Will Media cover it now?

“You can bring a MSM reporter to the story, but you can’t make him report it.”
–DBKP’s LBG

Radar contacts Hairstylist

The Enquirer gives the MSM a BIG smoking gun

August 6 turned out to be Christmas for many mainstream media outlets across America, as the National Enquirer gave them not just one, but a whole collection of smoking guns. [THE PHOTOS EVERYONE'S BEEN WAITING FOR!]

UPDATES at end of story.
UPDATE #1: 15:09 EDT August 6, 2008
UPDATE #2 15:37 EDT
UPDATE #3 16:00 EDT -Curtains & PhotoShops?
UPDATE #4 16:44 EDT -Goldberg Interview & Goat Pounding
UPDATE #5 16:59 EDT -The Sweaty T-shirt & Camera Placement
UPDATE #6 17:30 EDT -MSM Template? and “Where’s the Andrew Young pix?”
UPDATE #7 18:14 EDT -Edwards schedule change & Observations

The Enquirer released the long-awaited John Edwards scandal photos. The traditional press now has the “proof” that they have been using as a reason not to report the story to their readers.

The Enquirer gave the MSM a smoking gun over two weeks ago: Edwards running from reporters as he was leaving the Beverly Hilton.

ALSO at DBKP: Click on banner to access over 60 DBKP stories and videos on the John Edwards scandal.

“Not big enough,” said some, while others thought it didn’t even look like a gun: it was only an Enquirer toy gun.

But will many MSM outlets report it even now?

The New York Times’ quandary now–outside of stock that’s dropped to half its value a year ago–is: How do you hide a howitzer from your readers, many whom already knew about it by searching the Internet?

THE REAL SCANDAL

The real scandal wasn’t that Edwards fathered a baby while married to a cancer-stricken wife. It may not even have been the “elaborate cover up”, as the Enquirer labels it. It was the monolithic refusal of the American mainstream press to even investigate the facts of the story, which were, with the application of a little legwork, easy enough for them to investigate.

After Edwards was caught by the Enquirer’s reporters at the Beverly Hilton at 2:40 in the morning July 22, the reason for not reporting was “there’s no confirmation”. When FoxNews confirmed the run-in by interviewing one of the hotel security guards involved, the reason shifted to, “We want to see pictures”.

Two weeks ago, Enquirer Editor-in-Chief, David Perel told DBKP, “The onus is on them to do some reporting.”

But outside of a few dailies and a few mentions at FoxNews, there was none. Customers of CNN, CBS, NBC, ABC, the New York Times, Time, Newsweek and the LA Times –where LAT’s Blogs Editor, Tony Pearce, infamously and specifically ordered his reporters not to blog on the topic–are still in the dark.

We weren’t the only ones in the blogosphere that takes deserved shots at the Mainstream Media for it lack of Edwards coverage.

Gateway Pundit [National Enquirer Releases Photo of John Edwards & Love Child] observes that “the National Enquirer continues to do the hard journalism the mainstream media refuses to do”. The photos he concludes are “Proof that is just too much for the tainted American media.”

Gawker’s Alex Pareene expands on the theme [The Edwards Love-Child Old Media Doesn't Want You to See]:

Hooray! The National Enquirer has published photos of former political person John Edwards with a baby. The baby is almost certainly made up in part of DNA he left in a woman named Rielle Hunter, a former Edwards staffer who now spends her time cashing checks and hiding in hotels and denying everything to the media (until Good Morning America finally books her!). So now would be a perfect time for, like, established print media to cover this story, right? Anyone? Ha, no, they are all too embarrassed. Once again, it’s up to the internet!

Radar did some legwork by contacting the Chapel Hill hairstylist of Andrew Young’s wife, Cheri, and concluded: “And there you have it: definitive proof of the affair! Get to it, mainstream media!”

They detail their efforts with their tongues-in-cheek, which highlight the glamourous-not side of reporting: [Stylist At Center Of John Edwards Lovebaby Rumors Clams Up]

With a little bit of legwork, we established that Young gets her hair done at Mina’s in Chapel Hill. We tried repeatedly to get Young’s stylist on the phone, but were told that she wasn’t authorized to speak to the press, and that we’d have to go through the owner, Louann. Louann seemed quite amused when we briefly explained why we wanted to talk to the stylist four days ago (all we said was that Cheri Young had been in the news, and that we wanted to talk to her for a few minutes); she said that she’d ask the stylist if she felt comfortable talking and get back to us, but that it didn’t seem like it would be a problem.

