WP, Kurtz: Murray Waas kept cancer secret

[DeepModem Mom]

Coming Clean
By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, June 26, 2006

For a reporter whose specialty is digging out secrets, Murray Waas has been keeping one about himself for a long time.

He was once diagnosed with an advanced form of cancer and told he had little chance of survival. More recently, he had to fight off a recurrence and his subsequent bankruptcy from medical bills.

"I feel almost relieved getting it out," he says. "I'm just fatigued from trying to hide it."

It's hard to say where the line should be drawn when it comes to such an intensely personal disclosure. Did Waas's near-death experience, and subsequent complications, affect his journalism? How could such a searing experience not change your outlook on work and life?

Waas, who works for the National Journal and has drawn attention lately for several scoops in the CIA leak investigation, sued George Washington University Medical Center for failing to diagnose his cancer, winning a $650,000 judgment. But over the years he has persuaded other reporters to steer clear of his medical history on grounds that it was private -- an interesting stance for a journalist who asks probing questions for a living....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/linkset/2005/04/11/LI2005041100587.html

[gasperc]

1. he alluded to health insurance during YearlyKOS

I remember him making a comment about he himself almost being done in by medical bills, that must have pressed some people to ask him what was going on

[Norquist Nemesis]

2. Oh, please! "Kill the Messenger Kurtz"

Looks like Rove put out the message that Waas is now "fair game". These people are absolutely disgusting.

[Rose Siding]

3. Cancergate.

"It's hard to say where the line should be drawn when it comes to such an intensely personal disclosure" No it isn't, you flaming Putz! :grr:

[Gabi Hayes]

4. WTF is his POINT about "affecting his journalism?"

does being married to a REPUBLICAN OPERATIVE affect one's "journalism?"

have I told you how much I loathe these people?

[DeepModem Mom]

5. VERY GOOD POINT! nt

[librechik]

16. I noticed that snide little bit right away. Kurtz is lower than a snake.

feeding off Murray's leavings with his vile "media criticism" propaganda.

How dare he!

[Rose Siding]

6. It's stunning, isn't it?

Of course Kurtz's wife's occupation- at least her partisan activities are more relevant to a journie's work. This column is obscene. -And the motives behind it are painfully apparent. This is the week of Attack the Emerging Alternate Media.

[Gabi Hayes]

9. you know he wrote a book on Clinton's dealings with the press, yes?

know what it was called?

[Gabi Hayes]

11. you think he would ever DARE use one of the title words WRT

the current regime?

he really is amazing

[blm]

23. Kurtz's wife works as a GOP STRATEGIST - Does it effect his work? YES!!!

And he proves it day in and day out.

[Norquist Nemesis]

25. That sounds like a good question for the Omnibudsman!

A very, very good question!

[charlie]

7. It's hard to say

where the line should be drawn?! WTF Howie? Of what benefit is it to me to know about Waas' health problems? Just exactly how does cancer affect the accuracy of his reporting? Jeez.

What's the size of your dick, Howie? C'mon boy, lay it out. I'm certain THAT can help us understand your strange brand of "journalism."

[KoKo]

10. And, Kurtz won't reveal his wife is a Repug Operative who worked for

Schwartzenneger's Election and probably feeds him his "Talking Points."

Sherri Annis...

[Gabi Hayes]

12. that's it.....I was too lazy to look up her name

I've seen her on the tube a few times...not as vile as, say, Coulter or that other blonde, bucktooth, BBQ (Ted Olson's unlamented virago), but very annoying, nonetheless, and she NEVER mentioned to whom she's married

[charlie]

15. It's impossible to untangle the thicket

of conflicting relationships anymore. It's no wonder they act like idiots, they're a bunch of inbred morons.

[AlCzervik]

8. Jeff Gannon/Guckert was a male prostitute, that is news, Murry Waas's

cancer is not, Waas has done a great job imo and i don't understand why his health problems are relevant to his reporting.

[ShortnFiery]

13. Howie Kurtz has reached new moral LOWS in his personal journalistic

career. He's gonna have a lot of 'splaining to do to Saint Peter at the Pearly Gates. :( :nuke:

[Spazito]

14. Poor, poor, poor Howie....

He keeps getting more and more pathetic in his attempts to smear whomever he is told to smear. The point above about his wife is right on point, imo. I noticed recently he has taken to attacking liberal blogs/forums, I wonder if it is because it is those sites that have "outed" his lies about his wife's non-involvement in repub activities and dare to question both his objectivity AND his lack of journalistic ethics, I suspect so.

Poor, poor, poor Howie.

[Gabi Hayes]

19. what a lousy, rotten, stinking excuse for a journalist:

http://www.dailyhowler.com/h093098_2.shtml

in which he abets/ignores Kathleen Willey's ever changing story about Clinton's alleged groping, way back when

[Spazito]

26. Yep, his job is not be be a journalist but to be the lapdog to the

repubs, good thing, he sucks at even pretending to be a journalist but he is a very good lapdog. He is despicable, truly despicable.

