Jackass reporter: Hey, sorry for being a jackass
posted at 10:35 am on October 26, 2007 by Allahpundit
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Yeah, that jackass. He’s got a new post up and it seems everyone’s favorite part is different. DrewM’s favorite part is where he claims he was just trying to do his job, which would be true if his job consisted of retrieving his car from parking spots. My favorite part is this:
Consider this my apology.
Overwhelmed by the e-mails, many of them vitriolic, I initially edited the post, then blocked further comments. Finally, I took down the site. Unfortunately, my actions were yet another faux pas, I was told; I should have left up the post and created a new one to share my reactions and issue an apology.
In other words, his instinct is to hide evidence of his own wrongdoing and only when he’s informed by outside parties that this might be improper does he think better of it. Our media at work.
The typo in the post headline is just gravy.
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So how long till he says it satire ?
William Amos on October 26, 2007 at 10:39 AM
Bwaaahhh
William Amos on October 26, 2007 at 10:40 AM
Maybe I should’ve kept my blog private, blah blah blah. What a whiner.
StephC on October 26, 2007 at 10:42 AM
Shouldn’t ‘journalists’ know how to spell? Even really long words?? Don’t they teach that in the journalism place?
I’m waiting for the “You redneck illiterates just don’t understand what I understand” defense. Ala all those morons in Hollywood and anyone who screws up this badly. Although that nicely dovetails with the “it’s just satire” defense so maybe we’ll see both.
My edumacation awaits.
mjk on October 26, 2007 at 10:50 AM
He seems to believe that all his problems stem from putting “too much information” in his blog, because he’s “new to blogging”. My response to him would be rather like this;
cheers
eon
eon on October 26, 2007 at 10:55 AM
From his post:
Your blog didn’t upbraid said soldier, you jackass, you did.
Bad Candy on October 26, 2007 at 10:55 AM
Mirror, mirror on the wall: who is the smartest one of all?
(Dead silence from the mirror)
landlines on October 26, 2007 at 11:02 AM
At the bottom of his post:
heh….
erik on October 26, 2007 at 11:13 AM
He admits he made a mistake, several of them in fact, and he offers a public apology. I see that for what it clearly is… cut him some slack… How many of the other biased media are unapologetic to this day and remain so? That should be our focus, not someone who realizes his error and has potential to be better.
IntheNet on October 26, 2007 at 11:18 AM
I would have rather seen an apologetic blog from the soldier that said “Consider this my apology for Butt stroking an arrogant, dumb*ss reporter in the head at my security checkpoint. The environment is extremely stressful and challenging here”
That would have been great reading.
Trooper on October 26, 2007 at 11:19 AM
I have to say that reading the comments to his original blog post were like listening to great music. The clarity of thought, honesty, eloquence and confidence of our military men and women (and their families) just plain impresses the hell out of me. This young “reporter” is really a confused young man who has been told too frequently throughout his youth that he is somehow exceptional and as a result his brain has been poisoned. I hope this experience will be an eye opening one for him because I believe he needs it. I hope he reads and thinks carefully about all of the comments on his blog. If he takes them to heart it could be the most illuminating moment of his young life. Unfortunately based on the continued arrogance and stupidity displayed in his half assed apology I have a feeling that he is going to continue spewing his thoughtless, ungreatful garbage for as long as he continues to write.
Zetterson on October 26, 2007 at 11:26 AM
I agree with IntheNet –
How often do we actually get a real apology?
Regardless of this guy’s actual feelings on the subject, it speaks well of him that he at least didn’t give the old “I”m sorry if what I wrote upset someone” non-apology. Or the satire defense.
This guy may hate soldiers, Bush, bush, Republicans and apple pie. He’s entitled to that hatred, so long as he comports himself well in polite company. Yes, in his original post he failed, but this is a good apology and I for one can accept it.
krakatoa on October 26, 2007 at 11:44 AM
What he gave was a typical journo-apology. It read like he was saying “I’m sorry you took what I said the wrong way. My intention was not to offend so I’m sorry that you read it.”
