Tuesday, July 18, 2006

"Leaked", Indeed

"Bush administration officials - including the President himself - who jumped down The New York Times' throat for publishing a leaked story of the Treasury Department's anti-terrorism financial-tracking program, surely have short memories. When it was planned in 2003, the program was expected to be leaked - and even included a press strategy. "These three elements needed to be in the first-day story," an insider told U.S. News & World Report's Paul Bedard. When The Times was about to spring the story, Treasury employees were allowed by higherups to talk to them and other papers - ensuring that their three key points made it into all coverage. "It was a textbook case of very good PR management," says the source."

Well of course the leak was expected, and we said as much. Doesn't excuse the Times for being the paper to do so, and isn't it strange that they're the ones who always seem to be finding these oh so "secret" programs. It's called Playing Them Like A Fiddle.

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