Thursday, April 28, 2005

Knight Ridder reporter credits Counterterrorism Blog for scoop

In his April 15th article, Knight Ridder reporter Jonathan Lindsay credits Counterterrorism Blog writer Larry Johnson for exposing the State Department's decision not to publish a 19-year-old international terrorist report.

But not everyone's giving Johnson, a former CIA analyst who also worked in the State Department’s Office of Counter Terrorism, the credit he deserves. WNYC's On the Media gave the story top billing in its April 22 edition (where I heard the news, incidentally.) In their piece, they credit Landay with breaking the story. Landay does mention Johnson during the interview, but why didn't On the Media give Johnson the credit for the scoop?

The show's disregard for Johnson is all the more ironic because On the Media publishes its show each week via podcast, indicating they are on top of the new media revolution. However, it seems some habits, such as waiting for the MSM to report before considering a story published, are harder than others to break.