John Edwards Scandal – Enquirer’s Perel to the MSM: Do Some Reporting

span style=”font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;” >”We drew ‘em a road map to the story. All they had to do was follow it and do a little basic reporting. We did it. Fox did it. They can, too–if they want to.”
–David Perel, Editor-in-Chief, National Enquirer,
on the Mainstream Media failure to check out the John Edwards affair and cover-up

DBKP’s 2nd Interview covers:

* David Perel on the National Enquirer’s latest allegations in the John Edwards scandal [EDWARDS' HU$H MONEY TO MISTRESS], which involve hush money being funneled to Rielle Hunter, their baby and former Edwards Director of Finance, Andrew Young, who earlier claimed he was the father.

* When the pictures are coming out
* Whether there is a video of the whole Beverly Hilton episode
* Why the story is important

DBKP talked to David Perel today, and the National Enquirer’s Editor-in-Chief had a little advice for slack-jawed competitors in the news biz who dismiss the story [John Edwards Love Child Scandal] because it appeared first in the Enquirer.

“Try doing a little basic reporting. Do the work. Prove us wrong.”

UPDATES to follow at end of story.
UPDATE #1: 6:25 EDT July 30 2008

A week after the National Enquirer’s reporting team cornered John Edwards in a Beverly Hilton men’s room, not a word about the growing scandal has appeared in the New York Times.

Nor on CNN, ABC News, NBC News, CBS News, or in the pages of Time or Newsweek.

Four days after Fox News confirmed the confrontation by interviewing a security guard at the Beverly Hilton, we’re assured by the LA Times that their “Metro Desk is on it”.

No word from the Times Metro Desk on what they’ve uncovered. To our knowledge, the memo that Times Blog Editor, Tony Pearce, circulated to his reporters not to mention the scandal on-line, hasn’t been rescinded.

No Denial from Edwards

A trial lawyer–one who has built his fortune and spent his life suing others–is accused of fathering an illegitimate child while running for president. He’s later caught in the Beverly Hilton visiting his mistress and their love child, then runs from the Enquirer’s reporters.

All together: juicy lawsuit time.

If the story is false.

Yet, Edwards hasn’t threatened to take action against the Enquirer. What does this say?

David Perel just chuckled at the question–then hinted at more to come.

“We have a little more up our sleeve.”

Perez Hilton [Hu$h Little Mistre$$] , scooped the New York Times and CNN on this story–merely by mentioning it. He asks the same questions as DBKP:

Johnny boy has yet to make a comment about the shenanigans asserted by the Enquirer.

Why not?

What do y’all think????

The Photos

What about the lack of coverage by the respectable press, and one report that the Mainstream Media is waiting for photos from the Enquirer before they’ll cover the story?

“I thought Gawker wrote it beautifully this morning.”

He then read the following passage from Ryan Tate’s piece, “Edwards Mistress’ Hush Money: $15,000/Month“

Also via Radar (see prior link), the Washington Post and Huffington Post are anxiously awaiting pictures from the Enquirer’s reporting, because it’s not enough that Edwards isn’t denying the affair or love child, Hunter isn’t denying the affair or love child, a team of Enquirer reporters saw Edwards go in and out of the hotel to visit the love child and a security guard confirmed to Fox News that Edwards hid from the Enquirer team just like the tabloid said.

The publications are also hungry for photos even though pictures of Edwards in or near a hotel will prove precisely nothing scandalous, in and of themselves. Talk about missing the point.

As DBKP’s LBG pointed out: “The MSM is waiting for the Enquirer to release photos to legitimize the story of an illegitimate baby.”

We agree. The mainstream press wants the Enquirer to do all the heavy lifting on the story, then, after the photos are published, tag along for the ride.

Their reasoning seems to be: the story is in the Enquirer. The Enquirer’s not credible, so the story’s not credible. But, when the Enquirer publishes the photos (You mean, in the same Enquirer that’s not credible?), then we’ll decide that it’s credible enough to run with.

