On September 30, several days after news of the WaPo’s new Twitter policy came out, Howie Kurtz tweeted one of his last meta-tweets on the policy, calling for "discretion."
WP has no plans to monitor tweets as far as I know, so there’s no czar in charge. Grownups should just exercise a bit of discretion…
Three tweets later, Howie set off on an obsession the likes of which we haven’t seen since 1998.
Extortion aside, got to be embarrassing for Letterman to admit to sexual affairs with more than one member of his staff.
Three minutes later, Howie revealed that if a story is about infidelity, it must be about Bill Clinton.
How long before TV recycles Letterman’s jokes about Clinton and every other politician who’s had an affair? At least he went to the cops.
But don’t put it beyond Howie to meta-tweet about Letterman.
Weird: I tweeted, Anderson Cooper’s person saw it, seconds later I’m phoning in to CNN on the Letterman affair(s). Talk about Twitter power
Howie reflected an entire minute, then tweeted,
Good thing Obama went on Letterman before this came out. Would have been awwwk-ward.
Howie boasts that his new obsession is more important than the Olympics (or, though he seems blissfully unaware of it, burgeoning negotiations with Iran).
What Olympics? Just did GMA on the Letterman case. It was the lead story. Sex, lies, extortion: Nuthin’ but viewers.
The day the NYT publishes a blockbuster story showing that John Ensign was pushing legislation to keep his cuckold quiet, Howie still thinks Letterman’s scandal is more scandalous.
Prosecutors say CBS producer Joe Halderman cashed the $2-M check in the Letterman extortion plot. That doesn’t look good.
Later that day, Howie’s still apparently unaware that a Senator faces a far more serious sex scandal than Letterman.
Just finished Letterman stories. Anything else going on in the world? How’d that Olympics thing turn out?
Howie, yucks it up!
Leno tweaks Dave: "If you came here to have sex with a talk show host, you’ve got the wrong studio." Hi-yo!
If the WaPo’s editors were unaware of Howie’s dangerous new obsession, they became aware of it on the 3rd, two days after the obsession first began.
My column on the fallout from Letterman’s Stupid Human Tricks http://tinyurl.com/ye6dg2c
And by "obsession," I do mean "obsession."
My column on the David Letterman fiasco and whether his "creepy" behavior will hurt him with his audience. http://bit.ly/1r9sDP
Howie was offended when I said "blowjob" (wishing I had used a euphemism), but he’s okay with talking about "doing interns."
A debate over whether it’s OK for Letterman to do interns. Lisa Bloom, Amy Argetsinger, Ben Mankiewicz and me. http://tinyurl.com/yb8mbde
Howie responds to his critics who question whether or not he has noticed the exploding Ensign scandal.
Letterman not a public official. But amazed that one of my panelists said it’s OK for the boss to do an intern. Didn’t we have that debate?
At this point, you’d be right to question whether society really wants Howie to be the one to judge whether it’s okay to "do an intern" or not.
After a two tweet break from Letterman’s affair, Howie’s back, offering more of his "judgment."
Should Letterman go on Imus and make light of the whole mess? Nah, I didn’t think so.
Yet another response to those asking whether a Senator bribing his staffer is newsworthy.
Edwards, Sanford, Ensign are all big stories, and should be. The Letterman saga doesn’t change that.
And for future reference, the WaPo’s esteemed media "critic" apparently believes 14 tweets, a Sunday show, and one column amount to a "saga." Howie is apparently too focused on Letterman at this point to note that the latter-day Vikings are back in form to avenge the smear on Viking sagas inherent in Howie’s word choice.
Silly Dan Abrams! The WaPo’s CNN’s esteemed media critic wouldn’t say anything like "blow job" or "do an intern" on teevee!!
No. @danielabrams, my panelists didn’t talk about Letterman "doing" the intern. But here on Twitter I call it like it is.
I’m wondering if Howie was thinking about Clinton again when he selected the verbiage for this particular tweet? Or is he just a little hot and bothered at thinking about little else besides Letterman’s affairs for six (!!!) days straight?
Letterman to offer a full-throated apology tonight. Maybe there were conversations at home.
Howie, now dreaming of shoes.
Just did GMA, Early Show. Said Letterman’s abject apology helped but he has to hope no other shoes drop
This far into Howie’s obsession, it’s unclear whose monologue he’s talking about here.
Wonder how Dave’s wife feels becoming part of monologue about how chilly it is in the house.
In Howie’s most recent installment (as of 2:15 ET, but things change quickly), he is apparently very interested that Letterman has 42% favorability. He’s apparently not at all interested in polls showing Ensign had 31% favorability back in July, before the much more alarming ethical and legal issues became public.
Rasmussen poll: 29% less likely to watch Letterman because of scandal. He has 42-46 fav/unfav. Good thing he’s not running for reelection
There you have it, ladies and gentlemen, all the proof you need that WaPo’s new twitter policy has restored its damaged credibility and answered any questions about the biases and judgment of WaPo’s reporters.
As one esteemed media critic once said, all you have to do is "exercise a bit of discretion."