Sigh.
As Twitchy reported, Howard “Scoop” Kurtz got himself in a bit of hot water over a story on Jason Collins and his coming out. You see, he got it totally wrong. Shockah!
The Daily Beast then gave Kurtz the boot; The irony was delicious.
Is it just me,or is something weird about Tina Brown parting ways with Howard Kurtz over factual errors?
— pcasey44 (@pcasey44) May 5, 2013
Zing!
This morning on CNN’s “Reliable Sources,” journos “grilled” Kurtz and he gave a mea culpa.
For media (and inside baseball) junkies: @davidfolkenflik & @dylanbyers will interview @howardkurtz on CNN’s “Reliable Sources” at 11a ET.
— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) May 5, 2013
@richarddeitsch Reliable Sources interviewing Howard Kurtz is a bit rich.
— Jonathan Tannenwald (@jtannenwald) May 5, 2013
Here comes @howardkurtz‘s mea culpa on Reliable Sources.
— Jeff Jarvis (@jeffjarvis) May 5, 2013
‘I Screwed Up’: Howard Kurtz Gets Grilled On Controversy Over His Erroneous Jason Collins Story mediaite.com/tv/i-screwed-u… via @mediaite
— Andrew Reeves (@ajreeves) May 5, 2013
To be fair, he did straight-up admit that he “screwed up.”
Some did delight in the spectacle.
This is awesome, watching Howard Kurtz get raked over the coals: mediaite.com/tv/i-screwed-u…
— Patterico (@Patterico) May 5, 2013
Me before watching the Howard Kurtz interview: “Oh god it’s 14 minutes” 2 minutes in: “I HOPE THIS LASTS FOREVER”
— Jamie Kilstein (@jamiekilstein) May 5, 2013
They should do this every week! RT @samsteinhp: i’m feeling uncomfortable #reliablesources #kurtz
— Tim Miller (@Timodc) May 5, 2013
And some in the media, along with journalism professor Jay Rosen, swooned madly.
Great credit should go to CNN and @howardkurtz for spending half his program getting grilled by two media reporters. That was extraordinary.
— Jay Rosen(@jayrosen_nyu) May 5, 2013
Correction to my earlier tweet: Kurtz devoted 15 mins to his grilling by @dylanbyers and @davidfolkenflik. That is one quarter of his show.
— Jay Rosen(@jayrosen_nyu) May 5, 2013
Mediaite has the video: Kurtz is grilled by @dylanbyers and @davidfolkenflik. An extraordinary act of accountability: mediaite.com/tv/i-screwed-u…
— Jay Rosen(@jayrosen_nyu) May 5, 2013
Extraordinary!
Both @dylanbyers and @davidfolkenflik did a really great job with their relentless, unblinking questioning of Kurtz today
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) May 5, 2013
Say what you will about @howardkurtz, how many people would give their critics this platform on their own show? Good for him.
— Anthony De Rosa (@AntDeRosa) May 5, 2013
Who among us wd agree be x-examined about our mistakes live on national TV?Stunned by @howardkurtz ‘s transparency, integrity. Unprecedented
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) May 5, 2013
Unprecedented!
Alright… who asked Lisa Bloom to come on “Reliable Sources” and gush over Kurtz while also rattling off her resume?
— Eddie Scarry (@eScarry) May 5, 2013
Kudos to @howardkurtz – he took his @jasoncollins34 clanger on the chin today like a @miketyson right hook. #CNN
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) May 5, 2013
Oh, Piers.
But others weren’t as impressed.
I found this whole segment bizarre. “Howard Kurtz Gets Grilled On Controversy Over His Erroneous Jason Collins Story” mediaite.com/tv/i-screwed-u…
— Jedediah Bila (@JedediahBila) May 5, 2013
A prescient Twitter user called it the other day:
Also, best ratings in its history. RT @garrettquinn: Wow. Reliable Sources is gonna be soooooo awkward this Sunday. bit.ly/15cuJ2m
— Lachlan Markay (@lachlan) May 2, 2013
Yep. Awkward seems to be the operative word.
Watching Howard Kurtz get grilled on his own show… very awkward
— Steve Davis (@ScubaMySteve) May 5, 2013
Reliable Sources is SUPER AWKWARD right now. @howardkurtz what are you doing??