Got that?

We asked Perel about the MSM’s call for photos. How about it?

“We’re on our schedule. Because we’re the only ones that pursued the story, they can’t get it anywhere else. We’re on our schedule and no one else’s. We’ve been leading the way on this. You want to see more? Go out and do your own reporting.”

This was as Radar reported Perel saying yesterday [Where Are the John Edwards Photos?]

“But no one will dictate the time-table for when we release our unpublished material. We’ve been setting the agenda, and will continue doing so.”

Today, he added, “We drew ‘em a road map to the story. All they had to do was follow it and do a little basic reporting. We did it. Fox did it. They can, too–if they want to.”

What about rumors that the Enquirer is in possession of video footage of Edwards running from the Enquirer’s reporters and hiding in the bathroom at the Beverly Hilton?

Perel thought about it and chuckled again.

“Hmmmm. We…we’re not done. That’s all I’m saying. We’ll see.”

Which would provide the MSM with at least one other excuse for not covering the story.

Maybe they’re waiting for the movie.

Why hasn’t Edwards denied the Enquirer’s allegations since December, when the tabloid named Rielle Hunter as the mother of their love child?

Perel didn’t hesitate.

“He can’t.”

Finally, what do you say to those who say that Edwards is no longer running for public office, so this is “not news”?

Continue reading and updates: John Edwards Scandal: Enquirer Editor, David Perel “We Drew the Media a Road Map”

by Mondoreb
Source: John Edwards Scandal: Enquirer Editor, David Perel “We Drew the Media a Road Map”

John Edwards, Rielle Hunter Affair: U.K. Papers Publish Edwards Scandal Stories

The New York Times cites the “public’s right to know” every time they reveal national security documents that aid and abet terrorists. However, when it comes to the John Edwards affair, the “public’s right to know” be damned.
–R.E. Bierce

The state of the media coverage–or rather, non-coverage–six days after the National Enquirer’s reporters catch John Edwards at the Beverly Hilton visiting his mistress and their love child.

Independent, Times Run American MSM Blockade on Edwards Affair News

Two daily newspapers from the U.K. cover the news the American mainstream media won’t. More specifically, the John Edwards Love Child news.

The Independent Sunday edition contained “Love child and mistress claims hit Edwards“, while the Times also offered major coverage.

Guy Adams of the Independent has an entertaining account of the affair.

Amid scenes more suited to a Benny Hill sketch than the corridors of a luxury hotel, two journalists and a photographer chased Mr Edwards – whose wife Elizabeth is battling incurable cancer – around the building for several minutes. He eventually went to ground in the men’s lavatory for a quarter of an hour, before being escorted from the premises by security staff.

The incident was reported in lurid detail by The Enquirer, and followed up in dozens of America’s influential political blogs and news websites, which claimed that Mr Edwards and Ms Hunter were filmed entering the hotel room at 9.30pm.

The country’s upmarket newspapers and major broadcasters refused to investigate The National Enquirer’s claims. Tony Pierce, the editor of The Los Angeles Times, went so far as to order staff “not to cover the rumours or salacious speculations”. Its unofficial blackout appeared to be holding firm until Friday night, when the presenters of Fox’s 9pm talk show, Sean Hannity and Alan Colmes, ran a report that confirmed several major details of the Beverly Hilton incident, and asked: “Why were the reporters chasing Edwards, and why is this story nowhere in the mainstream media?”

As mentioned, The Times also carried big coverage of the scandal in yesterday’s Sunday edition.

We’re not nearly as enthusiastic about that story however.

The Times’ reporter, Sarah Baxter, lifted quotes from DBKP’s John Edwards Affair: Interview with David Perel, Editor-in-Chief of the National Enquirer without giving credit to DBKP.

[Nearly 3 days after we alerted the Times to the problem, they still have not acknowledged it. Someone at the Times is aware of the problem, however. Two comments left on the story voicing plagiarism concerns went unpublished, while other comments--submitted later--were. MSM Stealing Blog Content: Times Online Joining Growing MSM Trend?. What we once thought was surely an oversight is now apparently Times' policy.]