[oasis]

29. Your link shows more proof that Kurtz is a poor excuse for a journalist.

:puke:

[Bonhomme Richard]

17. "subsequent bankruptcy from medical bills."

Naturally there is no problem with our health care system. I am sure this guy had, what he thought, was adequate health insurance and suprise....He's bankrupt.
As far as I'm concerned, no one should lose all they have worked for because they get sick. It's as simple as that.

[flyarm]

18. what a scumb bag Howard Kurtz is..can we all call WP and put in

a protest call against this sob??

can't we get everyone here to call and scream bloody murder over this story..its dispicable,..so when did Americans medical records become public domain???

this is really worse than dispicable..Howard Kurtz is a scum bag..no other word for that prick!

so was peter jennings less of a reporter because he had lung cancer??

how about Katie Curic's husband ..he had colon cancer..was he less of a journalist??

or how about the newsweek guy (?) who goes on with KO..is he less of a journalist??

HOw about Arlin Spector..should he have quit the Senate ..hell he has always been an asswipe for * and this admin..so did his cancer fuck up his agenda of protecting this admin??

what a fucking scum bag Howard Kurtz...

its about time the accountability of people in the media have to expose who their spouses work for and what their full agenda is..

i want accountability of Howard Kurtz..i want to know how much his wife made from the republican party!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

come on scum bag Howard..spill it all ..you filthy pig!

seems Howard you would attack one of your own..when they are the most down...tells me all i need to know about you Howard... ..you mother fcuker..and thats an insult to mothers!

fly

fly

[DeepModem Mom]

22. Contact info:

202.334.6000
800.627.1150

And I think the e-mail is [e-mail].

[blogslut]

20. Kurtz is a punk

What a baby :(

[grasswire]

21. Tony Snow had the same cancer.

Colon cancer. Has it affected his work?

And by the way, that festering sore on Kurtz's private part -- does that affect his own work?

[Rose Siding]

24. And he used it for what one might argue are political reasons

He used it to his advantage on his first day in the press room. His tears generated some favorable coverage for it. With the weight of his new responsibilities, was it natural to insert such personal details, or a manipulation?

This column makes me sick.

[DeepModem Mom]

27. [e-mail]; LINK TO KURTZ E-MAIL:

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/staff/email/howard+kurtz/

[faithnotgreed]

30. definitely agree that ombudsman should be contacted

i dont see how any journalists medical condition could possibly have any relevance unless a journalist is writing articles on related medical group or condition (that the journalist has experience with) and doesnt disclose it

wonder what murray is about to publish that has them upset

[Pithy Cherub]

28. WaPo loves their embarrassing "journalists".

Slam & Bam Kurtz is the most often discarded lowest-priced media maggot whore available. Kurtz is morally diseased and has the unmitigated corrossive gall to make public a health condition and then question whether it affects his reporting. Kurtz isn't fit to be anywhere near a real journalist like Murray Waas. But WaPo lets him write his trash without speaking about his despicable bias's either.

And to Waas goes my deepest appreciation, admiration and applause for a journalist who does his job in the face of overwhelming odds! Hope you are on the way to lasting good health Mr. Waas. :patriot:

[Beetwasher]

31. Holy Crap! What A Nasty, Vile, Despicable Piece of Shit Kurtz Is!

There is no low low enough for these filthy fucking cretins.

[Garbo 2004]

32. So Howie, how bout releasing your medical records and full financial

disclosure, including your wife's earnings and political activities? Surely there's something there we should know about to see how it may influence your "reporting."

There's no "there" there with Waas. With Howie however, that's another matter. And in this, Howie's little more than a gossip monger in terms of news value. Could what Waas has been reporting on recently and Howie's connections to Repub operatives have influenced Kurtz's reporting and decision to go with this story? Full disclosure, Howie. Your readers have a right to know after all.

[Garbo 2004]

33. Waas' article at the HuffPo.

And the last paragraphs:

While I was writing about the origins of the first Gulf War, it was a ritual, at least every other week, to sit at dusk, or dawn, with no one else around at the Vietnam War Memorial. Near the stone with the names of Randy Campbell and Carl Wenzel.

Now, covering the origins of the second war with Iraq, I have gone back to my ritual. One reason is that I simply feel fortunate. I survived cancer. I am not a name on a Wall or on a quilt.

One of the major problems with journalism today is that too many reporters care more about their constituencies, rather than their readers or their mission. We write for our peers and prize committees. We serve at the pleasure of corporate boards and stockholders. We are too often afraid to stray too far from the conventional wisdom.

If one were to catch a glimpse of me from some distance, at an early morning hour, at the Vietnam War Memorial, they would see someone sitting all by himself, alone. But I am hardly alone. And I am home. I am with my constituency.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/murray-waas/a-reporters-bias_b_23782.html

[DeepModem Mom]

34. Thanks so much for posting this, Garbo. nt