Washington Kaplan Post frequently plagiarizes material from bloggers (and other media outlets), steals their ideas, fails to give proper credit for stories, promotes false equivalencies at every turn, publishes climate science deniers and other assorted liars and shills (e.g., Jennifer Rubin) on their pages, etc. Apparently, as their own business model swirls around the toilet bowl, the Kaplan Post thinks that somehow by violating all concepts of journalistic ethics, they will somehow save themselves. Of course, they won’t, but apparently that’s how they’ve decided they want to go down with the Titanic. Whatever.
Anyway, the latest example is more humorous than anything else, although it clearly demonstrates three things: 1) the Post’s sloppy reporting and lax (to put it mildly) journalistic standards; and 2) their utter disdain for/fear of “the blogs.”
So what did they do now, you ask? Well, in an otherwise strong editorial calling out Virginia Republicans for “an ugly campaign of homophobic bigotry” in their rejection of the Tracy Thorne-Begland nomination the other day, they casually toss in this line:
Mr. Marshall – known in Richmond as “Sideshow Bob” – said that…
Oh really, is that so? Bob Marshall is “known in Richmond” by the nickname that this blog (and this blogger) gave him, that this blog (and this blogger) know him by? That’s fascinating, certainly news to me. Anyway, I checked with several of my Richmond sources (e.g., elected officials, politicos), as to whether General Assembly members ever refer to Bob Marshall as “Sideshow Bob.” Their responses:
*”Not really. It’s mainly you.”
*”I can’t say that I have [heard that in Richmond].”
*”I really dont know. I have heard it but could not pinpoint it.”
*”I’ve never heard anyone say that.”
*”Never heard anyone calling him Sideshow Bob. More like Invisible Man since most members (R&D) ignore him outright.”
Combine those comments with the fact that I have never, ever seen anyone in Richmond quoted as referring to Del. Marshall as “Sideshow Bob,” and basically, the Post is full of horse manure. Why does this matter? Two reasons. First, although this is a relatively small matter, it calls into question, once again, the veracity of the Post’s reporting on other subjects (pretty much any subject). Second, it illustrates the lengths to which the Post will go to avoid giving credit to bloggers, aka, “the competition,” for their ideas, stories, scoops, etc. The bottom line when it comes to the Post on this one? As we say in the world of social media, one which the Post clearly doesn’t respect or even understand: #FAIL!!!
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