Topic category:  Other/General

It is ironic that The New York Times, which fell for the hoax that is the Duke case and led the media in the wrong direction for so long, included the following in its tribute to the late Ed Bradley, whose last work for "60 Minutes" was an expose on the Duke case:

"For Ms. Hunter-Gault, who left The New York Times for the 'MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour' on PBS in 1978, Mr. Bradley was more than just someone who helped clear an early path to national television for herself and other black journalists....

“'I think people might want to characterize him as a trailblazer for black journalists,' she said yesterday, by cellphone from outside Mr. Bradley’s hospital room just after his death. 'I think he’d be proud of that. But I think Ed was a trailblazer for good journalism. Period.'"

"[G]ood journalism. Period."  Not "Black journalism."

New York Times:

"In the weeks before his final hospitalization, Mr. Bradley had been scrambling to finish the Duke report in particular, while fending off what would become the early stages of pneumonia.

“'He just kept hitting the road,”'Ms. Hunter-Gault said. 'Every time I talked to him, he was tired. I’d say, "Why don’t you go home and rest?" He’d say, "I just want to get this piece done."''

Apparently Mr. Bradley couldn't rest in peace until he got "this piece done."

"[T]his piece being the Duke case expose, a two-segment special broadcast last October 15.

New York Times:

“'He was proud of what he did,' she said. “But he never allowed that pride to turn him into a star in his own head.'"

Nor did he allow that pride to blind him to persecution when the persecuted happened to be white Yankees from wealthy families.

Before he died, Ed Bradley's "community" had become all of the people of the world and no injustice got a pass. 

If the election returns are an indication, overwhelmingly, Durham County, North Carolina's Black voters seemed more impressed with North Carolina journalist and local television commentator Cash Michaels' criticism of Mr. Bradley's expose on the Duke case instead of the expose. 

An anonymous poster at the Liestoppers website, disappointed with both the Black block vote and a hoax supporter, found that pathetic:

"By the way, Ed Bradley, from the 60 Minutes piece, passed away today. It would be unlikely he didn't realize the serious of his illness at the time of the interviews. I seriously doubt he had any secret agenda at the time.

"He read the discovery and realized this case is a hoax. The interview wasn't PR, it was CBS searching for the truth. It is just not the truth you wish to hear. For months, I heard why won't the boys tell their side of the story? Once they did, the AV [alleged victim] supporters spout it must be a conspiracy with CBS.

"Do you really not have the ability to think logically and decide this case on the facts, or are you just determined to stick it to the young men?

"Do you think the AV should be forced to take a lie detector test? After all, she should have nothing to fear if the truth is on her side. The three young men have all past the test - let's hear from the young lady."

Crystal Gail Mangum, aka the AV, aka "the young lady," could have spoken with Mr, Bradley, but she chose not to do so. 

After the Duke case expose was broadcast, Mr. Michaels chose to focus on what was not done in the limited time instead of what was, but Mr. Michaels did appreciate what Mr. Bradley really was saying to America in general and Durham, North Carolina in particular:

"And not surprisingly, Duke University’s student newspaper, The Chronicle, heralded Bradley and 60 Minutes for focusing on what many believe to be a supreme injustice.

“'For an analytical and well known program such as 60 Minutes to come down so decisively on one side of a highly controversial case seems significant,' The Chronicle’s editorial stated. 'The show, anchored by Ed Bradley, highlighted several discrepancies in the prosecution’s case and exposed instances of questionable conduct on the part of Durham officials over the past six months.'

"Indeed, correspondent Bradley left no doubt, from the very opening of the report, that the Duke Three were being railroaded by false charges of rape, by a prosecutor who may be up to no good, and is determined to convict them at trial next spring.

“'The evidence 60 Minutes has seen reveals disturbing facts about the conduct of the police and the district attorney, and raises serious concerns about whether or not a rape even occurred,' Bradley told his audience at the top of the show."

YES!  The Black vote was decisive for Durham County District attorney Michael B. Nifong in both the Democrat primary and the general election.

The general elections results must have disappointed Mr. Bradley greatly, but he surely was not to blame for that shame.

Mr. Michaels' post at Talk Left reiterated his criticism of the "60 Minutes" expose:

"Keep in mind as you read my story, and particularly the responses of the CBS News spokesman to pointed questions, that my focus wasn't on the case, which I certainly agree is limp wristed at best, but the p-poor job of journalism that was done, given the amount of time taken to report it. CBS had pat, but extremely poor answers for the six month investment they put into that story, and as a journalist, when I see the gold standard of television journalism take a professional hike on such an extremely important story, it's my job to ask why."

Mr. Bradley's focus WAS on the case!

He did a professional job, not a poor one.

Don't blame him for what Ms. Mangum and Mr. Nifong and their supporters, enablers and apologists have done to the Duke Three.

And don't blame him for Mr. Nifong's election.

Mr. Bradley focused on what was most important and newsworthy; Mr. Michaels, on what was trivial in the circumstances.

Mr. Michaels missed a chance to do what was right, by reinforcing Mr. Bradley's message.

Mr. Bradley did not miss, and will be missed.

Michael J. Gaynor

Biography - Michael J. Gaynor

Michael J. Gaynor has been practicing law in New York since 1973. A former partner at Fulton, Duncombe & Rowe and Gaynor & Bass, he is a solo practitioner admitted to practice in New York state and federal courts and an Association of the Bar of the City of New York member.

Gaynor graduated magna cum laude, with Honors in Social Science, from Hofstra University's New College, and received his J.D. degree from St. John's Law School, where he won the American Jurisprudence Award in Evidence and served as an editor of the Law Review and the St. Thomas More Institute for Legal Research. He wrote on the Pentagon Papers case for the Review and obscenity law for The Catholic Lawyer and edited the Law Review's commentary on significant developments in New York law.

The day after graduating, Gaynor joined the Fulton firm, where he focused on litigation and corporate law. In 1997 Gaynor and Emily Bass formed Gaynor & Bass and then conducted a general legal practice, emphasizing litigation, and represented corporations, individuals and a New York City labor union. Notably, Gaynor & Bass prevailed in the Second Circuit in a seminal copyright infringement case, Tasini v. New York Times, against newspaper and magazine publishers and Lexis-Nexis. The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed, 7 to 2, holding that the copyrights of freelance writers had been infringed when their work was put online without permission or compensation.

Gaynor currently contributes regularly to www.MichNews.com, www.RenewAmerica.com, www.WebCommentary.com, www.PostChronicle.com and www.therealitycheck.org and has contributed to many other websites. He has written extensively on political and religious issues, notably the Terry Schiavo case, the Duke "no rape" case, ACORN and canon law, and appeared as a guest on television and radio. He was acknowledged in Until Proven Innocent, by Stuart Taylor and KC Johnson, and Culture of Corruption, by Michelle Malkin. He appeared on "Your World With Cavuto" to promote an eBay boycott that he initiated and "The World Over With Raymond Arroyo" (EWTN) to discuss the legal implications of the Schiavo case. On October 22, 2008, Gaynor was the first to report that The New York Times had killed an Obama/ACORN expose on which a Times reporter had been working with ACORN whistleblower Anita MonCrief.

Gaynor's email address is gaynormike@aol.com.