Covering The Capital

Below the Beltway

Socializing between reporters and the people they cover is part of the D.C. landscape. But when they actually tie the knot, are journalists in an ethical bind? We asked Fortune’s Washington Bureau Chief Nina Easton, wife of John McCain’s media advisor.


The Restless Many

Way before the story of the fired U.S. attorneys hit the front pages, it was front and center on TPM Muckraker. The blog's reporter Paul Kiel describes how his site has mixed investigative reporting with the power of the reading masses to advance the story.


The Gonzales 85

If 8 prosecutors were fired because they weren’t hard enough on Democrats, does that mean the other 85 were? Maybe. Communications professor John Cragan has found that Bush’s Justice Dept. has prosecuted 7 times as many Dems as Republicans.


Please Please Me

U.S. attorneys, and the Attorney General for that matter, serve “at the pleasure of the president.” Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick explains the phrase, and grades the media's usage of it.


"Mistakes Were Made"

That's how Attorney General Alberto Gonzales characterized his department's handling of the dismissal of eight U.S. attorneys. Bob anatomizes Washington's favorite non-apology apology.


Blood Stains

When Rep. John Murtha proposed new limits on the deployment of troops to Iraq, his plan was criticized by Republicans and their media allies as a ”slow bleed strategy.” It turns out that phrase wasn’t the spawn of politicians, but of a prominent newsman. Politico.com editor John Harris comes clean.


Pants on Fire

The jury’s verdict is in – Scooter Libby is guilty of perjury and obstruction of justice. And yet still, editorialists have found plenty of room for dispute in what it all means. The Nation’s David Corn and the New York Sun's Josh Gerstein analyze the spin.


Down and Out

For 18 days in 1972, Thomas Eagleton, who died this week, was the Democratic vice-presidential candidate. Clark Hoyt was the cub reporter who abruptly ended his bid for office. Hoyt reflects on journalistic responsibility and regret.


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