A Reporter's Bias -- Hidden in Plain Sight

No one will likely catch much about the following in any New Jersey news or media coverage, but Rutgers University graduate James O'Keefe is at it again with his Project Veritas. His focus this time -- the political bias of news reporters, and a video example of out-and-out partisan bias of a reporter, posted on his YouTube channel, veritasvisuals (embed below).

On October 4th of this year, one of O'Keefe's staff attended a journalism event focusing on the Pulitzer Prize, and entitled, "HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT," which was held up at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. There he managed to catch reporter Amy Ellis Nutt, a very recent Pulitzer-Prize winner (the "Feature Writing Prize, 2010") for the Star-Ledger in New Jersey, enthusiastically sharing her political views with someone she apparently thought was a journalism student. The camera was rolling. Nutt can be heard voicing her agreement with the "student" that President Obama needs to be re-elected, and then she adds, in the context of their discussion of the Presidential race this coming year, a string of pejorative epithets, ones specifically aimed at Governor Chris Christie, calling him in turn an "ass,"an "asshole," a "bully," and a "liar."


(ht: NewsAlert, here.)

So, armed with the fresh tape, O'Keefe first then went up to the Star-Ledger offices to ask editor Kevin Whitmer his reaction to the appropriateness of a reporter for his paper harboring such obvious partisan biases. Whitmer was not in his office and therefore did not meet with O'Keefe.

Then, James went over to New York and up to Morningside Heights to the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, in order to try to meet with Amy Nutt herself. She is a teacher in that Graduate School. And, of course, when confronted with the information she vigorously objected to having been taped, at one point saying, "and so I absolutely have no comment to make to you." Having refused to meet with O'Keefe, she finally hung up the phone on him when he began asking about her expressed views on the need to reelect President Obama.

So, O'Keefe then walked around and spoke to some of her colleagues at the school, including reporters Jay Rosen and Dale Maharidge, who each in turn refused to comment on her openly partisan and disparaging comments.

Maharidge even sent O'Keefe and his group an email calling them "shitheads," citing a lengthy Facebook posting of his about them, and closing with, "Fuck you, man. Bring it on."

But save a chuckle for the short clip at the end . . . the one featuring Amy Nutt, up on the panel dais, pontificating as she spoke to the group of students, telling them that pursuit is important, saying:

"It taught me how important is is to keep asking the same questions, 'cause you get more information."

Priceless!