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BHDC 'Radar' File:

Thursday February 21st, 2008 1:27 PM by BHDC Staff  
Filed under: Journalism, John McCain, Radar, John Vincent (Vin) Weber

Radar magazine has rushed another story without gathering all the facts. And, in turn, it has been forced to issue an embarrassing retraction. On Monday, the publication haphazardly published the following information online:

After Mr. McCain and Ms. Iseman denied the affair to the Times, the newspaper reported last night that Mr. McCain had acknowledged to two of his associates in 2000 that he had been “behaving inappropriately and pledged to keep his distance from Ms. Iseman.”

Sources told Radar that one of these associates was John Vincent (Vin) Weber, a former Republican congressman from Minnesota who was an advisor to McCain’s presidential campaign in 2000. In 2007, Weber became Policy Chairman for the Romney for President Exploratory Committee.

Weber did not immediately respond to a message left with the receptionist at Clark & Weinstock in Washington this morning, where Weber is a partner. The message said Radar would report that Weber was one of the sources of the story in the New York Times. The receptionist said Weber was in a meeting and could not come to the telephone.

Problem is, if Radar would have waited to talk to Weber, he would have told them a much different story than that of their alleged sources. In a subsequent update, the magazine has been forced to add this retraction, albeit at the bottom of the story:

At 12:51 PM, , after this story was posted, Weber called Radar with this statement: “Absolutely, positively completely not true in any form.”

Big Head DC has long said that Radar is often much too quick to rush to judgments based on lacking evidence. This instance is just the most recent embarrassing case.

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Thursday February 7th, 2008 11:34 AM by BHDC Staff  
Filed under: Barack Obama, Radar

The kids at Radar are deducing things again (wrongly). It’s cute.

Alternative, longer title after the jump: Read more…

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anti_wonkette11.pngWith much fanfare, including a widely-circulated item in Page 6, John Clarke Jr. was poised only a few short weeks ago to become the next fabled editor of the snarky Wonkette blog. It was the same “dream” job that had led to a career at TIME for Ana Marie Cox, the first Wonkette (the one without a penis, we think) — and Clarke seemed quite ready to transform his past unsuccessful career in politics into a new political blogging career. 

But, as we confirmed via a subtle change on the Gawker Media blog’s masthead this morning, Clarke has parted ways with owner Nick Denton in record time. Even David Lat stayed at the blog longer in 2006 when he exited after a few months of reportedly very little pay and even less prestige.

The change is not exactly shocking, as Big Head DC recently noted (twice) that Clarke had started freelancing for Radar, a chief competitor to Denton’s blogs. Within days of those revelations, Clarke was out at Wonkette. That a second editor has left Denton to work for Radar (the first was Alex Balk) surely must be a stinging slap in Denton’s face, especially considering the mass quitting of three of his top editors at Gawker in December. Each of those editors took jabs on the Gawker blog about Denton’s poor management style in the weeks prior to their departures.

Interestingly, Ken Layne, who had run the Wonkette blog with Alex Pareene for a majority of 2006 and 2007 - and who was asked to leave the blog by Denton when Clarke signed up - has temporarily filled the open position. Pareene left to join Gawker’s NYC-focused blog soon after Big Head DC revealed his involvement in a Washington sex scandal.

As for Clarke, problems started soon into his tenure. A source close to the situation says Clarke didn’t realize the amount of posting he’d be expected to do, nor did he understand the extent of Denton’s desire for fresh and original scoops to be broken via the blog. Denton’s demands for scoops similar to mainstream media outlets have become much more intense as of late as some of his blogs, including Wonkette, have lost audience share and ad revenue to competing outlets such as Big Head DC.

Related: Our Xmas Present to Wonkette: Words of Wisdom

BHDC Continues to Dramatically Outpace Wonkette

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carville1.jpgJohn Clarke Jr., editor of the snark-filled Wonkette Web site (according to its current masthead), has apparently developed some Deep Throat-like sources withing the Hillary Clinton campaign for president.

Writing for Wonkette competitor, Radar magazine, yesterday, Clarke reported that “a source close with” James Carville told him that the Democratic political guru plans to join Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

Interestingly, the piece is titled “Radar Exclusive,” yet Big Head DC revealed the same information over sixteen days earlier. More interestingly, why is someone close to Hillary Clinton leaking information to a Wonkette editor? Also interesting: why is an editor on the Wonkette masthead currently freelancing for Radar when the owner of Wonkette, Nick Denton, and the owner of Radar, Maer Roshan, reportedly hate each other? Why didn’t Clarke’s regurgitated BHDC scoop appear on Wonkette instead of Radar?

We digress. Our original report on Carville follows:

Various campaign insiders are leaking to press outlets that Bill Clinton is peeved big time that campaign leaders for Hillary Clinton have allowed Barack Obama to take so many potshots at his wife without receiving a similarly negative response.

Several staff members may be fired and replaced, Big Head DC hears, with the likes of James Carville — someone who definitely knows how to play dirty politics. And a close Bill pal still.

Although Carville’s wife, Mary Matalin, is actively advising Fred Thompson’s GOP presidential campaign, Carville has rarely been involved in political campaigns as a principal adviser to a candidate since Clinton’s 1992 presidential victory.

Earlier: Does Nick Denton Know His Top Wonkette Editor Is Freelancing For Radar?

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Wednesday December 19th, 2007 11:59 AM by BHDC Staff  
Filed under: Wonkette, Gawker, Nick Denton, Radar, John Clarke Jr., Maer Roshan

Gawker empire owner Nick Denton has never much been fond of Maer Roshan’s Radar publication, so you just gotta wonder how he’s going to feel when he finds out that John Clarke Jr., the recently installed editor of Denton’s Wonkette, has taken to writing Washington-focused stories for Radar’s online column “Fresh Intelligence.” Alex Balk, a top editor at Denton’s flagship Gawker publication, recently left Denton to join Radar as its chief online editor. Is this a sign of Balk’s plans to poach more of Denton’s staffers in the coming days?