Bottom line is what he gave was not a real apology and it deserves not to be accepted. Part of an apology reqires that the apologist explain why what he did was wrong. Explaining why is the most important part of an apology. He makes absolutely no effort to explain why what he said was wrong. I honestly think the kid learned nothing. He’s like a little brat who got a slap on the wrist and now he’s going to be right back at misbehaving again.
Zetterson on October 26, 2007 at 11:49 AM
I question the sincerity!
Seriously, I do, look at this quote from his site,
First off, his blog didn’t ‘upbraid’(only a journalist would say upbraid, or Gallivant for that matter) the soldier, he did. Let’s look at the second line, his reflections should have been kept private, screams “I’m sorry…that I got caught” to me.
Bad Candy on October 26, 2007 at 11:57 AM
I don’t know that he’s a kid, I think I remember someone saying he’s in his early 40’s yesterday, though I could be wrong.
Bad Candy on October 26, 2007 at 11:58 AM
This was really not an apology. He first attributes his neivity not to his arrogant, thoughtless world view but to his newness to the blogging world. This is an excuse, not an apology.
He then goes on to say:
What he is saying here is, “I’m sorry you read this.” He’s not sorry the thoughts entered his mind and then became written words. He’s saying that his written words were not supposed to be read by everybody.
A real apology would should have been an expanation for why what he wrote was wrong. To just say its wrong and then not explain why is not an apology. The angry commentors on his blog were not upset at the fact that they words were there, they were upset by the misguided thoughtlessness that drove him to write what he did.
At the end he mentions that he is going on assignment. A thoughtful apologist would have taken this opportunity to explain that he did actually learn from this experience and he is going to carry what he learned with him onto his next task. He failed to do that and in the end he failed to apologize because he either doesn’t understand or doesn’t care to explain why what he said was so repulsive.
Zetterson on October 26, 2007 at 12:04 PM
His apology is for writing about upbraiding the soldier.
The problem is the way he acted, and his lack of awareness about WHY the soldier wouldn’t let him through.
It would be nice to see that he is actually aware that two kinds of people try to talk themselves past checkpoints:
1) Those with a legitimate reason to get through and
2) Those without a legitimate reason.
He is safer in the green zone because soldiers don’t listen to blow-hards trying to talk their way in. THAT’S what I’d have liked to see him acknowledge.
MayBee on October 26, 2007 at 12:10 PM
Wow. Thanks for the correction Bad Candy. His writing just gave me the impression that he was a young ignorant kid. There goes his youthful ignorance excuse.
Zetterson on October 26, 2007 at 12:11 PM
Oops, nah, he might be young, I was remembering one of the comments…Sorry Zett.
Bad Candy on October 26, 2007 at 12:17 PM
Ya know,this makes me wonder just what the IQ level is among reporters if,at a checkpoint with armed soldiers manning it,the “reporter” starts arguing with a soldier holding a loaded M-4.
(Larry) Niven’s Law comes to mind: “Never throw s*** at an armed man”
Frantic Freddie on October 26, 2007 at 12:41 PM
I was gonna post on his blog, but… How conveeeeeeeenient!
MaelstromX on October 26, 2007 at 12:45 PM
I agree, he apologized, in his way, which says allot, whether people think that apology was good enough or not he does seem to be sincerely trying.
Keli on October 26, 2007 at 12:53 PM
That’s not a typo, he was drunk when he titled the post. It went like this:
Gulp, gulp, ahhh! *hiccup* “I should name thish post something cool.” *hiccup* “Maybe, ‘Under Fire!’ Yea that’sh cool. Wait, I haven’t sheen any combat, but doesh that even matter. After all I’m a journalist. But, I don’t want to be called an ashhat again. Maybe,” *hiccup* “um. . ., oh I know, the Blogoshpere Reacts.” *hiccup* “Oh, yea! That’sh a good one.”
