September 27, 2010
Howard Kurtz, the Post’s media critic, had a lengthy profile of NYT columnist and Princeton economist Paul Krugman in the paper today. At one point Kurtz told readers that:
“Many other White House officials [other than Larry Summers] view Krugman as an irritant who has become predictable and whiny in his criticism.”
Actually, Mr. Kurtz doesn’t know how other White House officials actually view Krugman, he only knows how they say they view Krugman. Since Krugman has been a harsh critic of many Obama administration policies, the unnamed White House officials would have good reason to try to discredit Krugman to the public regardless of whether or not they thought these criticisms were accurate.
This is why a competent reporter would write that:
“White House officials say they view Krugman as an irritant who has become predictable and whiny in his criticism.”
This would accurately convey information to readers instead of serving the White House public relations effort.
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