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Randi Rhodes UPDATE: Mixmaster-Media Ignites

October 16th, 2007
By DR. CLARISSA PINKOLA ESTÉS, Assistant Editor, TMV Columnist

Print Print

New York Daily News.com is reporting:

Air America host Randi Rhodes wasn’t mugged

See this story, plus fact check at end of article.

BY David Hinckley and Tina Moore

Tuesday, October 16th 2007, 12:28 PM

There’s no truth to the rumors that Air America host Randi Rhodes (above) was mugged near 39th St. and Park Ave. Sunday night. She is scheduled to return to the air on Thursday.

Air America radio host Randi Rhodes is temporarily off the air, but claims she was brutally attacked near her Manhattan apartment are bogus, her lawyer and a police source said today.

Fellow host Jon Elliott claimed on the liberal radio network that Rhodes had been mugged while walking her dog, Simon, on Sunday night. Elliot, who said Rhodes lost several teeth in the attack, waxed about a possible conspiracy.

“Is this an attempt by the right-wing, hate machine to silence one of our own?” he asked on the air, according to Talking Radio, a blog. “Are we threatening them? Are they afraid that we’re winning? Are they trying to silence intimidate us?”

A police source said Rhodes never filed a report and never claimed to be the victim of a mugging. Cops from Manhattan’s 17th Precinct called her attorney, who told them Rhodes was not a victim of a crime, the source said.

Rhodes’ lawyer told the Daily News she was injured in a fall while walking her dog. He said she’s not sure what happened, and only knows that she fell down and is in a lot of pain. The lawyer said Rhodes expects to be back on the air Thursday. He stressed there is no indication she was targeted or that she was the victim of a “hate crime.”

Rhodes started with the Air America when it launched in 2004. Her show airs from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays.

The network released a statement that said Rhodes “experienced an unfortunate incident.”

“The reports of a presumed hate crime are unfounded,” the statement read by a receptionist at the network’s New York offices said. “Ms. Rhodes is looking forward to being back on the air on Thursday.”

Still, the tale lived on in the blogosphere.

“What the %$#$ is WRONG with you people?? Are you that SICK in the head that just because you don’t agree with someone’s political views you believe that they deserve to be mugged? Are you on the right that DEMENTED??,” a blogger called neddlenosehanty posted on watchingthewatchers.org.

Another blogger shot back, “I very seriously doubt if this unfortunate woman was mugged by a conservative. To jump to the conclusion that she was mugged by someone on the right is bigotry of another kind. Think not?”

_________
Clarification/fact check from Dr. E on the NY Daily News article re ‘tale living on in blogosphere,’ and ‘blogger’. The original story published by the newsblog watchingthewatchers.org reports only what a fellow radio peronality said / speculated about Miss Rhodes; no speculation about conservatives or other by the journo. The two NY Daily News quotes from watchingthewatchers.org are the opinions of two commenters to the seemingly neutral reportage on the Randi Rhodes story there.

Here’s the original piece from watchingthewatchers journo Rogers Cadenhead: http://watchingthewatchers.org/news/1311/air-america-host-randi-rhodes-mugged

See our earlier post which reported the original reports, gave background on talk show hosts who’ve been in the news in the past due to attacks and gives a wide cross section of left, right and centrist blog reaction to the initial report.



This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 16th, 2007 at 10:53 am and is filed under MSM, Breaking News, Media Criticism, Blogging. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

 
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