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Topic: Letters Sent to Romenesko
Date/Time: 8/11/2006 8:37:17 AM
Title: Cosby: Is WP abusing its considerable power?
Posted By: Jim Romenesko
 
From BILL COSBY: On July 18th, I was a panel member at a forum sponsored by The Kaiser Family Foundation, Harvard University, and The Washington Post. During the discussion, I made reference to The Washington Post and stated: "I don't like media who can't see or can't tell the truth."

The next day, in a Washington Post article by Robert E. Pierre, that specific line was cited. Then, on July 21, the Post carried a column by Michael Eric Dyson which was entitled: The Injustice Bill Cosby Won't See.

Given the similarity between my statement about the media and the column heading, one could easily assume that this was a response to my remarks at the Kaiser/Post forum. It was not. Mr. Dyson made no reference to the forum at all. Instead, the column was merely a repackaging of Mr. Dyson's previous attacks on me and the only new idea Mr. Dyson advanced was his assertion that my series of "callouts" have been "rigged."

By categorizing my "callouts" as rigged and further stating that “Cosby assembles community folk and experts who agree with his take on black poverty,” Mr. Dyson not only disparages me but also every city and every organization that has sponsored one of my “callouts.”

The fact that The Washington Post chose to print Mr. Dyson’s column is disturbing. How can a major newspaper allow one of its writers to level a serious accusation in the absence of any evidence? Has the Post dispensed with fact-checking? Furthermore, the timing of Mr. Dyson’s piece -- just days after I criticized the Post -- seems rather suspect. Is this fairness in the media? I don’t think so.

Further adding to the confusion of Mr. Dyson’s charge is the fact my "callouts" (which Mr. Dyson calls "rigged") look very much like and are comprised of precisely the sort of panel embodied by the July 18th event co-sponsored by your own newspaper.

Following Mr. Dyson's article, the Post ran an Op Ed piece by Jabari Asim captioned: Invoking Responsibility. Mr. Asim wrote: "There's that word again: responsibility. Cosby is absolutely right to point out that the very notion of it has dramatically faded in communities where it is needed most. But as long as Cosby, Kornegay, Orman, and other men continue to evoke it, reason for hope remains." But Mr. Asim's words did little to undo the damage caused by Mr. Dyson's groundless labeling of my "callouts" as "rigged."

In fact, The Post's coverage of their own forum seemed so overly preoccupied with my statements that there were glaring omissions regarding the substance of what transpired at the event. For example, among those who spoke was a gang member who, when talking about his role in gang related crime stated: "None of you can stop nothing we want to do," If that’s the case, why is the Post even holding a forum or why is anyone even out there attempting to stem violent crime? How can the Post allow statements like these to be unreported or never addressed. And what about the two sons who spoke out, praising their fathers in every sentence, who went on to become High School A salutatorian and A valedictorians? Not a word about them was ever mentioned in any of the Post’s coverage.

I believe that the series of events described above leads to an obvious question: Is The Washington Post abusing its considerable journalistic power? I think an investigation is warranted in order to find an answer. [Dyson has been invited to respond.] [Permalink]

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