When she got back to us today, however, her tone was a little different: “She knows nothing, they’ve never had a conversation about that,” she said politely but firmly. When we asked what “that” referred to, Louann said, “That’s all I will really say about this.”

Thus, Louann was asked one more time about the scandal than John Edwards was from November 2007 through July 23, 2008.

Why didn’t the MSM report on the John Edwards scandal?

You can’t report what you don’t investigate; and, you don’t investigate what you’re not curious about.

But Christmas came in August for the MSM: with no investigation and no previous curiosity, they now have the biggest political scandal of 2008 to report on.

Courtesy of the good folks at the National Enquirer’s BIG Smoking Gun Department.

UPDATES shortly.

UPDATE#1: 15:09 EDT August 6, 2008

JammieWearingFool tries to get the MSM’s attention and wonders, “Hello, MSM: Can You Mention John Edwards and His Love Child Now?”

JWF answers his own question: “I doubt it. They’ll probably claim the images were doctored or were an invasion of privacy. Anything to protect their class-warfare golden boy.”

Simon, at Deceiver, devotes a bit of space to Cheri Young, wife of Edwards’ accomplice, Andrew.
Cheri Young Is a Saint details her involvement with Oprah’s Pay it Forward program. Simon also catches up with the wry obsevation, “Boy, you skip a day on the John Edwards/Rielle Hunter non-story and you miss a lot of non-news.”

More on Cheri Young later today in an LBG piece. [NOTE: LBG writes that her piece likely won't be done until Thursday.

UPDATE #2: 15:37 EDT August 6 2008

Lee Stranahan, who was banned by DailyKOS for bringing up the scandal in his diaries at the KOS site, [John Edwards Scandal: DailyKOS Bans Stranahan for Writing About Edwards] concludes (before the release of the Enquirer’s pix): “John Edwards needs to stop being victimized by his former employees Andrew Young and Rielle Hunter.”
[John Edwards Needs To Stop Taking The Fall!]

One of the few things beyond dispute is that Hunter and Young both claim that they are the parents of young Francis Quinn Hunter, born this past February. Young is a former assistant to Edwards and Hunter was hired by the Edwards campaign to produce some short films about John Edwards. Andrew Young is married and has children. Along the way — and during the campaign – it seems that they began having an affair that resulted in Ms. Hunter’s pregnancy. Around the same time, a horrible rumor surfaced that it was Senator Edwards who was having the affair.

Obviously, it was the affair between Young and Hunter that caused this entire mess. If this is all true, then their affair set off a chain reaction that ended with an innocent man being accused falsely.

The Huffington post piece makes no mention of Stranahan’s cheek hurting as a result of his tongue.

James Joyner, at Outside The Beltway, is not convinced, [John Edwards ‘Love Child’ Photo] observing, “Or, it could be John Edwards with some random baby and all PhotoShopped. Who knows these days?”

Could Dr. Joyner have, perhaps unwittingly, established the new line of defense for MSM non-coverage?

Emails to DBKP report media outlets in NYC are now reporting the Enquirer photos. That’s a big start.

Another email received by DBKP–and they are coming in, fast and furiously–opines that “Radar has the best pic of the Enquirer page”. [The John Edwards Baby Photos]

Radar asks a question on the timing of the photos:

Enquirer editor David Perel previously told Radar that he would release the photos on his own timetable, which wouldn’t be for at least a few weeks. It seems pressure from the blogosphere (and more mainstream outlets like Slate, the Washington Post, and late-night television shows) forced his hand.

In the DBKP update [John Edwards Scandal: Enquirer Editor, David Perel “We Drew the Media a Road Map”] to our original interview with David Perel [John Edwards Affair: Interview with David Perel, Editor-in-Chief of the National Enquirer] was pretty adamant.

“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.”

