WAPO Reporters Embarassed by Woodward
On Meet the Press Sunday, two Washington Post reporters acknowledged being baffled and embarassed by reporter Bob Woodward's actions in failing to disclose his involvement in the Valerie Plame leak investigation to his editor for more than two years.
Arianna takes Russert to task for following the standard playbook and failing to follow through on the bigger issue:
It was a great opportunity for Tim to look at the broken conventions regarding confidential sources and the broken trust between the public and the press.
But instead, Tim went right back to the old playbook and the old problem: "Every source I believe is going to want complete assurance that if I give you this information, will you refuse to testify even if it means going to prison." Stunning though it may seem, Russert really believes that the main problem raised by Judy Miller's and Bob Woodward's roles in Plamegate is: how does the press repair the damage done between journalists and anonymous sources?
The critical question, Arianna says, is under what conditions should the press guarantee anonymity?