Here’s the thing, Joe Scarborough.
If you speak to a reporter, he or she isn’t necessarily chatting you up to land an appearance on your “Morning Joe” show on MSNBC or killing time. If a reporter — particularly someone covering the media — approaches you and asks a question, chances are high that whatever you say will appear in a story.
Does this really need to be explained to you at this point?
Chalk this up to the media thinking it shouldn’t be covered. Or else, a seasoned TV host who thinks his quaint comments won’t make it into a story because he didn’t realize he was being interviewed by a reporter running around CPAC.
So why should it bother him if it gets out there that he said he’s “available” to moderate a GOP debate?
Answer: Who the hell knows?
Here’s how the whole thing began:
Later in a story, Scarborough is described as being “interested” in moderating a GOP debate.
Soon it appears that Scarborough wrote the reporter, Washington Examiner‘s Eddie Scarry, by Twitter’s Direct Message system. Except he apparently doesn’t understand that both people have to follow each other in order to communicate privately.
Naturally the ordeal became public.
And this, to apparently ease Scarborough’s angst.
Asked what Scarborough said over DM, Scarry, who previously wrote for me at a fishy media outlet, dodged my specific question.
Scarry said Scarborough suggested that Scarry had gotten his story wrong.
He told The Mirror, “It’s unclear why Scarborough didn’t think my story was accurate. I simply asked if he has been approached by the RNC to participate in any of the debates. He said no, but that he’s available. That’s not a particularly controversial thing to say and it’s what I put in my story.”