Eichenwald Thrashed -- Again

Kurt Eichenwald, who has been a pinata lately for his infamous $2000 check to Justin Berry, has been given yet another public thrashing -- this time by New York Times public editor Byron Calame, a highly respected former Wall Street Journal editor.

His column is here.

It's a devastating column. His "private citizen" explanation for the check is called "baloney." Calame says that Eichenwald "misled" his editors and concludes by saying that "even if editors ask a reporter the right questions, they must be able to trust the answers they get." That's pretty close to calling Eichenwald a liar.

I can't quarrel with the findings of the column though I'm sure Eichenwald will, and I will post his response when I see it. One question occurred to me as I read it: Would Calame have been quite this harsh if Eichenwald was still working at the Times?

© 2007 Gary Weiss. All rights reserved.

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Wall Street Versus America was published by Penguin USA on April 6.
Click here for its Amazon.com listing and here for more information on the book, from my web site, gary-weiss.com.