— Michael Haas (@MichaelJHaas) May 5, 2013
This @cnnreliable is so awkward to watch. “Why didn’t you have the decency” to apologize to Collins? Asks @davidfolkenflik to @howardkurtz
— Carlos Lozada (@CarlosLozadaWP) May 5, 2013
Where is everyone? Howard Kurtz being grilled about Jason Collins. Awkward. Wow. @buzzfeed @buzzfeedandrew @buzzfeedben
— Kiru Fisher(@kirubreezy) May 5, 2013
Watching @howardkurtz being grilled and sorrowfully replying on his own show extremely awkward and uncomfortable. #ReliableSources
— lisamlas (@LisaMLas) May 5, 2013
Interesting to see Howard Kurtz get asked some awkward questions on his own show. cc: @marisagallagher
— Stewart Scott-Curran (@stewartsc) May 5, 2013
I might have bought the cross examination of @howardkurtz had the questioners been of greater experience. This just read as awkward theatre.
— Larry Flick (@LarryFlick) May 5, 2013
The @howardkurtz Question Period moment was extremely awkward, even for the 11 people interested (yes, I am one). Seems now dispensed with.
— rachelsklar (@rachelsklar) May 5, 2013
As for the mea culpa itself, most weren’t gushing with praise.
Only his mom saw it RT @drudge_report: CNN’S KURTZ APOLOGIZES FOR ERRORS IN COLLINS STORY… po.st/XX6aob
— EdKelley (@TheGeneratorGuy) May 5, 2013
John King forgives you. RT @ap: CNN’s Howard Kurtz apologizes for errors in column about gay basketball player Jason Collins.
— David Hinojosa (@hinojosa_david) May 5, 2013
Heh. John King also doesn’t let facts stand in the way!
there are no trombones sad enough for @howardkurtz
— 60th Street (@60th_Street) May 5, 2013
Shorter @howardkurtz: “Next time I’ll read the story before bitching about it.” hosted.ap.org/dynamic/storie…
— J P (@RileyRebel129) May 5, 2013
Oooooh Howard kurtz’s problem is he just reads TOO FAST! Got it.
— Jamie Kilstein (@jamiekilstein) May 5, 2013
@donlemoncnn @howardkurtz Also, he is still lying. He didn’t read it “too fast”. He didn’t read it. You CANNOT MISS that part if you read it
— David Howard (@djdavidjay) May 5, 2013
@jayrosen_nyu @howardkurtz Are either of you really even relevant in today’s media culture?
— Mysterion3000 (@Mysterion3000) May 5, 2013
Howie Kurtz getting beaten up big time on his own show. Painful to watch and a bit desperate. What next? A pillow case filled with oranges?
— Lucianne Goldberg (@LucianneLinks) May 5, 2013
@luciannelinks The numerous errors about Sarah Palin and the Tea Party by Kurtz’s Kommie Kritics got a pass in 2008 and 2009
— donsurber (@donsurber) May 5, 2013
@cnn You need to replace Kurtz-his credibility is nil as a media watchdog. This isn’t the first example. His show is anything but objective
— Sue (@WDMSue) May 5, 2013
Others pointed out the emetic-quality of having Politico and NPR journalists “grill” about integrity. Stop! Our aching sides!
Tweet o’ the day!RT @richardgrenellMy favorite part of this CNN crucifixion is hearing NPR media critic talk about balanced media coverage
— johnny dollar (@johnnydollar01) May 5, 2013
@johnnydollar01 @richardgrenell You get the feeling that their biggest problem w Kurtz is that he dares acknowledge “liberal” media?
— Laura L(@laura_lrnzo) May 5, 2013
Has @dylanbyers climbed down from his pedestal yet?
— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) May 5, 2013
… now Howard Kurtz yapping it up with Garry Trudeau about his Amazon teevee pilot and all is buddy-buddy in the ’70s Beltway clique again
— marc weisblott (@scroll) May 5, 2013
Up next on reliable sources, chastised host asks whether accomplished White House journalist was grandstanding
— Tim Miller (@Timodc) May 5, 2013
Well, we got the the lecture part about how to treat gay relationships from David Folkenflik and Dylan Byers out of the way…
— Jeff Poor (@jeff_poor) May 5, 2013
And an exit question:
Howard Kurtz has often been wrong; why does anyone take him seriously as a journo?
— Rick Geissal (@Rick_Geissal) May 5, 2013
Why, indeed? But, hey, the Beltway media got some nice smug self-back-pats out of it. So, there’s that.