Troy Rasmussen on October 26, 2007 at 12:53 PM
He can apologize, but he’s still a jackass.
As of today anyway. The fact that he actually thought his jerkiness was a good thing, up till two days ago, means the jerkiness runs pretty deep.
The proof of the truth of his apology will come the next twenty times he finds himself in an inconvenient situation, whether of his own making or not. His reaction to those won’t be public knowledge. But if he learns from this one to react better in those, then even if the “blogoshpere” never forgives him, he will have redeeemed himself.
inviolet on October 26, 2007 at 1:15 PM
He works for KNIGHT-RIDDER, fercryinoutloud! Tremble with gratitude, peons, that he have deigned to grace ur internets with his J-school skillz.
Sacramento Bee, beeyotch!
*cough*
As others have noted, his apology is carefully crafted. he regrets making his “personal reflections” public. He wasn’t reflecting, he was bragging about blustering his way through a checkpoint without proper identification, and relished the amusement of his personal guard by pushing his Press badge around. He calls this, on – um, reflection – “upbraiding” the guard. He still thinks he is in the right for that incident, but is embarrassed that he got caught in a moment of candor.
May he continue to receive attention, and feedback, on his writing, until the echo chamber of his ego gets dented enough to let some truth through.
sulla on October 26, 2007 at 1:34 PM
A couple of items from the “apology”:
“The response to one of my earlier posts, headlined “Simply Simpatico,” caught me off guard — further evidence of my naivete when it comes to the blogging world.”
and
“Yes, I’m obviously new to blogging. Sometimes I share too much. The blogosphere has reacted and pointed out my folly.”
This guy is a trained and experienced writer, and we are supposed to believe he was “naive” and that his newness to blogging caused him to “share too much”? Ya know, I just don’t believe it.
reine.de.tout on October 26, 2007 at 1:52 PM
His linked-in bio states he started college in 1983.
Laura on October 26, 2007 at 2:21 PM
At heart, he’s a disloyal, military-hating, Bush-hating, liberal. He’d rather be filing his stories from the hotel bar.
And now he’s trying to LIE his way out of the mess he made when he let his real feelings become public.
One can only hope that if he ever goes “outside the wire,” that none of those military morons he despises so much will volunteer to protect him.
georgej on October 26, 2007 at 3:53 PM
That seemed like a sincere apology. If the claim is true that his post was not in any way connected with a news organization, then I have no problem seeing this a guy getting blindsided by huge response to what he thought was a small and intimate blog.
Has anyone here never written or said something, and then after having someone point out something to you, regarded what you said/wrote as over the top or in bad taste? Please.
VolMagic on October 26, 2007 at 4:10 PM
Has anyone here never written or said something, and then after having someone point out something to you, regarded what you said/wrote as over the top or in bad taste? Please.
VolMagic on October 26, 2007 at 4:10 PM
Yes, plenty of times I have said things I wish I had not said. However, I believe, and I stated this above, that this guy is a trained and experienced writer/reporter, who should know the power and nuance of words used. If he truly had no clue how “over the top” his blog was, before it was pointed out to him, then he has no business being a reporter.
reine.de.tout on October 26, 2007 at 8:36 PM
Apology accepted… Attitude rejected.
He was called Steven Freeman by one of the commenters in his original entry thread. Anyone have anything on that…?
Rugged Individual on October 26, 2007 at 10:50 PM
Beauchamp get’s a pass from some of you but this guy doesn’t???
[shakes me head]
-
deesine on October 27, 2007 at 12:19 AM
Seconded. The guy has repented, admitted he can be wrong, and simply not defended his actions through the usual media tactics. He has admitted that, upon reflection, his reaction to a perfectly normal military security procedure was invalid. He made it clear that he hadn’t expected wide awareness of his blog, or the attention it got, and his entire current post seems sincere, humble and thoughtful.
I’m not joining the torches and pitchforks brigade on this one.
Freelancer on October 27, 2007 at 3:21 AM
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