Update: 'Wash Post' Editor and Others Want Froomkin Column Renamed -- But Online Chief Says No

By: Joe Strupp After two days of controversy, several newsroom staffers at The Washington Post, including Executive Editor Leonard Downie Jr., said today they do not object to online columnist Dan Froomkin's "White House Briefing," which has sparked a debate over its title and its alleged liberal content. But they contend that it should be clearly labeled an opinion column and urged Web editors to change the name.

"We want to make sure people in the [Bush] administration know that our news coverage by White House reporters is separate from what appears in Froomkin's column because it contains opinion," Downie told E&P. "And that readers of the Web site understand that, too."

Washingtonpost.com Executive Editor Jim Brady said he does not plan to change the name, claiming it has not caused the misinterpretations that some believe it has. "The column has been on the site for two years and that is not something we have heard," Brady said about concerns. "The column is extremely popular and it is not going anywhere." When asked if a name change might occur in the future, Brady said it is possible, but "I have no odds on it."

Downie, who does not have oversight of the Web site, had said he would leave the decision up to Brady.

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Political editor John Harris also had observed that Brady had the final word on a name change, but added, "I think it would be an error not to."

Downie stressed that he does not object to what Froomkin writes, or any criticism he has leveled at the Post. "Howie Kurtz [Post media writer] and Jack Shafer who works for Slate, which is owned by the Post, criticize the Post all the time," Downie said. "Opinion columns can be opinion, I don't care about that. My only interest is that it is important to keep opinion and news coverage separate."

Both Downie and Harris acknowledged that the growing use of the Web by newspapers will undoubtedly lead to future turf issues, but neither believed it would become a problem. "I don't see it as a big deal," Downie said. "Opinion plays a big role on the Web and that is an important part of the Web experience. You just have to keep it labeled properly."

Brady also noted the growing crossover issues between Web and print, saying, "all newspaper Web sites will run into these things. There will be a little bit of tension, but that is just dealing with a new form of information."

Speaking with E&P on Tuesday, Harris reiterated his point that the name of Froomkin's column is cause for concern. He added that in today's polarized political atmosphere, in which some readers believe news stories are written with a political agenda, it is most important to clearly separate opinion pieces from news articles. "There is a lack of understanding that seems to exist of the role of our profession," Harris said. "That we are an ideologically neutral newsroom. A lot of people don't accept that."

But for Dan Balz, a veteran political reporter, the uproar is "much ado about nothing." Balz adds, "the guy can write whatever he wants, it is just an issue of labeling. I have not heard anyone who thinks that column should not exist."

The debate over Froomkin's column began Sunday when Post ombudsman Deborah Howell wrote that Post political reporters "don't like ... columnist Dan Froomkin's 'White House Briefing,' which is highly opinionated and liberal. They're afraid that some readers think that Froomkin is a Post White House reporter."

Downie and several White House reporters who spoke with E&P said the contents of Froomkin's column does not bother them, not even his criticism of their work or his links, on occasion, to other Web sites and bloggers that critique the Post. But, they agree, the column's title is a problem because it is possibly misleading.

Jim VandeHei said that his concern as a White House reporter is that readers may believe Froomkin is also a White House reporter, and that "he is opining. ... I don't think anyone has a problem with Froomkin, but they want it labeled as opinion."

Peter Baker, another White House correspondent, agreed: "It has nothing to do with Froomkin, it is how the column is presented and that it is clear what he is. I have heard concerns that people might think he is a reporter in the White House briefing room."

Adds Michael Fletcher, another White House reporter, "I am in the camp that I wish his column had a different name, but short of that, I don't have a problem with what he does."

Following Howell's Sunday column, Froomkin weighed in to defend himself on Monday, writing online that "The journalists who cover Washington and the White House should be holding the president accountable. When they do, I bear witness to their work. And the answer is for more of them to do so -- not for me to be dismissed as highly opinionated and liberal because I do." Readers posted more than a hundred messages supporting him at the Post site on Monday.

On Tuesday, during an online chat with readers, Baker received numerous questions about the Froomkin matter. Among the angriest was the reader who said, "I was wondering if you are one of the insecure, jealous, Washington Post reporters who feel threatened by Dan Froomkin's White House Briefing. Sir, would you please comment on getting a life, doing your job relentlessly and not being so afraid anymore?"

Baker's retort: "Insecure? Jealous? Need a life? All of the above. Threatened by Dan Froomkin's column? Hardly. Dan compiles links to other people's work and throws in some thought, analysis and opinion of his own. There's great value in that. But it's a different thing from being a White House reporter."

Harris had added to the dispute late Monday when he weighed in with a lengthy note countering Froomkin's views and defending his staffers. "The reporters on the Post's White House and political teams every day push through many obstacles and frustrations to do precisely this kind of accountability reporting -- as I'm sure Dan would agree," he wrote. "But these are the very same reporters who are raising objections to 'White House Briefing.' The confusion about Dan's column unintentionally creates about the reporter's role has itself become an obstacle to our work."

Both Harris and Downie said they have presented their concerns about the name of Froomkin's column to Brady, but will leave the decision up to him about whether it should be changed. "They will sort it out."

Downie, who meets with Brady every Thursday, said he has discussed the Froomkin column with him, but no changes had been planned. "They decide what the column ought to be called," he said of the Web editors. "We have discussed it and they will decide what to do. It is their decision, not mine."