Glen Johnson is reporting to the Globe as an embed with the Dean campaign. The first letter is in response to his Feb 6 story, followed by his response, my comment and then a comment on today's report.
Mr. Johnson:
Aside from the fact that the email I received did not say
what your story and its headline implies, there are other parts of your
story that are blatantly false.
I know for a fact that my email came in around one o'clock in the
morning. That was surely not the hour when "Dean found himself
confronted by dwindling crowds and an ever-diminishing travelling press
corps." Indeed, you even relate that Dr. Dean departed Michigan at
"midafternoon."
As for the "dwindling crowds"--does that mean people who had come to
hear him were walking out because he spoke too long? Or do you mean
that on a cold morning in wind-swept Michigan there were fewer people
who didn't have to go to work and didn't have anything else to do than
there were during the winter holidays or even summer evenings in New
Hampshire?
That the press corps is diminishing is good news!
Surely, since the legislation (Patriot Act) had to be passed before he
could oppose it, it is Dr. Dean who is in synch with Russell Feingold,
rather than the other way around. I only make this point because you
seem to have a problem keeping track of the natural sequence of events.
Finally, as a reporter who has access to all the latest information, it
seems rather lazy of you to rely on vague estimates "by some counts"
when it comes to the question of money. All you have to do is read the
blog and confirm the sources of the posts.
Perhaps you are bored with this assignment and Dr.Dean's company does
not energize you. If so, permit me to suggest you request another
assignment. If John Kerry could ask to be reassigned during the VietNam
war, I'm sure that can be accomplished in your case now.
Sincerely,
Monica Smith
Saturday addendum:
Glad to report that Glen Johnson's report from the Dean campaign trail for the Boston Globe is stronger on fact and less opinionated.
That "journalists outnumbered patrons" when they stopped by a cafe is not surprising, but it is significant.
During the last days in New Hampshire, there was so much media in attendance that it was difficult to find venues (in a small state, with small towns, and small public buildings) that could accommodate the media menagerie and their vehicles. Indeed, local supporters were encouraged to stay away so that undecided voters would have a chance to hear the Governor in person.
It should also be remembered that in addition to the Governor there were three other candidates requisitioning sites at the same time. If you want to get a picture of how things are, consider that in our town there was a problem just getting a venue for voting. The Town Hall isn't nearly big enough. One of the Churches that had been used, after the high school parking lot proved too small now that, here to, more and more highschoolers are driving themselves to school, was found to be unacceptable because of its very visible antagonism to homosexuals.
The problem was eventually solved by moving the voting to an industrial facility on the outskirts of town (where no-one would be able to walk) which has a temporary excess of space.
Fortunately, because the recession hasn't hit NH quite as hard as other states, there's not a lot of large vacant space, unlike perhaps in Flint, Michigan where Mr. Johnson reported the other day not enough people showed up to fill the site.
Posted by Monica Smith at February 7, 2004 06:27 AM