Debbie Nathan

Finally, decent radio on Eichenwald

Writer David France was on (click here) Boston public radio WBUR yesterday, talking about his story, in last month’s New York Magazine, about the fall of former New York Times reporter Kurt Eichenwald. France’s interview is the first normal radio piece about the subject — “normal” referring to the quaint practice of a host asking critical questions of a critical guest, rather than staging a puff event, as NPR’s “All Things Considered” did with its media reporter David Folkenflik in late October, and WNYC’s Brian Lehrer repeated days later.

(On the Lehrer program, Eichenwald lavished ad hominems on me, as is his wont. The show must have felt embarrassed, because later they invited me to be on — but warned that I was not to talk about Eichenwald … not about the same issues that France would subsequently discuss in Boston. I argued about this restriction with a Lehrer producer, but ended up agreeing to appear (click here to listen) and thought we’d be talking about the problem of how, under the law, the media can’t research child pornography. Indeed, that’s how the show was advertised. But when I got on the air, Lehrer’s questions seemed to be trying to point me toward saying I approve of sex between teens and adults. It seemed weird, strained, and none too friendly. Still, I was happy for the chance to call for reason and intelligence when considering issues regarding children, young adults, and sex. Thanks, Brian!)

Back to the Boston interview. On the radio, France (shown at left) brings up new material that did not appear in New York Magazine. He provides more detail about Eichenwald’s involvement with a web site that turned out to have illegal material on it. He gives critical context to Eichenwald’s claims about epilepsy induced memory loss. He speaks at some length about men who were convicted based on Eichenwald’s misguided reporting — and he expresses sympathy for these men’s legal plight, as well as skepticism about the fairness of the long prison sentence one of them faces. Most of all, France focuses on the various tragedies and outrages that occur when emotion and moralism get in the way of competent reporting.

The interview ends with a suggestion that the story may not be over when it comes to Justin Berry.

This is a sharp, nuanced piece of media that surpasses France’s written work on the subject.

I’m waiting until after Thanksgiving to blog the latest sex-politics news, culled from research and journalism from here and there. More later; meanwhile, enjoy the holiday!