A Google search yesterday evening showed no mainstream outlets doing any reporting, outside of a few daily newspapers in Kansas City, Philadelphia, Hartford and North Carolina. But, traffic to DBKP’s Edwards stories spiked both at 8 and 11 pm yesterday. We also were expecting a “major update from the Enquirer on Wednesday” according to one particularly well-placed source.

But, Radar might have a point.

UPDATE #3: 16:00 EDT
CURTAINS and PHOTOSHOPS

Digital Journal has a story [National Enquirer Publishes Spy Photos of John Edwards and Alleged Love Child] with a picture of a Beverly Hilton room–and notice the curtains.

After going to the Beverly Hilton hotel website, to the Guest Rooms and Suites tab, the curtains do appear to be quite similar to the photos provided by the National Enquirer. This does lend credence to their claim Edwards was at the hotel and the photo of him holding the baby shows he was there at the same time as the mother and child.

A comment to the story by G. Robert M. Miller makes a point, among others, “Another thing – photoshop is a powerful tool (mind you, I really doubt that is what is happening here, in lieu of liability issues…)”

AllahPundit, at Hot Air [Edwards getting a bad rap on Enquirer photo?] is worried that someone at the Enquirer may have taken a Photoshop class.

Well, the original Enquirer story claims he was wearing a “blue dress shirt” when he entered the building. There’s no collar on the shirt in the new Enquirer photo (in fact, in the smaller photo — which clearly is Edwards — it looks a bit like a hospital gown), although I guess he could have changed for whatever inexplicable reason when he got to the room. Still not good enough? Okay, then — how’d they get a camera into the room in the first place?

Our own LBG, upon seeing the Enquirer photos, emailed, “Looks like a camera-phone shot from inside the room”. Which was in answer to our observation that Rielle Hunter may have tipped the Enquirer to Edwards coming to the Beverly Hilton. NOTE: LBG wrote “cell-phone camera”].

Our original obsevation was that the Enquirer knew about it and had a “spy cam” set up in the room.
The Enquirer’s reporters had their own rooms at the Beverly Hilton, indicating that they knew about the meeting. This was confirmed by Enquirer’s David Perel when he talked to us the day after Edwards was busted at the hotel.

“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.”

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

We’ll repeat our question of two weeks ago: “Might not that ‘good intel’ have come from Hunter?”

UPDATE #4 16:45 EDT

Bernard Goldberg talked about the scandal on O’Reilly Factor last night, as reported by NewsBusters’ Brad Wilmouth [FNC Talks of Edwards Affair & the Media, NYT Double Standards].

Goldberg spoke of the double standard employed by the New York Times in its reluctance to cover the 2001 story of Jesse Jackson fathering a baby with an employee, while the Times more blazenly printed less solid allegations this year against John McCain. Goldberg: “The National Enquirer broke that story [about Jesse Jackson]. And when the New York Times finally decided to run it, they put it on page 21 under a one-column headline. Compare that to a story with two unnamed sources that think that maybe that I’m not sure, but I think that John McCain was having an affair with a lobbyist. That winds up on page one of the New York Times.”

That would explain the 8 pm DBKP traffic spike mentioned in UPDATE #3. There was nothing on the O’Reilly factor site yesterday evening about the Goldberg interview. Wilmouth also reports O’Reilly’s squeamishness about the topic.

O’Reilly expressed his own hesitance to delve into the matter, which he only vaguely referred to as “a difficult personal deal,” because “I can’t verify the story,” and expressed concerns about the distress public exposure would cause the Edwards family. He further suggested that after more facts could be verified, that “I’ll mention it, but I won’t dwell on it.”

The entire transcript of the interview is provided by Wilmouth at NewsBusters.

Sadly, No!’s Clif takes all this pretty hard and takes it out on Slate’s Mickey Kaus, for writing on the Edwards affair and the media non-coverage. Clif’s take is likely one that we’ll see repeated in the big-boy media in the coming days [Goat Sleaze]:

In other words, if its rumored that you’re having an affair, you must forswear campaigns for public office. On the other hand, if it’s rumored that you blow goats, you can still be a columnist at Slate and repeat sensational tabloid allegations as if they were absolute truth.

