Politico has never taken a loss too gracefully.
Is the suburban Virginia outlet turning green with jealousy after TMZ kicked this town’s collective ass in getting the first footage of Hillary Clinton being questioned about the email scandal?
In a story Thursday by Kendall Breitman, Politico ran the following headline: “TMZ Stalks Hillary Clinton.”
Except there’s just one large problem: Was it stalking or simply reporting? Also, is it too much to ask for the Politico reporter to do a simple Google check? She refers to the TMZ photographer as “Colin [no last name given]” because that is how TMZ refers to him in its story. But actually, Colin Drummond has been ambushing lawmakers and celebs in Washington for quite awhile and deserves a last name. When David Beckham leaves the St. Regis, Drummond is there. When Anthony Weiner strolls in madras shorts, he’s there. When Tiger Woods is golfing in Bethesda….well, you get the idea.
The Mirror requested comment from Drummond.
Other reporters and a GOP strategist soon jumped into the fray.
Bloomberg Politics‘ Dave Weigel: “If that’s stalking, like 90% of Hill reporting is stalking.”
Purple Strategies’ Rory Cooper: “Exactly…stalker.”
The Federalist‘ Sean Davis: “Somebody should probably tell the Capitol Police about the coordinated Tuesday lunch stalkings. Scary stuff.”
CNN’s S.E. Cupp: “Guys, quit stalking.”
Washington Examiner‘s David Drucker: “I always say: Covering the Senate is getting paid to stalk old men.”
But it wasn’t until The Daily Caller‘s own Alex Pappas complained directly to Politico‘s Digital Editorial Director Blake Hounshell that anything happened.
Politico ultimately changed its headline to something far more accurate.
Right, TMZ asks Hillary Clinton a question.
Which is far more than Politico has been able to accomplish since the email scandal commenced.
Clarification: The Mirror previously wrote that TMZ had the first footage since the email scandal. The intended phrase was “about the email scandal.” The above copy has been changed to ease Politico Josh Gerstein‘s angst. Gerstein doesn’t seem to think there’s anything that wrong with his publication’s original “silly” headline accusing TMZ of stalking a politician.