Qualmbudsman Returns: More Journalistic Jabs

By: Dave Astor Dear Qualmbudsman:
Is Chattanooga Times Free Press reporter Edward Lee Pitts a hero or villain for encouraging a soldier to question Donald Rumsfeld about the lack of armor on military vehicles?
-- M. Bedd

Ask a soldier who survives an attack because of a soon-to-be-better-protected Humvee.

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Dear Qualmbudsman:
Why are U.S. dailies devoting much more space to fraud in the Ukrainian election than possible fraud in the American election?
-- Di Bold

Sheesh. Give readers more foreign coverage and this is the thanks you get.

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Dear Qualmbudsman:
But it's good for democracy to learn whether fraud allegations are true or not, so such things won't happen in the future. Is there any way to make it attractive for newspapers to send lots of reporters to Ohio?
-- Hal O. Columbus

Release Scott Peterson and hope he attacks a voting machine in the Buckeye State.

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Dear Qualmbudsman:
A recent Gallup Poll revealed that "values" are nowhere near the top concern of Americans. So why did many newspapers say George W. Bush won the election because of "values"?
-- Earl Moral

Because many papers believe in the journalistic version of traditional marriage -- the wedding of simplistic explanations to complex events.

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Dear Qualmbudsman:
Bush gave the Presidential Medal of Freedom to three men central to his Iraq policy. How might newspapers reward incompetence in a similar way?
-- Honor Whitemen

Offer Pulitzer Prizes retroactively to Jack Kelley and Jayson Blair and return the award to Janet Cooke.

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Dear Qualmbudsman:
Now that Zell Miller has signed with Fox News, is there also a syndicated column in his future?
-- Dick C. Krat

It would make sense for the man who wanted to fight a duel with Chris Matthews to have dual jobs.

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Dear Qualmbudsman:
National-ad lineage remains weak at many newspapers. How can they bulk up in this crucial area?
-- R.O. Peeved

Try steroids, which already bulked up sports-section readership this month.

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Dear Qualmbudsman:
What do you think of the study showing that working under tight deadlines greatly increases the chance of a heart attack?
-- Cora Nerry

Good news for budget-conscious newspapers that want smaller staffs!

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Dear Qualmbudsman:
Your thoughts on the membership slide at the American Society of Newspaper Editors?
-- Ed ASNEr

It's still a lot bigger than the American Society of Blog Editors.