Howard Alan Kurtz (born August 1, 1953) is an American journalist, blogger, author and media writer for the Washington Post.
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Kurtz was born in Brooklyn, New York. He is the host of the Reliable Sources segment on CNN's State of the Union with John King and has written for The New Republic, the Washington Monthly, and New York Magazine. He is a graduate of the University at Buffalo and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
Kurtz has covered the press since 1990 for the Post,[1] and is widely read within the journalism business, although some critics feel he has a tendency to be biased toward the political right while others see a bias toward the left.[2] Mickey Kaus, reporting on and partially quoting from a letter by Charles Kaiser in The New Republic, wrote that Kurtz "has large, non-technical conflicts of interest, since he free-lances and takes money 'from the people he writes about, from Time Warner to Condé Nast.'... The most obvious conflict is that Kurtz co-hosts CNN's Reliable Sources, a gig that rewards him with not only money but national renown."[3]
Kurtz also received criticism for his seeming support of syndicated radio host Don Imus. After Imus was dismissed amid controversy surrounding a particularly derogatory statement, Kurtz commented on an April 15, 2007, edition of Reliable Sources that no one had ever asked him, "How can you go on this show when he's making fun of blacks and women?" However, journalist Phil Nobile wrote a column on TomPaine.com on June 14, 2000, headlined "Spotlight on Howard Kurtz: Missing in Action on Imus?", asking this very question. A month earlier, on May 10, TomPaine.com had published an ad on The New York Times op-ed page urging prominent journalists to either refuse appearances on Imus' show or else use their air time to question his apparent racism and sexism. Kurtz responded on May 22, 2000, on the Washington Post website, saying,
I don't believe (as a regular listener and very occasional guest on the program) that Imus is in any way racist. He sometimes crosses the line, as he himself would admit, in trying to make people laugh, but it's all shtick. He's no bigot.[4]
Some contend that Kurtz is biased to the right, in particular that his coverage of the blogosphere selectively ignores extremism on right-wing blogs.[5] These critics often note the fact that he, like Democratic strategist James Carville, is married to a Republican consultant and commentator. Eric Alterman, a liberal journalist, wrote, "It is hard to avoid the conclusion, based on examination of his work, that Howard Kurtz loves conservatives but has little time for liberals."[6]
In addition, Kurtz has defended Fox News on free-speech grounds, as
in this quote from Glenn Beck's show:[7]
KURTZ: I think the argument that I've heard Olbermann make in the past about Fox News -- it's not an argument that I embrace -- is that, because it poses as a news organization and puts out dangerous misinformation is a cheerleader for the Bush administration, that it's misinforming our society. But you know what? They're entitled to do that.
Kurtz has publicly declined to state his political affiliation. In his weekly chat on The Washington Post Web site, "Critiquing the Press", Kurtz takes often angry questions from critics on both the left and right who believe he is too soft on the right and left, respectively.[8]
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   | Howard Kurtz's Media Notes on Washingtonpost.com - Media Notes Extra - Media Notes Extra - washingtonpost.com |
| | Lengthy profile of Kurtz and his career - News & Features (washingtonian.com) |
| | Howard Kurtz CNN Profile - CNN Programs - Anchors/Reporters - Howard Kurtz |
| | Salon.com - Is "Howard Kurtz" a software program? - Glenn Greenwald - Salon.com |
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