By Dan Kennedy • The press, politics, technology, culture and other passions

Maureen Dowd odds and ends

As the Maureen Dowd plagiarism story continues to wind down, a few stray pieces:

  • Despite Jack Shafer’s splendid suggestion that Dowd offer a full accounting of what happened in today’s column, she instead weighs in with an insipid imaginary conversation between Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld. Gah.
  • Talking Points Memo’s Josh Marshall, whose words were appropriated without credit by Dowd in her Sunday column, says he “never thought it was intentional,” and “that’s pretty much the end of it.”
  • The New York Post has picked up my Guardian column on the matter. Sure, I’m getting a kick out of it. But I’m also less than thrilled to be drafted by Rupert Murdoch into his ongoing pissing match with the Sulzbergers.

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15 Comments

  1. Treg

    Dan – If the Sulzbergers have any sense, they’ll read your stuff and offer you a job.No link to Media Nation, though? That’s a rip.When I saw Josh Marshall’s little note yesterday, I couldn’t help thinking he has played this thing just about perfectly. I wonder how many new regular visitors to his site he just picked up.

  2. matteomht

    I’d start plagiarizing Dowd’s columns myself, except she writes nothing that’s worth repeating.

  3. Bill Baar

    Dan, is she worth all the electrons you’re giving the story?What about the media’s coverage of Af Pak?Or Sri Lanka?Dowd and way too many others are about selling themselves, not reporting or analyzing news and events.

  4. Dan Kennedy

    Bill: Why don’t you send an e-mail to Dan Shaughnessy and tell him he should be writing about Pakistan rather than David Ortiz? I’m a media critic, for cryin’ out loud.

  5. Dan Kennedy

    P.S. Just to make myself clear: in the small, insular world of media criticism, there is no such thing as a story more important than an A-list journalist facing credible charges of plagiarism or fabrication. This is our Pakistan, even if this particular story seems to be fizzling out. If any readers think I’m wasting their time, I would be happy to refund their subscription fees.

  6. GuyfromNH

    MoDo’s column of today… insipid? Dan, you’re being way too kind. It was a piece of light froth, probably tossed out after a half hour of typing while MoDo was daydreaming of her next NYT expense account trip with her BFF Alessandra Stanley… amazing that the NYT pays for such nonsense, amazing that it gets published in what was once a well-respected OpEd page…

  7. Peter Porcupine

    DK – criticize THIS! :~)http://thehill.com/business–lobby/democrats-seek-financial-rescue-of-minority-owned-broadcasters-2009-05-19.htmlThe Hill is reporting that House Democrats – including our own Mr. Frank – want to offer a financial bailout to broadcasters who have lost ad revenue – but only to minority owned broadcasters…

  8. Treg

    Just read her column today. Poorly executed. She evidently doesn’t realize writing diaglogue is an art unto itself. Love how she has the Cheney character define “NIMBY,” just in case her readers don’t know what that means.

  9. endangered coffee

    I must confess, today’s is the first Maureen Dowd column I have ever read.And the last.

  10. bostonmediawatch

    WHAT? She’s not going to be buried up to her neck and stoned to death?How disappointing. The blogosphere must be checking out early, looking forward to the long weekend.Oh well, I’m sure they’ll make up for it on the next one…

  11. Amused

    The day a minority controlled broadcasting company owns a 50-clear I’ll join the hand-wringing over some public assistance to helping the AM daytimers on the upper (static-filled) end of the dial

  12. Amused

    (got truncated in last)The vast number of minority broadcasters operate daytimers, stations with extremely limited post-and pre-sunrise power authorizations, or are located in radio’s ghetto — basically the upper end of the spectrum. These broadcasters rely to a greater extent than the national chains and powerful stations on mom and pop level retailing to stay in business, yet are sometimes the only true minority voice in the community

  13. Bill Baar

    Bill: Why don’t you send an e-mail to Dan Shaughnessy and tell him he should be writing about Pakistan rather than David Ortiz? I’m a media critic, for cryin’ out loud.Well that’s what I mean Dan. Is the media serving us well talking about Dowd, or a War another 17k Americans are being sent to fight?The sense or priorities in newsrooms seems badly screwed up to me.

  14. Dan Kennedy

    Bill: Is the New York Times not covering the war? Seems to me they’re doing a damn sight better than anyone else.But it also seems to me that media critics ought to be doing media criticism, just as sports columnists ought to be writing about sports.

  15. Bill Baar

    Seems to me they’re doing a damn sight better than anyone else.What Networks have anyone out there? …in Afghanistan or Pakistan?I remember as a kid watching Vietnam daily on TV.This is a war you’d hardly know was happening… unless maybe you’re a kid reading the NYT.That’s bad…

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