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KUSA-TV 9News.com
Denver NBC affiliate 9News.com published audio and a transcript of a voicemail which prominent evangelist Ted Haggard allegedly left for male escort Mike Jones. |
I live in Boulder, Colo., and today the local -- and national -- media are abuzz with the latest pre-election bombshell.
It's all summed up in this lead from today's Denver Post: "Facing shocking allegations that he paid a gay prostitute for sex, prominent Colorado Springs pastor Ted Haggard placed himself on administrative leave Thursday from his church position and resigned as president of the National Association of Evangelicals, a platform that made him a rising star in conservative politics."
Haggard also is a high-profile proponent of Amendment 43, on the Colorado ballot in the upcoming election, which would "amend the state constitution by defining marriage in Colorado as only a union between one man and one woman."
Denver's NBC news affiliate KUSA-TV 9News acquired voicemails from male escort Mike Jones, is having them analyzed by audio forensics expert Richard Sanders, and yesterday published message transcripts and Sanders' initial comments.
And I'm thinking... "Rathergate: The Sequel"
OK, this is strictly a guess on my part, and I may be completely wrong, but I'm going to stick my neck out here. Remember Rathergate? The crux of that flap was that the Killian documents -- memos comprising linchpin of a Sept. 8, 2004 60 Minutes story alleging improprieties during President George W. Bush's National Guard service in the 1970s -- were discredited by independent analysis sparked by discussion in online forums and weblogs. (I traced the development of this independent analysis Sept. 9, 2005 in I, Reporter.)
Today, we're confronted with another major election bombshell purported to be backed up by evidence. 9News.com has published online the complete audio of one alleged Haggard voicemail (streaming Windows media, forces you to watch a commercial first, sorry).
I expect that within days we'll see reports of independent analysis conducted on this audio sample which claims to either support or refute the findings of the 9News-sponsored analysis. And this will probably start, once again, in forums and blogs.
Will this second-guessing prove as weighty as the independent analysis of the Killian documents? Probably not. But in general, whenever evidence in a case is made public, independent analysis is something reporters should watch for.
Furthermore, because of this phenonmenon, be careful whenever you post source materials (documents, audio, etc.) online. You'd better be extra-extra-extra careful that any claims you make about their authenticity are sound, or else appropriately qualified. If there are any possible inconsistencies, the blogosphere will let you know -- loud and clear.
You'd better be extra-extra-extra careful that any claims you make...
