Can Bloggers Lie to Score a Scoop?

Washington blogger Evan Gahr unfairly deceived RNC Chair Michael Steele to score an interview. But the real loser when bloggers resort to such tactics is the public.

Washington blogger Evan Gahr released a transcript today in which Michael Steele suggests that he’s running for reelection as RNC Chair. Gahr deceives Steele into believing that he was a prospective donor – an unfortunate move that highlights the fight over journalistic ethics in the conservative journalistic world.

Calling the RNC Chairman at his Maryland home, Gahr gets Steele to answer questions about his reaction to a potential Norm Coleman bid for his job, accusations of racism, the stripper-gate fiasco, and Steele’s use of chartered jets (selected transcript below, full transcript after the jump).

Gahr introduces himself as someone who works at a hedge fund and is interested in making a donation.

Although Steele has never before discussed running for reelection in 2011, Steele implies that he is in the running after he’s asked a question about a possible Norm Coleman bid:

Norm is an old friend. Norm is not going to challenge me for RNC chairman. If he does I’ll put my record up against anyone who comes after to [sic] me. I feel confident we’ll get re-elected. I’m not worried about that part of it.

Near the end of the conversation, Gahr comes out as a blogger, and Steele makes a hasty exit. In the wake of Politico’s feature on former Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman’s potential bid for the spot of RNC chairman, many wondered how Steele would react. Steele’s candid words reveal that he’s going to keep his eyes on the prize.

Journalistic ethics is a topic that has been on my mind a lot lately, I assume because the right has been repeatedly pushing the boundaries of what is acceptable and not acceptable: the ACORN expose, the Breitbart-Sherrod tapes, and now this interview by Evan Gahr.

The question, writ large, is whether it is acceptable to lie in order to tell the truth. It seems that the answer, more often than not, is that the journalist who is willing to lie to the subject is willing to lie to their audience. The ACORN videos were misleading, the Breitbart-Sherrod tapes were edited and out of context, and Gahr’s interview only occurred because he lied about being a potential donor.

The data I could find shows that Americans are increasingly wary of ‘gotcha’ undercover pieces, but increasingly in favor of upfront questioning:

Gahr fancies himself a gadfly - his website, ‘Washington Gadfly’, claims as much. And in case you missed the point, his profile once again advertises his gadfly credentials (he was called one by Lloyd Grove).

I’m reminded of another gadfly, Lester Kinsolving, the oldest member of the White House Press Corps. I recently reviewed the excellent biography on Kinsolving, Gadfly: The Life and Times of Les Kinsolving, by his daughter, Kathleen. What was impressive about Kinsolving’s career, I wrote, was that he was able to dig up so much, and yet never once had to mislead the subjects of his reporting in order to get a scoop.

Gahr receives a quick score by punking Michael Steele on his blog. But the legitimacy of conservative bloggers and reporters depends on whether we have the guts – and the work ethic – to be honest purveyors of the truth. Gahr’s deception makes one wonder why the reader should trust his work; in fact, whether any conservative reporters or bloggers should be trusted.

Gahr’s deception of Michael Steele was unfair. We can do better. The public view of our trustworthiness depends on it.

UPDATE: FrumForum managed to get a hold of Gahr, and asked him a few questions.

“Steele's a public figure. He should have no expectation to privacy. He should know that anything he says to anyone is going to end up on the internet, if not the paper,” said Gahr. “I lied to him, not my [readers]… no one could ever look at my record and say that. I actually don’t lie very much.”

Gahr admitted that an off-the-record conversation should be kept private. But when FrumForum asked him how Steele could have requested the conversation be kept off-the-record if he wasn’t aware he was talking to a blogger, Gahr returned to his point about how public figures shouldn’t have an expectation of privacy.

Gahr admitted that he did not contact the Michael Steele’s RNC office for an interview before trying this avenue, nor did he contact the RNC afterwards for comment. “I knew he wasn’t going to talk to me – he’s not talking to anyone,” said Gahr.

Asked why readers should trust a reporter who has written a story premised on a lie, Gahr said: “They should trust me based on my record.”

Updated at 6:10pm

Selected Transcript

Evan Gahr: I said that’s my name [pseudonym]. I want to make a donation but I'm worried the money will go to strippers.

Michael Steele. That’s crazy. That was a staffer who got fired as soon as I heard about it. We put all the appropriate controls and not one dollar goes to that kind of activity.

Evan Gahr: How do you feel about Norm Coleman possibly challenging you for re-election as GOP chairman, as Politico reported?

Michael Steele: Norm is an old friend. Norm is not going to challenge me for RNC chairman. If he does I’ll put my record up against anyone who comes after to me. I feel confident we’ll get re-elected. I’m not worried about that part of it.

…

Evan Gahr: Chris Matthews and Frank Rich said you weren’t fired because you’re black.

Michael Steele: [Laughs.] I didn’t hear that. Everybody’s got a reason why I haven’t got fired. I haven’t been fired because I’ve been doing my job. My won loss record is better than any chairman in the last 10 years.

…

Evan Gahr: In terms of making the GOP a hip hop party have you thought of going around with baggy jeans?

Michael Steele: No. That’s not the point of that. The idea was to take the party into communities that don’t sound like typical Republicans.

…

Evan Gahr: You said you have a lower margin of error because you’re black. Can you name one head of a white organization who brought nationwide embarassment [sic] on the group but was not forced to resign?

Michael Steele: Well, I don’t know. Howard Dean went through a lot. People thought he said some shit and done [sic] some embarassing [sic] things.

Evan Gahr: I’m really a reporter. Why are you avoiding interviews? What are you scared of?

Michael Steele: Who are you with?

Evan Gahr: The Washington Gadfly, a new iconoclastic website.

Evan Gahr: Has anybody had enough chutzpah to call you at home.

Michael Steele: [Many] people do. Next time you should identify yourself as a reporter. That’s the ethical thing.

Evan Gahr: If I did you wouldn't have talked to me.

Michael Steele: That’s probably true because I’m not doing any interviews. Activists call all the time. They don’t try to sneak an interview. That is not kosher.

Evan Gahr: Reporters go undercover all the time. The New York Post just went undercover to expose Medicaid fraud.

Michael Steele: Well, ok. There's no fraud here.

Full transcript here.

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