Matt Welch | November 30, 2004
Jack Shafer reference-checks William Safire.
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Please, all Shafer did was verify that the term used by Safire wasn't journalistic vernacular, which says nothing about the accuracy of the charge.
"keeper" versus spiked
And to think Safire has been known to criticize his colleague and
my sweetie, Maureen Dowd, for using esoteric words.
I'm not surprised Safire knows words that other people don't: he's been in the business a long time (he's probably got 20 years on any of the journalists Shafer asked), and he writes books on language, for heaven's sake. And, as wellfellow points out, Shafer seems to think if he can't find enough references to the term, that he's somehow proved the practice is rare or non-existent. Here's a recent one: the LA Times' late sexual harassment hit on Arnold, just before the recall election.
You are aware that just BECAUSE a story comes at a politically oppurtune time doesn't mean that the story's release was politically timed, right?
Morat: It's not conclusive, but there's some evidence that the LA Times' stories were politically timed.
Papa,
There's much stronger evidence than that:
http://www.jillstewart.net/php/issues/issue1014.php
Tim,
Point taken, however, if the thrust of the story had been that
Safire was merely being nitpicked, that'd be rather banal. Let us
not pretend that Shafer was genuinly interested in etymology. So,
Tim, read between the lines. Thank you.
Morat, did anyone suggest that?
wellfellow,
I may have misunderstood your remark - did you mean it to be
directed at Shafer (I took it to be directed at Welch)? I agree
entirely that Shafer's article was petty, and I'd infer from the
headline that Welch agrees. In fact, Shafer is "nitpicking," but
that is a criticism, not a description. I'm sure Shafer thought
(foolishly) that he was casting doubt on Safire's conclustion. In
any case, my bad if your remark was directed at Shafer and not
Welch.
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