On Sunday's MediaBuzz on Fox News, Time columnist Joe Klein rushed to the defense of embattled NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams: "I think that we're living in an era where the ferocity of the prosecution is much greater than the severity of most of these crimes. And that's true not only for people like Brian Williams, but also for most of the journal – the politicians we cover."
Klein then bizarrely compared Williams to a lying politician: "I really want to have a president who has messed around....there was another one who lied to the American people continually on matters of war and peace, who messed around, who drank a pitcher of martinis every night and my grandfather voted for him four times – Franklin Roosevelt."
Host Howard Kurtz tried to rein in Klein: "Okay, but let's get back to the treatment of media people and why you think it's unfair." Klein argued: "But it's all public people, it's not just media people." Kurtz pointed out: "Media people depend on credibility and if they're constantly getting clawed at and pushed at." Klein replied: "And all of us make mistakes. All of us do make mistakes."
Moments later, Klein tried to downplay Williams's lying: "I do believe that the word conflation was appropriate. When the story first happened, he reported it accurately. And I know that over time the stories that you tell kind of tend to get exaggerated."
Here is a transcript of the February 15 exchange:
11:10 AM ET
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HOWARD KURTZ: Hasn't the internet become almost like Jon Stewart on steroids in the sense that-
JOE KLEIN [TIME]: But not nearly as funny.
KURTZ: Not nearly as funny and not necessarily accurate either. And where when somebody gets into trouble, there is this hue and cry and the person is absolutely demonized. And you know what it's like to be on that end of a feeding frenzy, talk about that a little bit.
KLEIN: Yeah, well, you know, I think that we're living in an era where the ferocity of the prosecution is much greater than the severity of most of these crimes. And that's true not only for people like Brian Williams, but also for most of the journal – the politicians we cover. I mean-
KURTZ: Wait, why is it – why is it not-
KLEIN: I really want to have a president who has messed around. I really want to have – I mean my idea of a great president-
RICH LOWRY [NATIONAL REVIEW]: We had one of those, Joe.
KLEIN: Yeah, we had. No, and we had – there was another one who lied to the American people continually on matters of war and peace, who messed around, who drank a pitcher of martinis every night and my grandfather voted for him four times. Franklin Roosevelt.
KURTZ: Okay, but let's get back to the treatment of media people and why you think it's unfair.
KLEIN: But it's all public people, it's not just media people. Because-
KURTZ: Media people depend on credibility and if they're constantly getting clawed at and pushed at.
KLEIN: And all of us make mistakes. All of us do make mistakes.
KURTZ: But you've been talking about a blood lust in the online world.
KLEIN: And I see that blood lust. And, you know, Rich was saying before Bob Simon almost made you trust journalism again. I trust journalism by and large. You know, when I'm out there in the Middle East having RPGs shot – no. But I see people like Dexter Filkins and other war reporters who really do the Lord's work.
LOWRY: That's true, that's well said. But the thing that was so amazing about the Brian Williams incident is if there's any time you can't be inconsistent or make anything up and you know you're going to get caught, it's this era, with so many attention on the media and social media and all the rest.
KLEIN: But that's why I do believe that the word conflation was appropriate. When the story first happened, he reported it accurately. And I know that over time the stories that you tell kind of tend to get exaggerated.
MARISA GUTHRIE [THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER]: But you can't tell them when there's a camera on you...
KLEIN: No, of course not, it was obviously a very-
GUTHRIE: ...and it will live forever online as the smoking gun of your guilt.
KLEIN: Right. It was a very bad mistake, he blew the apology, and you know, there are going to be consequences.
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