'Gannon' and S. Dakota Editor at Odds Over Daschle Race (E&P)

[truthpusher]

http://209.11.49.220/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000809455

'Gannon' and S. Dakota Editor at Odds Over Daschle Race
credit: Aya Kawano

By Joe Strupp

Published: February 22, 2005 2:20 PM ET

(snip)

Among the attempts by Guckert to portray the paper as biased in favor of Daschle was a story that Daschle and Argus Leader political reporter Dave Kranz attended South Dakota State University at the same time. "They did know each other there," Beck acknowledged. "But that was all. He took things like that and tried to put it together and make two plus two equal five."

(snip)

Guckert defended his work today and said he did not write anything that wasn't true or was not also being reported by several conservative South Dakota blogs. "I think it was spot-on," he said about his coverage of the Daschle campaign. "The Argus Leader's news about Tom Daschle was underplayed."

Although Guckert said he was not paid by, or directed by, Daschle's opponents in South Dakota or in Washington, D.C., to write about the Argus Leader, he admitted to sharing information with local blogs, such as Daschlevthune.com and SouthDakotaPolitics.com.

"We traded information back and forth," he told E&P. "But having some special relationship, I would not characterize it as that. We were pursuing the same story."

Thune also appeared on Gannon's Web-only radio show on Feb. 8, 2004. He eventually beat Daschle in what many considered to be a major upset, given Daschle's standing as senate minority leader.

complete story:
http://209.11.49.220/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000809455

[ewagner]

1. Hmmmmmmmmm....

were any of those "web only" radio shows archived anywhere?

It looks to me that Gannon may have been running an illegal "527" by coordinating with Thune's campaign.....love to hear those shows....

[truthpusher]

2. I'll check, but I doubt they are still up. n/t

[truthpusher]

3. This is all I could find:

on edit: most of the links have been deleted, but here is some text:

Talon News originally investigated accusations of bias at South Dakota's largest newspaper, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader. Information gained as a result of that investigation uncovered what one public official described as a "Sopranos-style" pattern of systematic political intimidation by some members of Daschle's staff and campaign.

He explained that under the cover of "hardball politics" the intimidation is accomplished by pursuing those who are most vulnerable. Small business owners and their employees are particularly susceptible to bullying. The official said that threats of the loss of business or employment are usually sufficient to silence open political opposition, but sometimes a newspaper article is necessary to discredit a rival or critic. In a largely rural state of 750,000 people, nearly everyone is "touchable" in some way.

Steve Hildebrand, Daschle's campaign manager recently defended their tactics in a statement to the Washington Post. "You'll see us spending a lot of time attacking the attackers," he said.

http://daschlevthune.typepad.com/daschle_v_thune/2004/week6/

[BrendaStarr]

4. Yup looks like it.

That is pure Republican BS that Gannon fed to the website.

Notice that daschlevthune did not require any evidence that they presented to the public. We are just supposed to be braindead as they are.

There is an FEC challange ongoing.

I guess the people like Scaife, Coors (beer family) and the Heritage Foundation Bradley as well as Moon would be having problems if a site like Talon (through Gannon) is found to be coordinating with the White House.

Here is the CBS report on that (as well as rest of Gannon controversy)

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/02/18/opinion/lynch/main675050.shtml

[colonel odis]

5. "not also being reported by several conservative south dakota blogs..."?

i didn't know there was "several" of anything in south dakota.

[riverwalker]

6. Gannon must have E&P on speed dial

thats two stories today, both by Joe Strupp.

[Moderator]

7. kick to combine threads

[truthisfreedom]

8. 'Gannon' and S. Dakota Editor at Odds Over Daschle Race [E and P]

http://209.11.49.220/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000809455
'Gannon' and S. Dakota Editor at Odds Over Daschle Race

By Joe Strupp

Published: February 22, 2005 2:20 PM ET


NEW YORK Among the more curious sidelights of James Guckert's two years as a White House reporter for Talon News and GOPUSA is his deep involvement in coverage of the 2004 South Dakota U.S. senate race, which brought him into direct conflict with the Argus Leader of Sioux Falls. Guckert told E&P today that, in addition to writing articles, he had “traded information” with bloggers who are often credited with playing a key role in the defeat of Sen. Tom Daschle, the Democratic leader.

Guckert, who quit his job at Talon News two weeks ago, after it was learned he had used the alias Jeff Gannon and had ties to several sex sites, took on the Argus Leader last year in at least a dozen articles in which he sought to link the paper to Daschle or claim a bias by the paper against Daschle's opponent, John Thune.

<snip>

But Beck said the Argus Leader never ran a story on Guckert's allegations and, oddly, has yet to publish anything about Guckert's current problems. "What good is it going to do?" he said when asked why the paper was not covering Guckert's activities given his past reporting on the Argus Leader. "Because we never did anything in print to respond to him, there is no reason to do it now. I don't see how it serves the public in any way."

[nascarblue]

9. What a bunch of BS! NT

[merwin]

10. dupe

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1257699