Air America: Raleigh's N&O sort of reports

Yesterday, two weeks after newspapers and bloggers began reporting on the loan scandal engulfing liberal talk-radio network Air America, Raleigh's News & Observer got around to reporting it, sort of. (Loans to Air America under scrutiny, Aug. 13. Pg. 6A). The report began:

The state attorney general's office and the city's Department of Investigation are looking into whether a boys and girls club serving poor children and ailing elderly people in the Bronx had improper financial dealings, including loans to the Air America radio network, state and city officials said yesterday. (The loans tolal almost $900,000.00. - JinC)

The N&O's sort of report is based on a The New York Times report which ran the previous day.

Why is the N&O's report a sort of?

For one thing, readers aren't told why The Times and the N&O delayed for almost 2 weeks reporting a scandal every other New York City daily, and newspapers and columnists across the country were reporting. Neither paper even bothered to inform readers of their delays.

This N&O paragraph in more sort of reporting:

Jim Grossman, a spokesman for Gloria Wise, said the club had given Air America about $875,000. He said the money had been placed in an escrow account and would eventually be repaid to the club.

What escrow account? Where? Who controls it? Is anything signed? If yes, by whom? Did New York City's Department of Investigation (DOI) and the Attorney General's office approve the account?

The last I read about any escrow account, NYC's DOI was complaining that all Air America had done was place $50.000.00 in an escrow account controlled by Air America's lawyer.

Updates, NYT and N&O? Investigative journalism, anyone?

Don't N&O readers deserve more than a delayed sort of report, Editor Sill?

Former NY Times public editor David Okrent has said, "If you think The Times plays it down the middle on (issues), you've been reading the paper with your eyes closed."

I won't dispute that. And to me that explains The Times delay and sort of reporting on Air America's troubles.

But Editor Sill says there's no liberal news bias in the N&O.

Well then, what explains the N&O's delay and sort of reporting?

(Readers of this post may be interested in the next post, "When you care enough to fawn and gush." It reminds us of the kind of coverage liberal news organizations like to give Air America.)