Posted on 08/06/2004 5:39:00 PM PDT by rwfromkansas
FREE REPUBLIC EXCLUSIVE:
As Hugh Hewitt has on his site....correctly...Drudge erroneously reported that Michael Kranish is authoring the official book of the Kerry campaign (then he claimed the book was spiked, but the book was an independent publication from the get-go, not something that was a piece of propaganda for the Kerry campaign).
No, Drudge did not lie. He simply went to the Amazon.com page for the book that Kranish is authoring.
Here it is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1586483145/qid=1091834992/sr=8-2/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i2_xgl14/103-9188360-6254201?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
The cover photo is of the official Kerry book at the campaign website. However, the title of that book is NOT the book that Kranish is authoring. Kranish is authoring "Kerry and Edwards: Their Plans and Promises," which is an independent work. If you go further down the page, it will show Kerry and Edwards as the title, not "Our Plan for America."
Furthermore, I checked the text of the official campaign book at the Kerry site and it has nothing written by Kranish. That book came out Monday anyway and is free online (a printed edition for the general public will appear later), so how could Kranish have been spiked like Drudge reported earlier today to cover his behind? According to the Globe, in a statement released today, Kranish was supposed to do an independent look at the Kerry-Edwards campaign promises, which it does appear has been stopped from being published according to the link Drudge provides. However, that book was never going to be an official Kerry publication, but an independent publication. So, while Drudge is correct that the book no longer will be printed (the Globe says Kranish is no longer working on such a project), it is not because of today's story. It occurred yesterday, according to the Drudge link. BTW, since the official book was announced Monday, the question of whether Kranish's independent book has been halted is not an important one. DRUDGE CLAIMED HIS BOOK WAS AN OFFICIAL WORK OF THE CAMPAIGN, WHICH IS NOT TRUE AND NEVER WAS.
Now, just why did Drudge screw this up?
Well, Amazon.com SCREWED UP and Drudge, instead of PICKING UP A FRIGGIN' PHONE AND CALLING KRANISH, instead took the Amazon.com mixed-up cover picture and ran with it.
This shows very little journalistic curiosity in Mr. Drudge, I must say.
And it has forever tarnished the reputation of Kranish that he can't get back.
BTW, for proof that Kranish is writing his own book analyzing the Kerry plans (though it looks like the book won't be published now like I said above, though not for some secret reason Drudge insinuated), look at the Barnes and Noble page for the book. Guess what: different cover photo.
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?isbn=1586483145
NOW: I WANT TO BE CLEAR....THIS IN NO WAY IMPACTS THE TRUTHFULNESS OF THE DRUDGE STORY THAT GEORGE ELLIOT DISPUTES THE KRANISH piece in the Globe. Drudge is correct that he does dispute the way his words were twisted. This is confirmed by two sources, the Swift Vet press release and the new affidavit sworn by Elliot, a document released on the Human Events site.
BUT....folks, Kranish is NOT writing a book for the Kerry campaign.
That is a falsehood. It is not intentional on Drudge's part, but it is lazy journalism.
Drudge: "If your mother says she loves you, check it out." Have you not heard this???????
Print a retraction, sir. It is the honorable thing to do.
"Boston Globe editor Martin Baron put out a statement today stating that "[i]t is completely untrue that Boston Globe reporter Michael Kranish ever contracted to write for a Kerry campaign publication. Earlier this summer, Mr. Kranish worked with Public Affairs, the publisher of the Boston Globe biography of Kerry...to write a short introduction to a second project: an independent, unauthorized review of publicly available documents dealing with the platform and policy statements of Kerry and Edwards. When Public Affairs subsequently struck anagreement with the Kerry campaign to do an official book, Kranish's relationship with the project immediately ended."
Hewitt broke the news that Drudge was incorrect in this ONE ASPECT of the Kranish/Swiftvets story today. However, I believe I am the first to discover WHY this mix-up occurred.
Amazon.com screwed up in their title graphic, and this screw-up led to people believing Kranish was writing the official Kerry campaign book, which is not the case and never was.
STILL, IT IS CLEAR THAT KRANISH TOOK LIBERTY WITH THE INFORMATION HE OBTAINED IN HIS INTERVIEW WITH GEORGE ELLIOT.