Of course, Clif’s probably also upset that just last week he wrote [Someone Please Consider the Children]:

This, of course, does bring us to the photo question. Supposedly a swarm of National Enquirer reporters and photographers staked out Edwards at a hotel and they couldn’t manage to come up with a single frigging photo of Edwards. That seems a little fishy since every time I do something embarrassing several of my friends, none of whom is a professional photojournalist, have snapped a picture of the deed and emailed it to me (and everyone else I know) before my hangover has even worn off.

In that post, Clif was taking FoxForum blogger, Betsy Newmark, to task because she wrote on the subject. [What Gives?]

Oh, Betsy, you’ve been naughty girl haven’t you? You were hoping we wouldn’t click that link [DBKP's Perel interview], weren’t you? The Editor-in-Chief does not say that he has photos. The blogger interviewing the Editor-in-Chief says that there was a photographer there. Quite a difference. Indeed, if the National Enquirer, which has been humping this story harder than a terrier on a bitch in heat, had such photos, do you think they would keep them locked in their vaults? If you believe that, then I have pictures of Lindsey Graham, dressed in diapers and wearing a dog collar, giving me a blow job.

Now, we can say that David Perel, in that interview, did indeed say that they had pictures–and quite a bit more. Clif couldn’t have known that, of course. But, as Perel said, “There’s so much there, we don’t even need them [photos].”

Paraphrasing, “When the facts are against you, pound the law. When the law’s against you, pound the facts. And when both are against you?”

Pound a goat.

UPDATE #5 16:59 EDT
The Sweaty T-Shirt & Camera Placement

Dr. Rusty Shackleford, Jawa Report [Finally: Pictures of John Edwards With Illegitimate Child] wonders about the pictures of Edwards holding Frances Quinn Hunter.

Now, how did they manage to do that?

Don’t worry, I’m sure this will be the lead story at every major MSM outlet tomorrow.

Dr. Rusty has touched upon a future topic of, what promises to be, a furious debate. See UPDATE #3.

Susan Duclos, Wake Up America [National Enquirer Publishes Spy Photos of John Edwards and Alleged Love Child] joins Jawa Report on the furious future debate topic. Susan, in her update, wonders, “I now have added another question to my list: How did they get a picture of him and the baby IN the room?”

Sara K. Smith, at Wonkette, in a post filed under “Photo Evidence of Babies” [Suspicious Pics Of Edwards And Rumored Love Child At Last!], remarks upon the “sweaty T-shirt”.

Even more intriguing is another photo that shows Edwards in a sweat-stained tee shirt drawing the blinds with the demented expression of an evil surgeon about to perform an involuntary limb removal. Just more proof that, without the makeup and the AH WILL FAHT FOR THE VAWSLESS speeches, he can come across as a scary, soulless creep.

Anyhoo, here are the photos, you monsters.

Sweat…or drool?

Will the “stained T-shirt” enter the political lexicon alongside “stained blue dress”?

Jesse Taylor, Pandagon, [I Got Them Sweaty T-Shirt Blues] expounds on the sweaty T-shirt meme in an update:

The picture that’s actually Edwards, according to someone who can apparently decipher pixelated gibberish, is a file of him wearing “a similar t-shirt” a year ago. With similar sweat stains. The bigger story here, if this were true (which it’s not), is that a Garbage Pail Kid was almost Vice-President of the United States.

Lawhawk [Edwards Love Child Photos?] takes us back to the seven-month MSM blackout and echoes our many of own thoughts on Elizabeth Edwards:

Will the Los Angeles Times now deem the story newsworthy? Or, will they, like other big media outlets, continue to embargo the story because they’ve decided that it isn’t worth our time to read about Edwards conduct and marital infidelities?

My thoughts and prayers go out to Elizabeth Edwards and her children. She’s done nothing but support Edwards at every turn, even as she was experiencing a recurrence of cancer. May she take John for every last penny.

UPDATE #6 17:30

Kevin Drum, Washington Monthly [JOHN EDWARDS LOVE CHILD UPDATE] notes:

I can’t really tell if they’re genuine based on the small clip online, and I’m surprised the Enquirer hasn’t posted more than a couple of images, but they’re there. I’ll be surprised if the mainstream media doesn’t pick up on the story now.