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Tuesday November 27th, 2007 7:40 PM by BHDC Staff  
Filed under: Journalism, Sex, Scandals, Scoops, BHDC, Deborah Jeane Palfrey, Shocking, Radar, Larry Flynt, ABC, Brian Ross, Sam Donaldson

sam-donaldson.JPGA press release sent this evening by Hustler publisher Larry Flynt confirms that a phone number belonging to ABC newsman Sam Donaldson appeared in the records of the alleged “DC Madam” Deborah Jeane Palfrey, as Big Head DC first revealed some time ago. Radar magazine and the Huffington Post have both falsely claimed that the Big Head DC story was somehow factually inaccurate. We have long claimed that the existence of Donaldson’s number in Palfrey’s records - combined with the existence of phone records of one or more other news personalities from the ABC network in the records - prevented ABC News from revealing a fuller report on the spectrum of politicos and others within Palfrey’s records when the network released their exclusive Brian Ross interview with Palfrey in May of this year. In essence, there was a cover-up by ABC News. Palfrey has confirmed as much to Big Head DC.

The full release follows: Read more…

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Friday November 16th, 2007 11:15 AM by BHDC Staff  
Filed under: Scandals, BHDC, Deborah Jeane Palfrey, Radar, ABC, Sam Donaldson

Blogger Matt Janovic is alleging Big Head DC believes Deborah Jane Palfrey, the accused “DC Madam,” is lying about her case:

sam-donaldson.jpgRight, Sam Donaldson IS in the phone records of Deborah Jeane Palfrey’s defunct Pamela Martin & Associates, but it isn’t significant. Have you ever dialed the wrong number before? Sam’s relatives did, since one of Palfrey’s numbers was one-digit off from Donaldson’s, so she kept getting calls from them, and over-and-over again.

Cue Radar magazine’s site editor John Cook and an overzealous…BigheadDC.com who thought they had a major scoop that required virtually no investment and could bring in those advertising dollars. A source close to the story has confirmed that there was no story to begin with. But they went and ran it anyway, and have now turned on each other claiming different stories. Readers should note that they both appear to be contending that Palfrey is lying, which is pretty low of them considering she’s a defendant. That’s how it goes in this story–guilty until proven innocent, a curiously un-American contention that runs-through the affair labeled “Hookergate” by the mainstream press…

FYI, Matt, Big Head DC’s editor has spent hours interviewing Palfrey, and we have posted most every one of her lawyer’s updates on the case. No source close to the situation has ever told us “there was no story to begin with.” You need to understand that Donaldson’s inclusion in her records speaks volumes as to why ABC News may have covered up political and other ramifications of her story when the network was researching it this past Spring. Also, what if another past or current ABC anchor appears in her records? Just another wrong number? More to come…

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Thursday November 15th, 2007 1:32 PM by BHDC Staff  
Filed under: Scandals, BHDC, Deborah Jeane Palfrey, Radar, ABC, Ronald Roughead, Sam Donaldson

This well-reasoned question just came in from a person who is quite familiar with the Deborah Jeane Palfrey case, and its implications.

sam-donaldson1.jpgLook, I understand this has all been unpleasant for you, but why do you and Mr. Cook insist on fixating on the salacious-side of this story? I mean, honestly, why not leave your desk, drive over to Alexandria, Va., and go talk to Ronald Roughead? While you’re at it, why not track down some leads on the people prosecuting Ms. Palfrey? In addition, you need to check on the SAIC connection and lobbying…oh, never mind. Ms. Palfrey stands behind my assertions that you guys wanted salaciousness and that when it didn’t pan-out with Donaldson, the problems began. Both you and Mr. Cook are a major disappointment, along with Larisa of Rawstory, Huffpo, and the rest of the media. All you’re doing is making a site that’s a copy of all the same problems the MSM currently embodies. Change the focus, and you might be doing something, otherwise, it’s just gossip. However, I was impressed with the Leola McConnell story, though I think she’s got a lot of proving to do with her story — if she’s still alive.

Our response:

You make excellent points about the media, [NAME REDACTED]. The point in this situation is that Donaldson’s number IS in Palfrey’s records. I’ve always maintained that the bigger story here is that ABC News likely killed a larger story once it was determined that possibly more than one of their reporters appeared on the list. Radar has managed to muddle that aspect of the story because they were angry that Big Head DC did its own independent reporting to confirm that part of the story — with sources that they couldn’t possibly have spoken with. Just because they asked me for help does NOT mean I was beholden to report a story for them. Their pontifications about Big Head DC’s scoop makes it more difficult for people to see the problematic way ABC covered this story. And that’s a shame.

Earlier: Jossip Weighs In on Big Head DC / Radar Online Flap Over Sam Donaldson’s “DC Madam” Escort Business

And: EXCLUSIVE: Sam Donaldson’s Number Appears in DC Madam’s Escort Records

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Tuesday November 13th, 2007 4:37 PM by BHDC Staff  
Filed under: Journalism, Scandals, BHDC, Deborah Jeane Palfrey, Radar, Sam Donaldson

And Jossip is starting to figure out that Radar has been playing fast and loose with the facts:

jossip2.JPG
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Thursday October 11th, 2007 4:00 PM by BHDC Staff  
Filed under: FOX News, Radar

                       radar_esquire_1010072.jpg

Why are we not surprised that John Gibson likes to see a little flesh?

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