Larry Craig story was just a tabloid creature of late summertime?

Think again.

Eight men have now come forward in the Larry Craig story – for reasons that range from clear anger to admitted self-promotion – and they have told their stories to the Idaho Statesman, the newspaper that broke the story in late August. According to the Associated Press’ reporting of the matter:

Eight men say they either had sex with Sen. Larry Craig or were targets of sexual advances by the Idaho lawmaker at various times during his political career, a newspaper reported Sunday…

The newspaper identified four men and reported details of the encounters they say involved Craig. It also reported the accounts of four other men who did not agree to be identified but who described sexual advances or encounters involving the conservative Republican, who opposes same-sex marriage and has a strong record against gay rights.

It’s a blockbuster advancement in the story, no doubt. But seeing the coverage given the story all day Monday, a few questions occurred to me:

From a journalistic standpoint, does the fact that you’ve already broken the story make one’s job easier or harder?

If there wasn't already the initial Craig Story out there, would these allegations have the journalistic "oomph" to be considered news?

Does the threshold for news get lower once something is already "out there?"

I decided to put those questions to the Editor, Managing Editor and Political Columnist at the newspaper.

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In the wake of the Larry Craig story, Mike Rogers -- the blogger/activist who initially ran the accusations against the Senator -- is enjoying some serious media buzz. Take for example the profile in today’s Washington Post, which opens:

Soon, a new name will pop up on Mike Rogers's hit list.

Larry Craig wasn't "the first on my list," the gay blogger says. And the Idaho senator, who announced his resignation Saturday, "won't be the last."

Rogers, sitting on a club chair in his Northwest Washington apartment, is basking in the attention. For three years now, he's been a feared one-man machine, "outing," he says, nearly three dozen senior political and congressional staffers, White House aides and, most damagingly, Congress members on his blog. On Capitol Hill, a typical phone call from Rogers -- "Are you gay?" he'd ask -- is "a call from Satan himself," says a former high-ranking congressional staffer whose name is on the list.

To be sure, a lot is being made of Rogers’ role in the Craig story as a sign of the Rise of the Bloggers, but it’s also an anecdote about how traditional media still need to vet new media and verify the chatter happening online.

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