We can say that there’s much more–at this time–in the print edition of the Enquirer. The image posted at the Enquirer’s website of the tabloid’s center spread featuring the pictures also mentions a
“Big Blowup with Mistress”.

Might not that be the answer to the many questions of how a picture was taken from what appears to be INSIDE the room? LBG is looking prescient at this point.

The Raleigh (NC) Telegram’s presentation of the story [Enquirer Publishes Blurry 'Photo' Of John Edwards] may be a MSM template:

After referring to the Enquirer’s photos, the article goes on:

Despite the Enquirer’s claims, it’s hard to tell who is actually in the photo, as it is extremely blurry and grainy. The Enquirer claims it is a “spy photo” of Edwards in the room, although it is not immediately apparent who took the photo, where it was taken, or when it was taken.

The Enquirer tries to bolster its claims by including another photo of Edwards wearing a similar shirt and photos of the inside of the hotel room showing similar curtains.

The Telegram offers its readers who wonder why they haven’t heard any of this before a “BACKGROUND ON ALLEGATIONS”, which includes:

“Mainstream newspapers had been reluctant to report on the allegations as there was little proof offered by the Enquirer and Edwards continuously denied the accusations.”

We’ll have the good manners not to make the point to the Telegram that Edwards has NOT “continuously denied the accusations”. He never had to, as he was never once asked about it from November until just July 23. The Telegram is correct in noting the reluctance–dare we say refusal–to either report or investigate on the accusations.

We wanted to note this for any stray Telegram readers who are searching for more information than their local paper has previously provided.

One reader wonders, “Where’s the pictures of Andrew Young and the baby?”

Good question.

We’ll amend a previous statement as to the real scandal of the Edwards’ affair. The story and updates have kept us from opening our latest assortment of cigars.

That is truly scandalous.

UPDATE #7 18:14 EDT

Gun-Toting Liberal [The National Enquirer Photos Of John Edwards And Love Child In Clearer Detail Here] may be liberal, but he’s not blind.

Let’s take a look at some of my fellow, heartbroken, shocked bloggers and their reactions, shall we? Most are voicing their disappointment in our mutual hero, but “smitten” by the great looking baby boy by the name of Frances Quinn Hunter. Of course, others are in denial, unable to cope with the thought of our hero living a lie…

GTL then quotes doubts from (listed above) Wonkette, Allahpundit, Jawa Report & Outside the Beltway. He also includes a nice PhotoShop of the Enquirer pix.

LBG, in yet another email, asks, “Where in the World is John Edwards? John Edwards was on the road making speeches every day until July 30. Then, he just dropped off the map. Until then, he was making appearances, sometimes three a day.”

LBG promises to expand the theme in the next few.

July 30 was the day that Edwards had to flee reporters’ questions on the scandal after an AARP speech in Washington, D.C. He escaped out a side area of the hotel, normally used for kitchen staff, as we reported then. [John Edwards Scandal: Edwards Bolts from Reporters Once Again].

NOTE to Raleigh Telegram: His “denials” that day consisted of “Sorry,” to “I don’t have time.”

We can find no mention in repeated Google searches of any Edwards’ appearance after July 30.

We did find references to Edwards’ LA appearance on Monday, July 21, [John Edwards Helps Introduce New Trust Fund to Spur Affordable Housing Construction] with the LA mayor.

Former U.S. Senator John Edwards joined Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Monday to announce the creation of a new $100 million affordable housing trust fund. KPCC’s Patricia Nazario reports it’ll give developers a faster and more flexible way to borrow money.

It was early in the morning of the 22nd when Edwards had his encounter with the Enquirer reporters at the Beverly Hilton.

The New York Post [NOVEL TALE OF POL'S 'MISTRESS'] notes

The Enquirer reported in exhaustive detail last month how Edwards was spotted visiting Hunter and her baby in a Beverly Hills hotel room. Several newspapers in North Carolina have called on Edwards “to clear the air and set the record straight,” as the Greensboro News & Record put it.

A new Edwards story, with updates, is scheduled for later in this evening.

by Mondoreb
images: national enquirer; military pictures

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