Doug Ross, who discovered the problem, has the story: “Sunday Times runs John Edwards-Mistress-Love Child story, rips off blogosphere“

But, as the Soviet government found out, it’s hard to control the flow of information in the Digital Age. The lesson remains lost on MSM editors, but it’s a lesson that will be taught nonetheless. Media watchers scurry to find a pulse on a MSM that insists on selling a dying product of warmed-over liberal socialism and “all the news we decide you can handle” to the dwindling few who rely on them for “news”.

There’s no pulse on a corpse.

However, the American media blockade of the story is slowly being penetrated. The Hartford Courant’s Kevin Rennie raises a point that MSM editors might consider:

Continue reading: John Edwards, Rielle Hunter Love Child: U.K. Papers Help Break Media Blockade

by Mondoreb
Source: John Edwards, Rielle Hunter Love Child: U.K. Papers Help Break Media Blockade

Mondoreb blogs at Death By 1000 Papercuts.com. Interested readers can e-mail him at
mondoreb@gmail.com.

John Edwards-Rielle Hunter Library of Stories UPDATED

UPDATED: DBKP.com stories on the John Edwards-Rielle Hunter Affair, July edition.

Over 40 DBKP stories on the John Edwards Love Child Scandal. Includes links to the original three reports from the National Enquirer.

Death by 1000 Papercuts LIBRARY JOHN EDWARDS LOVE CHILD SEX SCANDAL UPDATED: July 25, 2008 * John Edwards-Rielle Hunter Love Child: Fox New Confirms Natl. Enquirer Story with UPDATES 1, 2 and 3 * John Edwards-Rielle Hunter Love Child: Fifteen Quotes to Watch a Coming Media Circus By * John Edwards Love Child: Natl. Enquirer Reporters File Criminal Charges * John Edwards, Bill Clinton, Gary Hart: Video Denial Trifecta * John Edwards-Rielle Hunter Affair: Love Child Scandal Jokes * John Edwards-Rielle Hunter Love Child: LA Times Censors Reporters on Story * Edwards Love Child: Worst Denial Video Ever * John Edwards Affair: Interview with David Perel, Editor-in-Chief of the National Enquirer * John Edwards, Obama VP Chances: From the Short List to the Sh*t List * John Edwards-Rielle Hunter Love Child: Story about to Enter MSM? UPDATES #1 & 2 * John Edwards, Rielle Hunter Love Child: What if they Gave a Scandal and Nobody Came? * John Edwards and Love Child Mom Rielle Hunter Rendezvous in LA * John Edwards Love Child, Rielle Hunter: Edwards Runs Into Men’s Room Fleeing Enquirer * John Edwards, Rielle Hunter Love Child: Edwards Caught but MSM Just Now Catching Up * John Edwards Love Child Scandal: Edward Caught with Mistress and Love Child

Over 25 DBKP stories from our December – June coverage of John Edwards and Rielle Hunter can be found at:

John Edwards Love Child Scandal Library of DBKP stories

by Mondoreb
Source: John Edwards Love Child Scandal Library of DBKP stories

John Edwards Affair: What if They Gave a Scandal and Nobody Came?

The Dereliction of Duty
of the Mainstream Press
The John Edwards Affair

The John Edwards-Rielle Hunter episodes highlight what is, increasingly, a clear case of dereliction of duty in the Mainstream press.

The media mavens at all the old places people used to turn to for news (Time, Newsweek, NY Times, CNN, CBS, etc.) are not only silent, they have–and are–aggressively protecting John Edwards from any PR fallout of his affair with Rielle Hunter.

ALSO at DBKP: Over 35 stories on then John Edwards-Rielle Hunter story:

To paraphrase the age-old question, “If a scandal breaks and the Mainstream Media doesn’t report it, does anyone hear about it?”

