Conservative Media’s
Quest for Credibility
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(MURNO, CLINTON); ANDREW HARRER/BLOOMBERG VIA GETTY IMAGES (BOEHNER); AP PHOTO/CHARLES DHARAPAK (HOLDER)
WASHINGTON —
ON FEB. 28, atop the capital city’s posh W hotel, National
Review editor Rich Lowry toasted Robert Costa on becoming
the magazine’s Washington editor. The 27-year-old journalist,
Lowry declared, deserved praise for moving the long-running
conservative outlet into a future that depended on original,
online reporting. ¶ “When National Review Online first started
down here in Washington under the tutelage of Jonah Goldberg,
working the phones meant Jonah calling the local Chinese
restaurant to inquire about what had happened to his order
of General Tso’s Chicken,” Lowry joked before the crowd of
prominent National Review writers — including Goldberg and
Ramesh Ponnuru — and attendees such as columnist George
Will and former Dick Cheney aide Lewis “Scooter” Libby.
National Review, a leading voice
in the conservative movement since
1955, isn’t cutting back on opinion
writing or strong editorial stands.
But Costa and his team of three reporters are gaining recognition inside Republican circles and among
the Washington media establishment for actually making calls,
staking out the Capitol and breaking news. Costa recently reported
the inside story of the attempted
House GOP “coup” against Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and
scooped that former Republican
presidential nominee Mitt Romney
will speak at this week’s Conservative Political Action Conference.
It’s the type of shoe-leather
reporting that many political observers and even some prominent
conservatives claim is sorely lacking on the right. Their critiques
seemed confirmed in February as
several conservative media-driven