alt.politics.gw-bush

/news/2008/

Monday February 18, 2008

Washington Post Style editor killed gossip piece on New Orleans madam,
columnist says

By John Byrne


A Washington Post Style editor killed a story on a New Orleans madam
who alleged she arranged trysts for Louisiana senator David Vitter
(R-LA), a Post gossip columnist says.

Post gossip guru Amy Argetsinger arranged an interview with a madam in
New Orleans after Vitter admitted his name appeared on the phone
records of a DC madam.

Speaking to the Washington City Paper's Erik Wemple in an article
published Friday, she said her editor, Steve Reiss, "spiked the story
on sourcing grounds."
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“Reiss was aware that everyone else was writing about her but said
that we can’t use that as an excuse—in essence, that the Post had to
take the higher moral ground,” Argetsinger said in an email.

The next day, she said she found an article on the Post's website
which reported the same allegations in an Associated Press story.
/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/11/

The DC gossip maven wasn't mad, according to the interview.

“I guess I was arguing, ‘look, the Post’s already tainted here,’” she
said -- but claims the the Post's executive editor Len Downie agreed
with Weiss.

The tidbit, which appeared in a larger story about the Post, was first
caught by BigHeadDC, a Washington, . blog.
/2008/02/15/post-gossip-was-prevented-from-writing-about-sen-vitters-madam/

_________________________________________________

"Everybody makes honest mistakes, but there's no such thing as an
honest cover-up."

Price Pritchett

Harry