The answer these days, is “Yes”–thanks to the Internet. Bloggers are the favorite whipping boy of major media apologists in academia–most who spend their time flacking for former employers and castigating the Blogosphere as “irresponsible”.

What label should be applied to news organizations who, during the Edwards affair, have strict observance of omerta would have made any Mafia chieftain proud?

Would “irresponsible” be appropriate?

Mickey Kaus is looking for signs that big media organizations, having accepted John Edwards’ elaborate denials of the mistress/baby story, might now be interested in the latest developments. He speculates, correctly I’m sure, that the Obama campaign has noticed the news. But as far as the mainstream is concerned, nothing yet.
–Byron York, National Review: Edwards, Cont’d

When the Enquirer first broke the Edwards story in October 2007, the details at that time were sketchy. A generous person will forgive the lack of attention it received at that time in the mainstream press. Curious details escaped the press then: such as why a then-obscure Rielle Hunter would come forward to denounce the Enquirer’s story on a small blog–when the Enquirer hadn’t named the “other woman” in October. [Why Did Rielle Hunter Denounce the National Enquirer NINE WEEKS Before the Paper Would Name Her as the “Other Woman?]

When next the Enquirer returned to the Edwards-Hunter affair in December, it named Rielle Hunter–formerly known as Lisa Druck–as his companion. It also reported a number of verifiable facts that were also ignored by the MSM: Hunter was now settled in a gated community 5 miles from the Edwards campaign HQ; she was driving around in a BMW registered to Edwards’ former Director of Finance; and, she was living in a multi-million dollar house owned by a Edwards’ backer.

The press remained curious un-curious. [Curious Circumstances Excite No Curiosity in the Mainstream Media].

Even the fact that Elizabeth Edwards–a campaign mainstay up to that point–suddenly disappeared from the campaign trail after the second story, broke brought no interest.

NOT ONE question was put to Edwards on the campaign trail by the members of our “adversarial” press. Some speculated that the whole story was a concoction of the Clintons, but the Clintons didn’t manufacture the facts of the story. [Edwards Alleged Love Child: Clintons Orchestrated Rumor?].

Unless the Clintons are into voodoo, Edwards was responsible for being the room with Rielle Hunter at the Beverly Hilton yesterday.

Part of the blogosphere picked up on the story and another half screamed because of that attention. [The Edwards Scandal, The Press, The Enquirer and the Blogosphere]

Bob Schieffer of CBS News revealed the new MSM standard of proof in play when one of their “chosen” are threatened.

BOB SCHIEFFER: Well, you know I saw that this morning. I believe that — I believe that’s a story that we will be avoiding, because it appears to me that there’s absolutely nothing to it. I’m told that another — a man says that the child is his. I’m told that the woman who seems to be pregnant says it’s not his. So I guess — I guess we’re going to pass on that. Unless you come up with some new information on this, Don.
–When asked about the John Edwards-Rielle Hunter story On the Don Imus show

“I said I need back-up!! NOW!!
I got Bob Schieffer’s sense of curiosity here!”

Scandal? Well, Edwards denied it so there’s no story. Right, Bob?

Mickey Kaus of Slate followed the events that happened–and was constantly under attack for having done so. Kaus now wonders, rightly, about what the MSM will do now that Edwards was caught visiting Hunter in LA yesterday by the Enquirer:

P.P.S.: Will this be the first presidential-contender level scandal to occur completely in the undernews, without ever being reported in the cautious, respectable MSM? That’s always seemed an interesting theoretical possibility–a prominent politician just disappears from the scene, after blogs and tabloids dig up dirt on him, but nobody who relies on the Times, Post, network news or Mark Halperin has the faintest idea why.
–Mickey Kaus, Slate: Edwards Busted

Perhaps, the MSM found it difficult to tear themselves away from their PR duty on the Obama Magical Mystery Tour?

