New York Times Journalism 101 – Not fitting the template? Fake it

On Monday, I wrote about the Obama administration’s failure to come up with a health care tragedy with complete disclosure and candor included in the write-up. The New York Times is having some issues as well, and Michelle Malkin follows up on John Brodniak’s story.

Here’s the original story from Nick Kristof at the New York Times and here is my original post from Monday. Malkin noted the lack of follow up, actually the lack of any basic journalism in Kristof’s piece, which granted, was an opinion piece.

The tragedy…

John says the principal obstacle to treatment appears to be simply his lack of insurance. In August, he qualified for an Oregon Medicaid program, but he hasn’t been able to find a doctor who will accept him as a patient for surgery, apparently because the reimbursements are so low. Doctors tell him that his condition is operable — but that they can’t accept him without conventional insurance. He is increasingly frustrated as he watches his family crushed by the burden of his illness.

The truth… from Malkin’s site tonight.

Well, OHSU confirmed for me two things:

1) OHSU is a safety-net hospital not far from where Brodniak lives. The hospital accepts all Medicaid patients and would not turn Brodniak away.

Okay, are you ready for Number 2?

2) Brodniak is a patient at OHSU — and has been a patient there for the past three weeks.

In other words, at the time Kristof’s article was published this past Sunday, Brodniak was already being treated and cared for by some of the best neurologists in the country!

The spokesman told me that the Brodniaks were willing to confirm “reluctantly” for me that he has been a patient there for nearly a month, but they refuse to talk to me directly. The spokesman also told me that OHSU will not make its doctors available for further comment on the matter.

Stop telling us the health care system is the worst in the world for some people and then let us find out it’s not as bad as you said it was. Why the need to lie?

Sounds like something else big in the news these days…. hummmm … oh yeah …. climate change!

I truly hope John Brodniak can get well and get back to enjoying his life. Our thoughts are with him and his family.

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Steve McGough

Steve's a part-time conservative blogger. Steve grew up in Connecticut and has lived in Washington, D.C. and the Bahamas. He resides in Connecticut, where he’s comfortable six months of the year.

1 Comment

  1. Dimsdale on December 2, 2009 at 7:42 pm

    Did you notice that everything that Obama and his acolytes say has a Paul Harvey moment, i.e. "and now, the rest of the story"…..?

     

    You answered your own rhetorical question about why they have to lie: the truth works against them.



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