Sarah Palin launched a lengthy attack on The Daily Caller via Facebook on Wednesday in which she slammed the conservative-leaning news organization for not featuring her quotes prominently enough.
The publication, helmed by Tucker Carlson, quoted from a nearly 650-word statement she issued to them in response to an article on legislation she signed as governor of Alaska providing tax credits to production companies who film in Alaska. It also reprinted the entire statement on the next page of the article. This was not good enough, however, for Palin, who said that her statement was “buried.”
“Goodness, cleaning up the sloppiness of reporters could be a full time job,” she began a Facebook post on the article today. “In response to The Daily Caller’s online inquiry, I gave them a statement that the writer buried on his story’s second page (which most people won’t even notice – I didn’t even notice it.)”
Palin’s criticism offered a window into her staff’s approach to the press. In an interview with TPM, the reporter who wrote the story, Chris Moody, said he was “surprised” to see her Facebook post given that Palin aides had demanded he make the entire Palin statement available — which he did — as a precondition to giving him any kind of a response to his questions.
“Palin’s spokesman said she could give me a quote on the condition that I run the entire statement,” Moody told TPM. “After some back and forth, I said I would write the story that accurately represented her view, with the full quotes available for readers. Her spokesman said that would be fine.”
But Palin repeatedly claimed the placement was insufficient in her Facebook post, writing that “having to set the record straight on my Facebook page yet again is further proof that the media can’t be trusted even to print a statement in a manner that people can read.”
News publications rarely run articles featuring unabridged statements as lengthy as Palin’s and Moody himself could not recall receiving similar demands from any other source.
“I have not received requests like that in the past, although given Palin’s treatment in the media I can understand her concerns,” he said.
TPM reached out to Palin’s office to respond to Moody’s account of their exchange and will post a response if received.
The Daily Caller story reported on criticism from conservative pundits that Palin benefited from her own film credit legislation by starring in her own reality show in the state after leaving office. The article included Palin’s description of the claims as “ludicrous,” as well as three paragraphs of direct quotes, far more space than any of her critics were given. Although the piece was not an op-ed, Palin appeared to ascribe the views of her critics to Moody directly in her Facebook response:
“And another point missed by this reporter: apparently The Daily Caller’s conspiracy theory must be that I did all of this not even to benefit myself but Mark Burnett Productions,” she wrote. “As I tried to explain to the writer at The Daily Caller, if you believe in this bizarre scenario then why not ask the sponsors, drafters, and supporters of this legislation that would boost job creation if they crafted this bill years ago in order to benefit Sarah Palin. Any suggestion that I somehow did something wrong by signing this legislation is ridiculous.”
In a recent interview with FOX News’ Greta Van Susteren, Palin suggested that she wanted to move away from media feuds, saying that she was “through whining about a liberal press that holds, especially conservative women, to a different standard.”
Update: Palin’s statement to The Daily Caller was 646 words. An earlier version of this post listed it as over 650 words.