Again, Byron York, wonders:

On the John Edwards story, I do wonder how much, if any, coverage this report will receive. Edwards is, after all, in the pool for the Democratic vice presidential nomination; after first seeming to take himself out of the running, he put himself back in the race two weeks ago, telling NPR, “I’m prepared to seriously consider anything, anything [Obama] aske me to do for our country.”

Of course, there’s the question of whether the big media outlets will want to pick up a National Enquirer story. If I remember correctly, the Rush Limbaugh oxycontin story was broken by the Enquirer, and the press ran with that one.

Byron York: RE: Edwards

Of course, the MSM and the shrinking few who depend on them for “news” had their stock answer: “It’s in the Enquirer”.

Roger Simon had a ready answer:

…Oh, one last thing, for those of you who say it’s The National Enquirer, how do we know it’s true? I suggest you Google the “National Enquirer and OJ Simpson.” They broke most of the important stories on that case. In general, these days they’re vastly more reliable than The New York Times.
Roger Simon, John Edwards in a Feydeau Farce at the Beverly Hilton

The Enquirer may have been a tainted news source (John Edwards Love Child Scandal: Source Too Tainted for MSM?], but at the scandal game, they proved much more reliable than the New York Times during their sad attempt: the John McCain-Vicki Iseman story.

Doug Ross, in Enquirer: John Edwards Visits Rielle Hunter and their Love Child provides a complete recap of the Edwards-Hunter story–and the original lack of interest by the MSM in a Democrat cheating on his cancer-stricken wife.

Pareene, at Gawker, has an excellent take on the media coverage:

The National Enquirer spent months chasing John Edwards and digging into his relationship with Rielle Hunter before busting him spending the night in a hotel with the woman and the former Democratic presidential candidate’s alleged love child. It was impressive and quintessential tabloid work. But there’s no reason the paper should have had the scandal all to itself. Isn’t this the sort of thing traditional newspaper tabs like the Post used to cover? And even starchy broadsheets should have had some interest — it was the Miami Herald that busted Gary Hart in 1988 (when his mistress left his townhouse — shades of the Edwards affair) and the Times that broke the story of Eliot Spitzer’s whoring earlier this year.

Don’t forget, also, that Newsweek’s Michael Isikoff had the initial dirt on Monica Lewinsky a decade ago. A reputable magazine could have broken this story, as well!

In fact, the media had a full nine months to get the goods on VP hopeful Edwards following an October Enquirer story and coverage in the Huffington Post and Slate, and even longer if they were paying attention. According to the Enquirer, Edwards met secretly with Hunter “several times” after the fall coverage, so there was dirt there for an enterprising reporter to find.

Of course.

Gawker then asked several questions: “When is an affair a political career killer? Bill Clinton was able to stump effectively for his wife despite the Monica Lewinsky mess; San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom is said to be eyeing a run for California governor despite sleeping with an aide’s wife and people have already begun talking about Spitzer’s rehabilitation.

“More to the point: When is an affair while your wife is dying of cancer NOT a political career killer? Is there a “he needed to get through the pain” angle? Or is it more “he needs to not show his face around here again, ever” situation?”

Perhaps the emphasis on this story will shift much more quickly this time around. From John Edwards comically taking refuge in a mens room, it will move to the MSM’s retreat into omerta.

If the role of the press–especially during election time–wasn’t so important, their dereliction of duty would be fodder for a hilarious reality show.

Their failure to fulfill their adversarial duties on the John Edwards-Rielle Hunter story is as spectacular as the fall of their stock prices.

by Mondoreb
Sources:
* John Edwards, Rielle Hunter Love Child: What if they Gave a Scandal and Nobody Came?
Gawker: How Did Edwards Affair Stay Hidden?

image: blue roof

John Edwards Affair: Interview With David Perel, Editor-In-Chief, National Enquirer

DBKP Exclusive!
An Inside Look at How the National Enquirer
Scooped the Mainstream Media
In the John Edwards-Rielle Hunter Investigation
–Difficulties, as well as Disapproval and Dismissal by the MSM during the investigation.

