Sunday night gushing at the White House

ACADEMIC STANDARDS

This Monday the nation’s major papers all ran, as Politico’s The Huddle pointed out, “leaked” reports of a health industry pledge to limit rises in health care costs. Let me repeat: Just about every big-time reporter on the health care beat got a Sunday night head’s up on this story. I would think there was quite a gusher in the White House if I didn’t know better.

Basic political strategy dictates that whenever you want a story to get major play, you get it in the Monday papers. (Conversely, almost every piece of bad news is released late Friday afternoon.) They set the tone for the week. Thus leaks, more often than not, are about controlling the news cycle, both weekly and daily.

Should journalists note this? Thanks mostly to Judith Miller, they now take up an extra line with the reasoning of any anonymous source. Would it also be prudent to point out the dynamics of a leak? I understand that news is news and should be published regardless of the source’s motives. And I understand that space is limited. But perhaps a one-line acknowledgement of why everyone got so talkative right on a Sunday night would be in order.