In an interview with NPR’s David Folkenflik, WaPo “reported” media blogger Erik Wemple cracked on ex-CBSer Sharyl Attkisson for not being believable. “I don’t buy her act,” he told Folkenflik on why Attkisson says she left the network. Attkisson has maintained that she left because the network wouldn’t run stories that could hurt President Obama.
In the Erik Wemple world of reporting, he makes up his mind first and then declares something without really doing the footwork involved. Not only does former NBC News correspondent Lisa Myers back up Attkisson’s claim, calling the coverage Obama has received “pretty gentle,” but why shouldn’t Attkisson be believed? She worked for the network for two decades. The execs wanted her to stay. And why does Wemple’s “I don’t buy her act” even matter? Wemple, as many may recall, drove Robert Allbritton‘s now defunct TBD into the ground. Ironically, he has turned around and crapped on Allbritton’s Politico more times than can be counted – vendetta much?
Wemple pompously writes, “This blog is fine with people calling out their former employers.”
OH, THANK YOU ERIK FOR YOUR PERMISSION ON THAT ONE.
Folkenflik, meanwhile, uses an interesting description of what talking to Attkisson is like. He calls it “intense,” saying she thinks her phones are monitored, that her phones have been hacked and suggests the government could be involved. A few sentences later, he says CBS confirmed the computer hacking but that they have no idea who was behind it. (In other words, she’s not some lunatic deserving of a padded cell. Her computer was actually hacked.)
As a result of Wemple’s interview to NPR, Attkisson tweeted the interview, calling Wemple a “gossip blogger.”
In response, Wemple posted an item about himself, his interview with NPR and Attkisson’s remark. His headline: “Erik Wemple blog described as gossip blogger.” In his item, as usual he overuses “the Erik Wemple Blog” as a way of talking about himself. Readers have written in to him about how annoying this is, but he persists. He asked readers to send in their “juicy tidbits” on Attkisson or anybody else.
Attkisson was asked via email about her interview with NPR as well as Wemple’s remarks about not “buying her act.”