How did the supermarket checkout staple, The National Enquirer, scoop the combined forces of CNN, CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox News, Time Magazine, Newsweek, USA Today, New York Times and the rest of the mainstream press in the John Edwards-Rielle Hunter Love Child affair?

“Inquiring minds want to know.“

After an hour-long interview with David Perel, Editor-in-Chief of the National Enquirer, we can now say with certainty: it was easy. The steadfast “cone of silence” placed on the story by the Mainstream Media made it easy for anyone willing to do the legwork to grab the story from a decidedly-uninterested “respectable” press.

Perel, who was promoted to Editor-in-Chief of the Enquirer in 2005, has overseen the John Edwards Scandal investigation from the very start and provided DBKP with some interesting insights on Edwards, the Love Child Scandal and the Mainstream Media.

Mondoreb: Hi David, congratulations on the National Enquirer’s scoop of the mainstream press–again.

David Perel: Thank you. It was nice to finally have the “smoking gun”.

Mondo: This story has been on-going over the last–what–ten months?

DP: Yes, something like that. Certainly, it’s taken some time.

Mondo: Do you feel vindicated by the latest turn of events in the John Edwards Love Child Story–after the Enquirer’s reporters cornered Edwards in the Beverly Hilton?

DP: Absolutely. We’d gotten information and tips that Edwards was seeing Rielle Hunter and the baby. On Monday, we got some good intel that there was going to be a meeting at the Beverly Hilton hotel and we got the information in time to get everyone in place when it happened. We had a big team on it.

ALSO at DBKP.com: * Over 35 stories on the John Edwards Love Child Scandal, from the beginning.

Mondo: I seem to remember that back in December, when the Enquirer broke the second installment of the Edwards scandal, that you had seven reporters working on the story then. How many did you have at the Beverly Hilton this time?

DP: There were seven on this story, also.

[NOTE: Presumably, they were all in optimum positions, as Edwards ran into not only two Enquirer reporters trying to make his escape from the hotel, but at least one Enquirer photographer, as well.]

Mondo: It’s been over ten months since the Enquirer broke the Edwards scandal; seven-plus months since the December story that named Rielle Hunter as the “other woman” and showed her visibly pregnant. What was the Enquirer doing in the last seven months that the major press organizations could have been doing, but didn’t, that allowed you scoop them?

DP: We stayed on the story. We did it the old-fashioned way, with lots of legwork. We did what the major news organizations used to do: we knocked on doors, ran down leads and talked to people.

Mondo: Why do you think the “major news organizations” didn’t do this?

Read the rest: John Edwards Affair: Interview with David Perel, Editor-in-Chief of the National Enquirer

by Mondoreb
Source: John Edwards Affair: Interview with David Perel, Editor-in-Chief of the National Enquirer

Smoke Nazis, Health Nazi Stories

“Government never takes freedom in one swift move. It regulates and legislates it away, a little at a time– mostly in the name of “protecting” you.”
–R. E. Bierce March 19, 2008

DBKP stories and videos on Smoke Nazis, those mostly unelected officials on a No-Smoking Jihad against personal choice and liberty. UPDATED: July 15, 2008 * German Nazis, Smoke Nazis: Anti-Smokers Use Hitler’s Blueprint * Nanny State: Personal Freedom Ends Where the Smoke Nazis Rule * Smoke Nazis Roll Over Pipe Smokers Convention, Individual Rights * Smoke Nazis: Man Arrested for Dropping Ash onto Pavement * Smoke Nazis Hit Jackpot in Colorado Casinos * New California Law: No Freedom from Smoke-Free Health Nazis * Health Nazis’ Next Target: Obesity Requires Global Action Like Climate Change * Smoke Regulators Go After Apartments : At What Point Will They Stop? * Smoke and Health Nazis: The Tyranny of the Minority * Virginia Supreme Court Rules Legislature Cannot Delegate Taxing Power to Non-elected Bodies

by Mondoreb
image: RidesAPaleHorse
Source: DBKP.com and DBKP@Blogger archives