Journalists are continually bombarded with rumors, often scurrilous. They are not news. Rumors only become news when they are confirmed, cross-checked and responded to by the target of the attack.
Perhaps in the fantasyland version of journalism.
I mean, maybe this is what "good" journalists do, and plenty of them still exist, but it isn't the way things work for Mickey Kaus and Tweety and Politico and all sorts of other "respectable" players in the news media. And Matt Drudge rules all their worlds.
...adding that unlike some I never really thought Klein was to blame for this. Primary Colors was satirical fiction, and if other Villagers decided the things in there were true that wasn't his fault. But, nonetheless, who can forget the Clinton love child.
December 31, 1998 -- Matt Drudge entices guests at The Weekend, a gathering of conservative heavy hitters, by promising a story that will rock official Washington.
January 1, 1999 -- Drudge reports a "world exclusive" (not true) headlined, "White House Hit With New DNA Terror; Teen Tested for Clinton Paternity." Citing the Star magazine, Drudge writes, "Word of the shocking new DNA showdown spread through the ranks inside of the White House on Friday, causing near blind chaos!"
January 2, 1999 -- Discussion of the alleged "scandal" on various talk radio stations.
January 3, 1999 -- "CLINTON PATERNITY BOMBSHELL," screams the front page of the New York Post, owned by Murdoch.
Fox TV News -- owned by Murdoch's News Corp. -- carries an account of Drudge's story, claiming he'd broken it on his Fox show and adding that it was being picked up by such mainstream papers as the New York Post.
The New York Daily News leads its Daily Dish gossip column with the headline, "Tab Probes Clinton Love-Child Rumor."
January 4, 1999 -- At a White House press briefing, press secretary Joe Lockhart refuses to comment on the affair. To a question about the president's resemblance to the Williams boy on the Internet, Lockhart responds, "And I'm an alien space baby."
The Fox News Web site carries a story on the DNA paternity testing in a bylined story from the Times of London.
The BBC and its Web site run a story, "New sex scandal for Clinton."
January 5, 1999 -- The Hotline, a daily summary of political reporting widely read by Beltway journalists, reports that the affair has become fodder for the late-night talk shows. "Only President Clinton could distract people from a sex scandal with another sex scandal," Jay Leno says in his monologue.
January 6, 1999 -- Drudge reveals that he has seen "a shocking new videotaped confession" by the Arkansas woman, who reveals intimate details about her "relationship" with Clinton. The video was taped by "Hard Copy."
The Washington Times runs a story, "Media Abuzz With Rumors That Clinton Fathered Boy," citing only the Star and the Drudge Report. The Times reports that the Star had paid Bobbie Ann Williams a sum "in the low six figures" for her cooperation (which apparently included turning over DNA samples to the Star for testing).
TotalNews.com, a compendium of major media outlets online, links to the Washington Times, BBC and New York Post in its roundup of "Clinton's Crisis" stories.