The saga of the Playboy Hate F*** List, my denunciation of it, and my subsequent firing by Politics Daily Editor-in-Chief Melinda Henneberger, just got a whole lot stranger.
I’ve been gratified by the widespread support since my firing, especially since I only wrote what any decent human being would. I would have been elated to be drowned out by a chorus of agreement. Still, I am blown away by the source of my most recent accolade: Politics Daily Editor-in-Chief Melinda Henneberger: (From HuffPo)
MORE UPDATES: Melinda Henneberger, at last, responds:
Does it make a lick of sense to you that I would fire anyone for standing up for women, or for taking on that disgusting story in Playboy?
Y’know what? She’s right! It doesn’t make any sense! I wish she’d get in touch with the editor who fired me, and set this thing straight.
You know who I’m talking about, the editor who deleted my story from Politics Daily (when no editor had ever deleted any story ever in the history of the site), fired me minutes after hearing a pitch for a new story about the Playboy article, and forbade site partner Media Lizzy from posting a poll question about the Playboy article (also completely unprecedented).
That editor must have had priorities other than standing up for women, or taking on Playboy.
Here’s her full statement, with editor’s note by HuffPo’s Jason Linkins:
Does it make a lick of sense to you that I would fire anyone for standing up for women, or for taking on that disgusting story in Playboy? [ED. NOTE: Uhm…no, Melinda, it doesn’t, which is sort of why I asked the question!] The bloggers for the old AOL site, Political Machine, weren’t retained for the new site, Politics Daily, which has only been in existence for the last five weeks, and which we’re just staffing up. Sorry so dull, but there’s nothing more to it than that.
Really? Let’s see how that statement holds up.
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Daily Dose 
The arrogant media class will say ANYTHING when they get caught and then expect us rubes to swallow their BS.
Ugh!
Hi Tommy,
Being a West Coaster and 3 hours behind, I just found that link on another site. I posted it on Cube’s blog with the following comment:
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Not sure about anyone else but this makes me almost as angry as the thought that Tommy was fired for his defense of women vis a vis the Playboy story. Seems to me they used the PM followers to build an audience and record hits and now they’ve literally kicked the folks we follow to the curb. If this is the case, David Knowles also has a very short shelf life. If he stays, this is a cover up of a cover up. Either way, on a very personal level, I feel somewhat used and abused.
OK. I’m all better now. Just had to pass the link along and vent.
Melinda Henneberger, what I think is that she’s lying. I really do. Lying dirty socialist propaganda whore. She’s probably trying to get NPR to notice her over in the AOL ghetto so they’ll make a job offer.
What didn’t Melinda say is the question. Although she decries Playboy’s article, she does not explain why “Women Up,” a section in the PD blog devoted to issues for women, does not speak out against this. In part, specifically her castigating Playboy, does not explain why AOL has yet to cover this. It also does not explain why she pulled it and, I believe, allowed Tommy to write articles subsequently to that. If I’m wrong on Tommy not writing further articles after the one censored, why does AOL not touch the issue?
She never explains why it was pulled. Because they were going to fire him anyways? That’s not even said.
The Purge. I’m Lost.
[…] Christopher has posted a response at DailyDose.us strongly disputing Henneberger’s claim that she supported his coverage of the Playboy story: […]
[…] Christopher has posted a response at DailyDose.us strongly disputing Henneberger’s claim that she supported his coverage of the Playboy story: […]
Sorry to say it, but welcome to the ugly side of the liberal media. Not unlike liberal students storming the stage at Columbia and other universities to silence opposing viewpoints, media editors are silencing their writers as well. It’s no longer about good reporting and freedom of the press, it’s about corporate ties, politics and making sure you toe the party line.
Dissenters will be fired, stormed off the stage and dragged through the mud. (I think we should print new money and replace “E Pluribus Unum” with the more fitting slogan for liberals… “Ad Hominem”.)
AOL Playboy Controversy Deepens
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/stephen-gutowski/2009/06/07/aol-playboy-controversy-deepens
I also sent Ms. Henneberger/AOL a request for a comment or to be included on a list to be notified if any official comment was made on this issue by her or someone else authoritative about it at AOL, telling her I intended to blog about it.
I heard nothing as well. Henneberger used to write regularly for Huffington Post, and I suspect she got contacted by them in such a way that she couldn’t deny that she was contacted.
This is not helpful to AOL’s credibility.
[…] Christopher has posted a response at DailyDose.us strongly disputing Henneberger’s claim that she supported his coverage of the Playboy story: […]