January 23, 2007 -- 3:20 PM EST // // Post a Comment
WASHINGTON POST OMBUDSMAN TO ADDRESS SOLOMON STORY IN NEXT COLUMN.
So it looks like John Solomon isn't out of trouble just yet. I've just confirmed that Washington Post ombud Deborah Howell plans to address Solomon's piece on John Edwards in her column this week.
What happened was this: TPM Reader TT emailed us to let us know that he'd emailed Howell as follows: "If you thought the strange placement of John Solomon's strange story on John Edwards merited comment in the Post's internal blog, why didn't you comment on it in your weekly column?" Good question -- and Howell replied to TT that she did in fact intend to address it this week. I emailed Howell and asked her whether she would be doing this, and Howell wrote back: "Yes."
Howell, of course, is one of the piece's in-house critics. She privately questioned the piece in that internal Post blog item. She hasn't gone public with her criticisms yet, though her item did of course subsequently get leaked a few days ago:
More than a dozen readers, both inside the newsroom and outside, were troubled by the John Edwards story on Page today. So was I. Most complainers thought that the story either wasn't worth a story or wasn't worth fronting or both. It was interesting enough to make an item in In the Loop, but not Page 1. I kept looking for the graf that would tell me that the buyers had some history with Edwards, that they were big campaign contributors, that there was some quid pro quo. Nada.
So now Howell will be making a more expansive public case -- against the piece, one presumes, but one never knows for sure -- in her column. Should be interesting.
Solomon defended himself against an onslaught of questions today in a chat with readers. It'll also be interesting to see what -- if anything -- he says if and when Howell weighs in on the piece. Anyone care to predict what she'll say?
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