Chronicle metro/state editorialist and gossip columnist comments today on the recent controversy over television stations that declined to run an attack ad by liberal advocacy groups opposed to Rep. Tom DeLay after DeLay’s legal team implied it would hold the stations legally accountable for any falsehoods contained in the ad:
Rep. Tom DeLay took a chance when he unleashed his lawyers on local television stations, hinting at lawsuits if they ran a 30-second anti-DeLay spot.
Preventing exposure of something is a sure way to draw attention to it.
Three days ago, Charles Kuffner made the same observation:
The next best thing to having an advertisement run on TV is having its cancellation by scaredy-cat station managers turn into a news story, especially one that may last multiple days.
So, Kuffner was more timely. Unlike Casey, Kuffner doesn’t generally engage in malicious smears of people with whom he disagrees. Unlike Casey, Kuffner doesn’t typically call up someone for a quote at the last minute (knowing he/she won’t be able to answer in the time frame given), and then write that he was unable to contact the person. Unlike Casey, Kuffner to my knowledge has never borrowed someone else’s work and presented it as his own.
But, Kuffner’s a blogger, and we’re sure his writing isn’t in the ideal state preferred by some. So what does that say about the Chronicle‘s featured metro/state editorialist and gossip columnist?