This information does not excuse contorting quotes out of context and stretching Elliot's quotes, as Kranish did.
Direct links:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1586483145/qid=1091834992/sr=8-2/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i2_xgl14/103-9188360-6254201?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?isbn=1586483145
Excellent work! Thank you.
Bump!
Additional need to reconcile with article that appears in NY Daily News about when & why the publisher was changed. The whole nature of the circumstances sound circumspect & it's clear the reporter was at least in a situation that warrants such scrutiny & appears to have resulted in a pretty significant move on their part to obscure the deeply embedded conflicts of interest.
In case Drudge removes this, I will post the original hit piece he wrote without even bothering to do basic journalism:
"XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX FRI AUG 06, 2004 14:05:38 ET XXXXX
BOSTON GLOBE 'REPORTER' COMMISSIONED TO WRITE CAMPAIGN BOOK FOREWORD -- WHILE COVERING KERRY
BOSTON GLOBE journalist Mike Kranish has been commissioned to write the foreword of the Kerry-Edwards campaign book -- just as he is covering the campaign in an official capacity as a journalist for the BOSTON GLOBE!
Kranish made waves on Friday by reporting in the GLOBE how a key figure in the anti-Kerry vet ad campaign, Kerry's former commanding officer, "backed off one of the key contentions."
But Captain George Elliott claims the Kranish article is "extremely inaccurate" and highly misstated his actual views.
Developing..."
This page has the official Kerry book photo on it, as if Kranish was supposed to work on it. He never was, but was to do another book that got pulled when Public Affairs decided to do just the official Kerry book instead of a journalist examination of the Kerry plan like Kranish was going to do.
In my brain this fiasco's plot has thickened, solidified and--sorry, you have now timed out...
Drudge was correct.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/gossip/story/219589p-188612c.html
The Kerry/Edwards 'Plans and Promises' book is being shelved for the 'Plan for America' work.
Photocopies of "Kerry/Edwards: Their Plans and Promises," recently sent to a few reporters and reviewers before the book's planned release, are now collector's items.
That's because the 287-page bound manuscript, culled from the Kerry/Edwards Web site and introduced by Boston Globe reporter Michael Kranish, won't be published, after all, by PublicAffairs.
It was changed yesterday. Public Affairs decided to print the official Kerry book instead of his.
timed out?
Good work. BTTT.
The Kranish book was a regurgitation of talking points taken from the Kerry-Edwards website.
It's doomed to die, which is awful for the vets that have stood up for this.
Well, Rush did the same thing today.
Its still ok to hate The Globe, right? : )
That was not an official campaign book.
I am not disputing the NY Daily News story that the book will not be printed.
I am challenging the assertion of Drudge that it was going to be an official book of the campaign. I have not seen any evidence of that.
The statement by the Globe is that they were going to use lots of official campaign docs in a book and examine them.
Isn't that statement a bit dramatic?
I find the timing of this vey suspicious...
Of course.
Yep, Drudge is correct on this.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1586483145/qid%3D1091814589/002-8978206-0053647
Editorial Reviews
From the Back Cover
What kind of president could John Kerry be? Over the last four years we've seen Republican policies in action; now Americans need to know what a Democratic administration would do differently. In this comprehensive book, Kerry and Edwards reveal their plans and promises for America. They chart their strategy to roll back the Bush tax cuts and use the savings to provide funding for their health care plan, education reform, and other initiatives. Kerry/Edwards aim to improve America by: restoring jobs and rebuilding our economy; providing access to affordable health care; creating a new era for America's schools; winning the peace in Iraq; defending the American homeland; instituting a principled foreign policy; helping to create a cleaner and greener America; making college affordable for all Americans; and much more. Can the Kerry/Edwards "Real Deal" succeed? In his introduction, the Boston Globe's Michael Kranish provides keen insight into what a Kerry/Edwards administration could mean for America's future.
About the Author
Michael Kranish has worked for the Boston Globe for more than 20 years, including the last 16 in the newspaper's Washington Bureau. He is co-author of John F. Kerry: The Complete Biography (PublicAffairs, 2004).
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